View Full Version : Any suggestions?
Lately, I haven't been feeling well, and I cannot figure out what is the matter.
I'd been having trouble with feeling dizzy and weak coming out of Hanover. I continued to feel extremely tired (no matter what I ate or how much I rested). I went to the ER in Rutland, but they diagnosed me with "fatigue," which is just about as general as you can get. I rested for a week in Rutland, and then went on to Manchester Center.
They did a blood test which showed a negative for Lyme. But, on the way to Manchester Center, I started to feel really weak again and have nosebleeds like nothing else. I know I've been eating enough calories and am hydrated enough. (The tests done by the ER in Rutland showed that I was not malnourished or dehydrated.)
I started to go on from Manchester, but after I fell into a rock pit because I was so dizzy, I decided to come back here and try to figure out what the problem is.
I have a sore on my shoulder that seems infected and was leaking. I was unsure if maybe some of this was my body's reaction to trying to fight an infection or what. (Though the WBC done by the ER also had normal results.)
Any ideas?
You need to take care of that infection. Take care of that first and then start looking for other things.
One thing that docs don't check (and it really pisses me off that they don't) is your thyroid levels. I have an under active thyroid and was always tired and had trouble recovering before I got my meds. My feet would just be bruised and always felt like someone took a meat grinder to them. It has different affects on different people, but since you started out overweight it could be a possibility.
Thanks for the suggestion. My doctor checked my thyroid levels--before I started--because I was overweight. They were normal.
Jack Tarlin
09-20-2008, 15:37
Rest as needed, and despite what the tests might have said, eat and drink more, especially the drink. Hikers are chronically dehydrated which leads to chronic fatigue. Keep a full bottle of water or gatorade by your head at night, and drink it during the night. You'll start the day better hydrated that way. And make sure you're taking a multivitamin as the typical hiker diet leaves out a lot of things. But most of all, rest. Take as many breaks as you need during the day; don't feel that it's necessary to hike until dark; take plenty of time off or town time as needed, or if you want to save money and get some real rest, carry a little extra food and take some zero days in the middle of the woods, which is a really nice thing to do. Waking up in a really pretty place and knowing that all you have to do is enjoy the spot for a whole dayand not go anywhere is really great for body and mind.
Go with Jack's advice but. You state they checked and you came up negative for Lyme. Do you recall a tick bite a few weeks back though? Could be one of the other tick illnesses?? Treatment is same but don't wait too long if that be the case afterall. Best of luck and hang in there regardless!
The more I read the more I wonder that some areas check and test for tick illness differently. Same goes for what they tell the patients. Seems some lump them all into one = lyme. Are all the tests the same I wonder?
A neighbor friend happened to get similar sick a few weeks back. Went into the hospital for a few days, many tests were done, was released with a prescription of antibiotics. A few days later the doc called and gave him a different antibiotic prescription based on a positive for Spotted Tick Fever. Friend, Bill, didn't even know he had a tick, which led to a late test & results.
Sailor (The other one)
09-20-2008, 16:43
Listen to Jack. One of the things I do is personal training. Most people have no idea how much rest and nutrients the body needs to recover from any exertion, including emotional stress. A thru hike is an enourmous stress, especially since most people begin hiking with too few zero days at the start. With only moderate exercise and excellent nutrition, your body needs at least 24 hours to fully recover when you start new exercise. So if you begin a thru hike without adequate rest, you travel the rest of the way with a recovery deficit that keeps getting bigger. And you are doing cardio - continuous exercise - and strength training - climbing hills - daily. A week off after a lot of that is probaby way too little. My clients strength train a muscle once a week.
And just calories isn't good enough. You need lots of protein, because your body responds to the exercise by using protein to build and repair muscle, inclduing your heart. You also need a decent amount of fats, lots of anti-oxidants, extra vitamins and minerals.
You're 19. Your body is still growing, and that, along with your basic daily needs, is competing with all your stress and exercise for your limited resources of rest, nutrition and water.