Handing my blog over to Kel again for the next chapter in her story, take it away Kel...
Give Me A Break! by Kellie Gibson
This
is a follow up of the blog I wrote back in April ("Finding Me Again"). I had envisaged by now I would be writing about how I
had sorted all of my health issues, was feeling great with an abundance of
energy and was enjoying my running again.
Unfortunately the road has been pretty rocky and although I have
experienced some valuable steps forward in my journey, I have taken some
backwards as well. The positive in all of this is that I am learning so much in
the process.
Not
long after I wrote the last blog I started seeing a Naturopath, I wrote out a
long timeline for her listing all of the symptoms and events dating back to
November 2013 when the wheels slowly started to fall off. Seeing it all written out was a massive
reality for me and reinforced how hard it had all hit me. Starting with a DNF
in my first Ultra, a sudden break out of cystic acne for the first time in my
life at the age of 31 and a host of injuries including foot, ankle and ITB that
left me sidelined on and off for over 6 months. The alarm bells now scream to
me that these were major signs of hormone imbalance, a topic which is largely
unspoken about in the running world (however I found it quite assuring that so
many people had contacted me after my last blog that were able to relate to the
issue of hormone imbalance).
As
I spoke about in my last blog I had taken antibiotics long term that my Dr had
prescribed for the acne (Minocycline and Doxycycline) as well as an Oral
Contraceptive Pill (OCP)(Zoely). My performance was really up and down through
this period but with the addition of a coach I felt I would build up to running
well again which I did for a little while but then around the same time my
antibiotic was changed to Doxycycline in November last year my health took a
massive turn. Even after taking myself off Doxycycline due to the awful side
effects after a month I saw a bit of improvement but not much.
Fatigue
started to set in more and more in early 2015, my legs would constantly ache
even with a week of rest and cutting my running in half. I was constantly
having to ask my coach for extra days off, for extra easy runs to the point
where all I could manage was slow easy runs, I could no longer follow a
program. My easy pace continued to get slower and slower and my training heart
rate was always really high and would often be really erratic shooting up and
down. During this same time though my resting heart rate was quite low which to
me was a good sign I was fit. I had well
meaning people telling me not to wear my HR monitor because it was probably
messing with my head too much and that it may be a good thing just to not worry
about it. My intuition told me
otherwise, this had to be a sign that something was wrong particularly as it
came with feelings of extreme heavy legs while running, the only way I could
describe it was as though someone had filled my legs full of sand or lead,
lifting my leg each step I took was a huge effort and my body did not feel like
my own. In addition to this I always crashed hard after each run even at easy
pace but then again easy pace was just not easy pace anymore, it was hard to
even run at that pace! I ended up postponing my coaching until I could sort out
what was going on. I think intuition is such an important thing as a runner, no
one truly knows your body like you know your own and I felt like no matter how
I described it no one got it. I guess
the most frustrating part was that so many tests kept coming back clear and in
the normal ranges so I had no answers and just kept battling on hoping it would
all pass.
After
I received some test results in early April it was revealed that my
testosterone level was reduced by 75% from a previous test I had, the issue of
hormone imbalance was now becoming very clear.
My Dr assured me that while it was alarming, it was quite normal for testosterone
to lower while on the OCP. This did not
sit right with me nor did the fact that I had been told that it was ok that my
monthly cycle had been missing for the last 8 months while on this OCP and that
it was also normal for women taking that pill, so I took myself off it. Unbelievably my cycle returned within 3 days
after I stopped taking it and it has been regular every month since. I had
never had problems with my cycle until I was prescribed Zoely even in the
earlier days when I was able to train at a much higher load it was always
normal.
The major catalyst for
me was finding the e-book “Healing The Grumpy Athlete” by Katee Pedicini. I was on Facebook one day and it came up in
my newsfeed as a suggested post. I clicked
on it immediately as the following words resonated with me: “If you’ve ever; • Experienced burn out • Suffered
adrenal or chronic fatigue • Hormonal imbalance or loss of menstural
cycle • Suffer terrible PMS that interferes with your training and
life • Lost of love of triathlon due to lack of progress or performance.
