Maybe I should ask a doctor this....

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2008-09-15 1:33 PM

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Subject: Maybe I should ask a doctor this....

But,

 I was diagnosed with Viral Meningitis last Tuesday, and have been under the weather since then.  I had to pull out of my final race (and my A-race), a Half-Iron up here in good ol' Victoria, BC.

Now, I've gone to 2 different doctors to get separate opinions (one of them dishing out the extremely uncomfortable Lumbar Puncture), and they both said 3-5 days off work/training.  Is this enough time to fully recover? 

Also, I'm supposed to be training with my University's Cross Country team, and the coach hasn't responded to any of the e-mails, and I'm afriad that it's due to me having to miss (at least) the next week of training.  Does anyone with experience with Cross Country teams know if I will still have the time to catch up fitness-wise if I take an extra few days off?

 

These are complicated questions, and I know they're hard to answer when it's based on my personal situation only.  I just feel as the Doctors don't understand my extremely high level of activity (work/school/training), and therefore gave me textbook answers.  I dont want to come back to training while still being weak from the virus.

 Again, tough questions, but any advice/feedback?

Thanks!

Derek

 

2008-09-15 1:57 PM
in reply to: #1675117

Subject: RE: Maybe I should ask a doctor this....

Not a doc, but dude - meningitis can be very serious. Rest and kick that thing. With something like that, I would listen to the docs telling you "no". You don't want it to get worse.

PS - 3-5 days off isn't enough to lose serious fitness. And if your coach is mad that you are missing practice because you have meningitis, then he needs to straighten out his priorities, and frankly, I wouldn't train with someone who didn't take a serious illness like that as an excuse to miss practices. Did you tell him what your diagnosis is?



Edited by wurkit_gurl 2008-09-15 2:00 PM
2008-09-15 2:23 PM
in reply to: #1675179

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Subject: RE: Maybe I should ask a doctor this....
wurkit_gurl - 2008-09-15 10:57 AM

Not a doc, but dude - meningitis can be very serious. Rest and kick that thing. With something like that, I would listen to the docs telling you "no". You don't want it to get worse.

PS - 3-5 days off isn't enough to lose serious fitness. And if your coach is mad that you are missing practice because you have meningitis, then he needs to straighten out his priorities, and frankly, I wouldn't train with someone who didn't take a serious illness like that as an excuse to miss practices. Did you tell him what your diagnosis is?

Depending on how hard you have been training you may actually find yourself a little faster after a week of good rest... I have found myself really mad about missing training due to illness before only to find out I was a bit overtrained and really needed some rest.

 

2008-09-15 2:55 PM
in reply to: #1675117

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Subject: RE: Maybe I should ask a doctor this....

3-5 days is the MINIMUM time off from EASY workouts.

See how you feel.  Some people with meningitis are not sick very long ,others are sick for quite a while.

 

Do not push yourself when you go back into workouts, as you could rebound or catch something else  - 

 

eat right, sleep, take a decent multi vitamin and get plenty of fruits and vegetables -  antioxidants will help your body heal - and the sleep will let your immune system do its job.

 

intense workouts suppress your immune system so anything you can do to build it up will help.

 

*not medical advice even if I am a doc

2008-09-15 3:00 PM
in reply to: #1675117

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Subject: RE: Maybe I should ask a doctor this....
That is a serious medical condition, follow the doctor's advice. Living is peferable to being a very fit corpse.
2008-09-15 3:34 PM
in reply to: #1675117

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Subject: RE: Maybe I should ask a doctor this....
I had viral meningitis my last year of law school and I was completely out of commission for 10 days and then took me quite a while to recover after that. That being said, looks like you are faring better than I did as I was barely able to get out of bed. Take your time getting back. You want to get rid of the virus completely before stressing your body. Hope you feel better!

2008-09-15 9:04 PM
in reply to: #1675117

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Subject: RE: Maybe I should ask a doctor this....

Thanks for the replies everyone.

 I'm still not feeling too superb.  Massive headache and nausea are still there, but I fevered myself out last night and finally got rid of the "spins" I had all day yesterday.

 Just to clarify, I never planned on training "too soon", as I am definitely not worried about fitness, but significantly more about my general health.

I've emailed the coach again, but I'm still waiting on a reply.  Apparently he's terrible at keeping up with e-mail, but I'll stay vigilant.

If he tells me I can't run XC unless I get back to training ASAP, I guess that's it for my XC career (before it even started!).

Anyways, thanks for the replies!
Derek

2008-09-16 12:49 AM
in reply to: #1675117

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Subject: RE: Maybe I should ask a doctor this....
I hear what you are saying about the doc. It's funny, usually they don't listen to us and tell us you take way too long off. In your case, they aren't listening to you and telling you to take way too short off!

Take the time you think you need. If you are generally up and moving pretty well in a week, try a very easy ride (drive somewhere if your normal training route is too hard). That will be low impact, and if you pick a good route, you can bail easily. Then, slooooowly start to get back up where you were. Even if your fitness level doesn't drop after ten days or so off, you need to get your body and nutrition back into the swing of things.

Good for you for listening to yourself and not to outsiders, even if they ARE your docs! Your body will tell you when it is ready, just keep listening.
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