View Full Version : Post viral lassitude and getting going again
thinpin
05-14-2012, 03:07 AM
In the middle of January I had a week where I experienced bad muscle and joint pains. I felt generally unwell with night sweats etc and munched paracetamol (acetaminophen) to get me through what I thought was the start to the 'flu (my first in nearly 20 yrs). It passed and I thought that was that. But I could not seem to get going on the bike. Day to day living was fine but up the pace a little and I felt my tank was plain dry. This went on for a few weeks till I caught up with friends who had been on an overnight trek with me. 5 of us had experienced similar symptoms and in the end a provisional diagnosis of barmah virus was made, a local nasty transmitted by mosquito.
http://ideas.health.vic.gov.au/diseases/ross-river-and-barmah-forest-virus.asp
The others got over the infection but the fatigue and muscle stiffness seemed to drag on with me.
Eventually I had to stop fighting it and took 2 weeks complete rest. I stayed away from the bike for almost 4 weeks after grinding to a complete halt on one ride.
Now back in the saddle again I'm worried about triggering the fatigue. Its like I have not been riding in years, but my lack of form I'm putting down to lack of fitness. The feeling is quite different to the complete lack of energy I experienced following the virus.
Has anyone else experienced a post viral syndrome like this? How did you manage? How easy should I take things or how will I know when to push it. While out riding with Weisan the other day he suggested a lot of the recovery is mental also. He has a point I believe.
Sorry about the long winded post.
weisan
05-14-2012, 03:39 AM
thin-pal, I don't have any advice to offer except to say I am sorry that it's been a long road to recovery. I hope with time, the motivation and the strength will come back. Let's catch up a few more times on the bike before I go...and before you get way too strong and fast for me again.
rustychisel
05-14-2012, 03:41 AM
I have very little to help but share your frustrations... just listen to your body.
this is the age of debilitating viruses, apparently, there seem more and more of them. Some come and go, some clear up, some linger for ages - or years.
In all cases you need to rest, and rest, and assess we're you're at. In all cases pushing yourself too hard will bring tiredness and lethargy, if not a recurrence. If you're doing okay in daily life then try riding, but take it easy. If you get to the mid-afternoon and you've run out of energy then riding is not going to be good.
Again, I can't help specifically, but don't 'push through it'. Manage it.
Ginger
05-14-2012, 05:19 AM
I had a bout of Lymes disease back in the 90s and (caught it early and did the antibiotics, so no long term debilitation, but was still a weak mess afterwards...) anyhow...
After getting over the bug and the antibiotics which took the standard 8-16 weeks any injury takes, it took another good four months to feel anything like I did before I was sick. And being able to put together back to back rides in a week took another couple months as I regained fitness. I don't think I rode another century until 6 months after THAT.
Two things. There's the injury of the illness, so you have to give yourself time for that. If you really have cleared it out of your system, 8-15 weeks.
Then there's the regaining fitness. You have to treat yourself like you'd treat a newbie. Start with five to ten mile rides at an easy pace a couple times a week with a good rest day in between.
Yes, it seems silly to start so slow, but treat it like a real recovery from injury and you'll come back faster than a newbie getting into cycling thanks to your muscle memory. One day, you'll still feel like garbage, but you'll have finished your ride and you'll be able to function the next day and that will seem like the most fabulous thing!
(If I go further back in my history, in college I had a case of mononucleosis (sp) that took about a year to get over...that goes along with your link's description: "Some people will recover fully in three months and most within one year." It sounds like you're still well within the expected recovery period.)
It's not in your head, you really are still sick in a way, but only you can really tell how far you've come in your recovery.
Good luck!
thinpin
05-15-2012, 04:06 AM
I hope with time, the motivation and the strength will come back
Weisan, the motivation is there all right, the full Alpine Classic in my 50th year!
Rusty, seems like you may have been somewhere similar before? I listen to the body but making sense of the info is difficult. Im eating so much on the bike now, always so hungry. Like I have no fuel in my muscles. This I hope tells me I just need to get lots of base kms in.
During the post viral stage (assuming I'm through it) I had no desire to eat and didn't feel I needed it. I was hardly expending any energy.
Ginger, Lymes is another nasty! Though treatable with antibiotics, I believe its after effects are prolonged. Hearing you made a good recovery is encouraging. I hope I don't need to drop to 10km rides. That will rule my commute out!
Ginger
05-15-2012, 05:34 AM
Weisan, the motivation is there all right, the full Alpine Classic in my 50th year!
Rusty, seems like you may have been somewhere similar before? I listen to the body but making sense of the info is difficult. Im eating so much on the bike now, always so hungry. Like I have no fuel in my muscles. This I hope tells me I just need to get lots of base kms in.
During the post viral stage (assuming I'm through it) I had no desire to eat and didn't feel I needed it. I was hardly expending any energy.
Ginger, Lymes is another nasty! Though treatable with antibiotics, I believe its after effects are prolonged. Hearing you made a good recovery is encouraging. I hope I don't need to drop to 10km rides. That will rule my commute out!
Yeah...I didn't commute for a while.
That said, if you're hungry and eating and not feeling like you're getting any nutrients, have yourself checked for Coeliac. If you're genetically disposed, a nasty virus or injury can make it present itself.
The whole, eating lots but not feeling like I have any fuel in my body is one of the things I remember pre-diagnosis with the Coeliac. (Yes. Evidently, I have all the fun...)
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