Even though it was Triathlon focused I knew there would be some valuable
information in there for me and there was!
I had toyed with the idea of
seeing a Naturopath for some time now but this book really inspired me to do
so. Even though progress has been slow I am so glad I did. I felt so positive
after my first visit to my Naturopath Jolene, we sat down and looked at the
timeline that I had written out and her first response was that she believed
that the acne had been a sign of hormone imbalance and that the medication I
had been put on had masked those symptoms rather than addressed them and had
caused a whole other set of issues for me as well.
It seemed that the antibiotics had
caused a range of gut issues. First of
all long term antibiotic use disrupts the balance of good and bad bacteria in
the gut and the ‘bad guys’ take over. In
addition to this a gut which has become inflamed becomes very porous and as a
result will allow large food proteins, bacteria, metals and toxic substances
straight into our blood stream that should not be there rather than allowing
them to pass through the digestive tract as they normally would causing
widespread inflammation throughout the body. This is the basis of "Leaky
Gut Syndrome" and the OCP as well as other medications can also contribute
to this.
So I started a program which consisted
of basically killing off the bacteria in my gut. And then after my second visit
I started the process of rebuilding the good bacteria in my gut and healing the
lining of the gut. There is a lot of information out there now about what a
massive role out gut health plays in our overall health. I was also given herbs for adrenal support as
my adrenal glands were suffering as a result of the stress placed on my body
with everything that was going on with my health. The problem with stress is that the body
doesn’t differentiate different forms of stress so whether it be that you are
stressed because you are being chased by a tiger or whether it is digestive
stress or any other kind of stress you body reacts in exactly the same manner.
To our body, stress is stress and it deals with all of it in exactly the same
way. Adrenaline and cortisol are stress hormones released by our adrenal glands
and when cortisol is high for a long period of time it can cause our adrenals
to become fatigued and our stress hormones do not work like they should
resulting in unrelenting fatigue and imbalance of other hormones. Six weeks
into my program I was starting to feel fantastic in addressing these issues, I
was still struggling with my running performance but I knew that if I kept
moving forward it would all start improving and that I just needed to be
patient. Part of having leaky gut means that your body also has trouble
assimilating nutrients from foods and once I was able to absorb my nutrients
more effectively Jolene was sure that my performance would start to pick up.
During a family holiday in July my
digestion took a really bad turn, even though I was so conscious about continuing
to eat good quality and healing foods while I was away. I was becoming severely
bloated throughout the day, not only was it embarrassing but by the end of the
day none of the pants I had taken would do up and it was very painful and
uncomfortable. My energy also took
another nosedive around that time. I did very little running while I was away
and focused on family time and more gentle activity with my boys as I felt I
needed some recovery time. When I came back I saw my Naturopath who thought my
symptoms sounded very much like SIBO which is when bacteria moves down the
digestive tract into the small intestine that causes bloating, this is often
secondary to Leaky Gut, can be very hard to treat and can take some time.
After chatting to colleagues about my
case Jolene asked me if I had heard of Overtraining Syndrome. This was a term
that had recently come up a fair bit in the running networks I was associated
with. I could certainly relate to some of the symptoms, but I could never get
my head around it as a diagnosis as I really did not feel that the training I
had been doing was enough to warrant Overtraining Syndrome. When we chatted about it Jolene pointed out
that the name was probably a little misleading in my case, however with the
medication I was taking it had put my body into a very compromised state where
trying to keep up my normal training load whilst being so compromised had
placed a great deal of stress on my body.
Add to that being a busy mum, running my own business and having very
little down time and it could certainly be an answer. I was also told that
based on my level of antibiotic use and my set of symptoms that my gut issues would
take at least a year to heal.
Taking this into account I decided to
keep running to a minimum I have only been running once or twice a week, some
weeks I haven’t ran at all because I haven’t felt up to it. One big positive
for me has been starting Body Balance classes at Cityfit, my friend Shan
dragged me along to one, I was quite resistant in the beginning but I loved it!
