Don't Panic
Does anyone know the symptoms of over-training, over-reaching, and/or chronic fatigue? I've got these...
- Mood disturbances, Anger, Depression
- changes in blood chemistry
- high resting heart rate
- sleep disturbances, chronic fatigue, insomnia
- reduction in performance
- Lack of motivation
I know I'm over-training, I was pretty toasted after the Sebring 24 hour event, so I took two weeks off and then returned slowly. The first two weeks of my RAAM preparation were difficult, but I completed them. I was feeling much better after my recovery week, but I spent the next week trying to do Zone 5 intervals and I just couldn't do it. The week after that, I did one ride. I ran some errands on the bike and then rode in to DC for our team photo shoot. I was out for about 7 hours, but I was probably only pedaling for 6 hours, and some of that I was just noodling around DC site-seeing.
This week has been a rest week, but I got a message on Monday night that my blood work was "irregular". My AST and ALT were elevated. These are tests to check liver function. As a precaution, my doctors decided to discontinue my anti-hypertension medication - Cozaar. I've dropped my dosage from 50 mg/day to 25mg/day in the process of tapering the medication. My blood pressure has shot up (159/99) and now I feel like killing myself. I cannot escape the pain. Tylenol doesn't work, nothing works. It used to be I could jump on the bike for an hour and I would feel great. I haven't been sleeping well to begin with and I'll likely be up all night because of this.
I have this fear that maybe my original kidneys are causing the problem and maybe they will have to be removed. If I had to have surgery before RAAM, I've thought about how I would get back into shape for RAAM, I will not let the team down. I've done some research on the Internet and it doesn't look like the kidneys could be causing the problem, but hey, I'm sleep deprived and in pain, I'm not thinking clearly.
Then out of the blue I see an ad for "The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy" and I think - "Don't Panic" So, later today, I'll call the doctor and beg for a new anti-hypertension medication.
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