So I went to the Doctor

[WesleyInman]

Yesterday, just generally feeling poor, couldn't wake up very very tired, so I went for a checkup.

All my blood work came back great EXCEPT my CPK levels. A normal individuals levels are 0-150. A weightlifters re 300-400 on a high scale. Mine were 3000!!!

So they admitted me to the hospital for the day. I tried explaining to them that I had a strength competition earlier in the week, but they said that it was amazingly stressful on my kidneys....I had been feeling very sore and very very weak all week. The doctor says high amounts of stress help lead to this.

So after hours of IV water and some IV meds, I went back to normal. They told me that CPK shows the level of skeletal muscle breakdown damage, and it is reflected in the kidneys. I didn't think I was overtraining...and my water intake was ok...

Any ideas?? Anyone experience this before??

[Justin Warren]

That's crazy. I've never heard of anything like that. Hope you feel better soon.

[Lesley Gardiner]

Suppose it could be overtraining but I'm not sure. How often are they going to monitor the CPK levels?

I hope you are feeling better soon!

[Brandon Smith]

Wes,

Wow man, please take care of yourself and hopefully this will fix itself. Please let me know if you need anything at all.

[WesleyInman]

Suppose it could be overtraining but I'm not sure. How often are they going to monitor the CPK levels?

I hope you are feeling better soon!


They went to normal with IV fluids, I guess I just needed more rest and elecrolytes than normal...I feel better today, but Im always sore, and I always train very heavy, so I just figured the two were hand in hand...

The doctor said the more muscle you carry on your frame, the more likely this is to happen, problem is that is bad for your kidneys. Top it off with stress and thats it...He did tell me that once he saw a strongman with CPK levels of 12,000. Im just glad everything else was ok, and CPK didn't throw off others

[Ryan Brown]

wesley, you may also want to think about whether your diet can be affecting this. I seem to recall you taking in a fairly crazy-high amount of protein. That will also stress the kidneys

[Jay Hagadorn]

Wes-

I ALWAYS have those exact same symptoms for a week after every comp I do. I have never had my blood tested after a comp though...

[IdrisH.]

wesley, you may also want to think about whether your diet can be affecting this. I seem to recall you taking in a fairly crazy-high amount of protein. That will also stress the kidneys

I have to agree with Ryan on this one Wesley. Hope you feel better soon. :)

[Tom Mutaffis]

Never thought of this and always figured it was just CNS strain but this could partially be why I am such a wreck after heavy training sessions sometimes. Guess you just need to make sure you are really drinking enough water, and sleeping a lot.

I would say that your body does a lot of recovery when sleeping and I know that you only sleep 2-3 hours a night - obviously I am not a doctor but that may have been a contributing factor since you were unable to process and recover.

Hope you feel better... take it easy for a few days and get some couch time.

[rogersmith]

I'm pretty sure it's called rhambdomyolysis. It's caused by excessive exercise and muscle breakdown. It's seen the most in prison inmates. It's often combined with dehydration.

[WesleyInman]

I'm pretty sure it's called rhambdomyolysis. It's caused by excessive exercise and muscle breakdown. It's seen the most in prison inmates. It's often combined with dehydration.


Thats exactly right, this is what the diagnosis was.

I didn't think staying at the hospital all day was appropriate, but the IV fluids got my levels back to normal quick, and the sleeping meds they gave me allowed me to sleep 18 hours straight..which I desperately needed..The combination of lack of sleep (as tom pointed out I have no control of with a newborn), Dehydration, and training excessively...Basically extreme physical exhaustion....

I figured pointing this out to athletes here might be a good idea, because I never knew how bad this condition is on your kidneys, enough to be hospitalized, I was shocked...Im feeling fine now, thanx for all the get better wishes...

So hopefully everyone gets plenty of fluids, electrolytes, sleep and exercise rest after a comp:)

[Gags]

glad you're feeling better, i know they talk about rhadbo alot on the crossfit site

[Brandon Campbell]

so basically the moral of the story is, IV's are a good idea after coming off a heavy training week? lol

Start a new trend of IV rehydration after contests and hard workouts hehe :LOL:

although kudos to you for pushing your body to the limits this type of thing is usually found in crush injuries and marathon runners. rest up and you will come back stronger

This is why i sleep constantly