I have been doing 3 classes a week for the last few months and I am noticing
some improvements the more I do. I really enjoy the classes and I feel that
they are going to help me get some strength back as I am feeling quite weak at
the moment which is most likely due to hormone imbalance. Its amazing what role hormones play in our
bodies, a role which I never appreciated until things started to go wrong. I
had no idea I even had hormones when they were working their magic and were in
harmony but since they became unbalanced they have really affected my
wellbeing.
The last 4 months have been tough, I
have spent most days gradually getting more and more bloated and uncomfortable
as the day goes on whilst dealing with my digestive issues, I have developed
many food intolerances, my blood pressure has been high (150/100 just last
month but thankfully normal again for now), running is still hard and my legs
still feel like they are full of lead despite cutting it right back and if I
push it too hard when I run I break out in hives, unexplained aches and pain, my
hair is falling out and has been for over 6 months and fighting the fatigue is still
a daily ritual. The hardest part is that it is hard to escape the symptoms it
is always there, feeling tired and crappy and being in pain, its really hard to
remove myself from it most days and it is hard for others to understand. After
going from being someone who was very fit and healthy to this has hit me so
hard, it has been 2 years in November since things started to go pear shaped
but it feels like eternity. I have been gaining weight even though I have been
eating really well and being as active as I can given my situation, it is
frustrating as I have been around the same weight for about 10 years now even
after having 2 kids, all the things I am used to doing to maintain my weight
are not working but I just have to keep doing what I can to get my hormones
back on track so my body can function effectively and so I fit back into my
clothes (I really hope no one takes this the wrong way or takes any offence to
it, it is just something that has happened that is unusual for me, I am still
very much within a healthy weight range but have gained 7kg over the last 2
years and my body composition has changed as well, half of it crept on
gradually while the other half has gone on much quicker, to put it in
perspective that is just over 12% of my previous body weight gained with no
real change in my diet, my weight in no way defines me but I have lots of
beautiful clothes that I would love to wear again). With all of the above going
on it can be really hard not to get caught up the whole cycle of stress. I am
finding that my Body Balance classes really help with this, I always look
forward to that 10 minutes of meditation/relaxation at the end!
I had an experience of going to a new
Doctor a couple of months ago to see if I could have some of my hormone levels and
thyroid retested to see where they were at after being off the OCP for 6 months…
only to be told off by her and accused of only wanting testosterone tested so
that she would prescribe me some! I couldn’t believe it… I basically ran out of
there in tears! In the end I went back to my original Doctor as he knew my
history, he ordered some of the tests but not others so there were pieces of
the puzzle missing. It is hard living in a regional area as we do not have
access to a lot of the functional testing I was after and many Doctors are not
supportive of it and will not order the tests. My Doctor Requested a scan on my
ovaries to rule out Polycystic Ovaries being the cause of my bloating, during the
scan I was told by the Ultrasonographer that my ovaries were polycystic, I
spent 3 whole days getting my head around this before the report that came back
from the specialist revealed that I did not have polycystic ovaries. So much
frustration and still no real answers! All of the tests my Doctor ordered all
came back in the normal ranges too. One
interesting point was though that my iron and ferritin were in the Doctors
normal ranges however when my Naturopath saw the figures she was concerned abut
how low my iron and ferritin was for a female my age despite it being in the
normal ranges (which are very broad figures) so we have begun the process of
trying to boost this. I was a bit surprised about this as my previous values
had always been high and so high that they were always just outside the normal
range.
A couple of weeks ago I decided to
still run the Hounslow 23km SkyRace that I had registered for a long time ago
even though I had not really been able to train. I knew it was a tough course
and that I would have to hike a lot of it anyway and I knew with everything had
been going through I was mentally tough enough to get through it. I got through
it and it was tough, I switched between running and walking for the first 8km
and after that it became apparent that if I wanted to finish this then I would
have to hike it as I didn’t have it in my legs to run. I even had to hike down
stairs and on flats that were completely runnable, I just couldn’t run! I
managed to finish in 5 hours which is a long day out for 23km. The course was tough, very rugged with around
2000m elevation gain and loss. As tough
as it was I absolutely loved every minute of it as I love being out on the
trails and these were among the most beautiful trails I have seen, I was just
so happy to be there! I was really proud to finish this one… BUT I fell into a
massive heap the day after, similar to the way I did in the days after I ran
the Sky26er at the Buffalo Stampede earlier in the year but worse. I was a mess more so emotionally than
physically (although the physical signs were definitely there too). It left me
questioning why am I doing this to myself? It’s a tough thing because I love it
but it used to be so much easier!
Someone said to me a couple of days after this race, “good on you, you
must be so strong to be able to do that considering what you have been
through”. Even though it was intended as a compliment it really got me
thinking… Yeah it took a lot of strength both physically and mentally, BUT is
strong really a positive thing when it comes to this? Is it worth it to fall
into a complete emotional heap for a week all because I chose to do a race that
was well beyond my means for where I am at with my health?... NO its not! However,
it IS ok not to be strong, it IS ok to miss out on something you love if it is
at the sacrifice of your wellbeing. It has come with a massive realisation to me
that this kind of thing is placing further stress on my body at the moment as I
am trying to heal and it is working against everything I am working so hard for
with my health.
 |
| Almost there... nearing the end of the big climb to finish the Hounslow Classic 23km SkyRace |
The last 2 weeks have bought about some
massive revelations for me. Some of my reading has led me to a book by Dr
Philip Maffetone called “The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing” a book
which myself and Wes have taken a bit of interest in of late. Chapter 8 has changed a lot for me just in
this last week. The Chapter titled
“Overtraining Syndrome” caught my attention particularly after my Naturopath
Jolene’s thoughts. The points in this
chapter that really stood out the most for me and that I could relate to are:
- Training = Work + Rest
- The condition can vary considerably from one athlete to another including its signs, symptoms and onset.
- The big picture is not just the more obvious components.
- The negative consequences are often gradual. The body is quite good at masking the earliest symptoms.
- Early signs can be poor athletic performance, regression, structural injuries particularly foot, ankle and lower back, muscle imbalance, metabolic problems such at fatigue.
- The signs and symptoms go beyond training and competition problems, they can even affect a person’s quality of life, sometimes for many years.
- In the earliest stage the problems are somewhat vague and indistinct. While we think of it as being only sports related, other lifestyle factors may contribute to the cause. Increased work, family or job stress, social obligations, raising children, lack of sleep and other factors can significantly and indirectly contribute to overtraining.
- Pain whether mild or severe may have no positive findings on X-Ray or MRI. Significant fatigue or diminishing performance may exist despite normal values in all blood, urine and other tests. This contributes to serious frustration in the athlete who goes from one health care professional to another looking for a diagnosis
- Interestingly the first stage of overtraining can be accompanied by a short-lived improvement in performance which may convince one that training is progressing well.
- Overreaching is an important part of becoming a better athlete but without backing off, many athletes continue pushing down the road to overtraining.
- Heart Rate Variability reflects autonomic imbalance.
- The first stage of overtraining is usually accompanied by two other functional problems. The first is adrenal dysfunction and aerobic deficiency. Fatigue, physical injury, sleeping irregularities, abnormal hunger or cravings. Some athletes may be unable to lose body fat, get sleepy after meals and have an uncanny craving for caffeine.
- Amenorrhea in women
- Emotional stress
- High cortisol can increase insulin levels which reduce fat burning and increase fat storage. In addition high cortisol lowers testosterone and DHEA which are both important for muscle recovery. Those who frequently wake in the middle of the night and don’t easily fall back to sleep typically have high cortisol levels which is another sign of overtraining.
- Eventually the body becomes exhausted and many hormones are significantly reduced.
- Performance may diminish considerably and many athletes in this state consider themselves sidelined or even retire. They are chronically fatigued and cannot keep up their normal training or race paces.
- Training heart rate is high even though there is an abnormally low resting heart rate.
- Recovery and return to previous optimal levels of performance is a very difficult task.
- Important elements of recovery are to decrease training, immediately cease all anaerobic training and competition. A helpful remedy is walking which can gently stimulate circulation and aerobic muscles and offers mental benefits much like those of meditation as well as redeveloping the aerobic system.
- Athletes will require six months or more and sometimes a year or two before resuming effective competition.
I was shocked to
read this and to be able to relate so strongly to so many symptoms. There is no
specific test for Overtraining Syndrome as such but with the amount of light
bulb moments I had upon reading this chapter one thing is for sure, whether it
is specifically this or not, its time for a big rest! Even though I have
already cut back so much my body needs a complete break. I have decided to take
the next 3 months off running completely, and more if I feel I need it after
that point, with a very gradual return when the time is right. It was a very tough
choice to have to make but what I believe is a smart one. In this time I plan
to go for walks with my dog Reuben (this will keep him very happy!), continue
to do my Body Balance classes and some strength work, exercise is still really
important to my recovery and I want to be as strong as possible when I am able
to return, but I need to drop the intensity and keep my heart rate down. If I
am to be completely true to myself, I know this is what I need. The biggest
thing I will probably miss is my Saturday morning run with my friend Shan, who
has been an awesome support to me while things have been tough, but being the
good friend she is I know she will be waiting for me when I am ready to return.
As much as I love
running there is so much more to my life than just running. First and foremost I am a mum and if I am
constantly fatigued and not operating at an optimal level then I can’t possibly
keep up with the demands of being the mum that I want to be to my two beautiful
boys. I have my own business that I am currently finding it hard to keep up
with (in reality I am living the dream here, I work from home with hours that
suit me around my families commitments as well as my own and I am doing a job
that allows me to be creative and that I love).
I have so many positive things in my life and I need to get back to
optimal health so I can enjoy these things more. I want running to be a part of
my life and there was a time when I enjoyed it and found it to be an outlet, I
saw it as time out… the trouble is our body sees running as a stress and with adequate
rest and recovery responds positively but without adequate recovery and
additional stress our body never truly gets the chance to recover. I will know
when its time to get back into it and I look forward to waking up with energy
again, to be able to one day run freely again, to be enjoying it again and to be
able have that awesome feeling you get when you get a PB again.
What have I
learned from all of this? Listen to your body, symptoms are your body’s way of
trying to tell you something, we know our own body better than anyone. If you don’t get the answers and your
intuition tells you otherwise then you need to keep digging! Medication was not
the answer for me, it was a band-aid solution and it might have masked the
symptoms and appeared to make them go away… but when I ripped the band-aid off
the problem was still there, and then some… a tough lesson to learn! But in
saying this I have learned that I am ultimately responsible for my health and I
do not have to take medication just because my Dr prescribes it, most
medications don’t come with warning labels unfortunately and it is up to me to do
the research before I put anything into my body. I often wonder what effects
medications have on runners and athletes, there is no information out there but
I would be very interested to know how it directly affects those with higher
volumes of training compared to the average person, I feel in my situation that
it did have a huge impact. I hope someone does a study on this one day, I can
tell you one thing though… I won’t be putting that horrible stuff back into my
body to participate in such a study! Another lesson learned is that in running,
recovery is key! I need to give recovery the respect it deserves after running
and particularly racing, I always thought I did but now I know I can do so much
more… as Maffetone says Training = Work + Rest. Overtraining Syndrome is not as
clear cut as the name suggests, I like to look at it as Overcommitment Syndrome
as I feel many factors outside training can also have an impact on the whole
picture. Our limits vary so much from person to person, one person may be able
to do twice as much as another before falling into this trap, I need to know MY
limit. The most important thing I have learned is that while running is fun, it
is not the be all and end all, my family and my health will always come first.
I am super lucky to have an amazing husband who supports me through all of
this, he sees the lowest of the lows, he sees so much more than the brave face
I have put on for everyone else when its really all been just too overwhelming.
The reality is that even with a positive outlook, when things go on for a long
time sometimes negativity creeps in, I am making a promise to myself to stay
positive and to trust the process. We can’t all be superhuman all of the time
and I am OK with that, I don’t really want to be… I just want to be healthy and
able to live life and enjoy the people and things I love.
