Haven't been here in a while, forgot to check back in. Thanks for all the responses that keep coming in. I will respond to as much as I can.
I don't think so...We feel as though symptoms would be getting much, much worse over the past 18 months if this were the case.
I appreciate this response, since this has been my line of thinking throughout for the most part. I have "overtrained" before and felt the effects and been anemic, and yes, a few weeks off got me back and feeling great. I also agree there was probably some overtraining but compounded with something else that was going on.
I did notice some muscle loss when I was still training through it, and I put on a bunch of weight (fat; I was noticeably less lean than usual). And now, I still try to lift and do some other things but I get really tired easily and feel like I can't even put on any muscle if I really tried to.
quote]vu2max wrote:
I admire your persistence. Keep fighting and you'll win through somehow.
Is there any type of physical exertion that makes you feel better at the end of it than you did at the beginning?
Suppose I'm your coach, and you arrive at workout feeling terrible, and it's clear that it would not be in your best interests to go to lactic limbo. Therefore I ask you to take the next 60 minutes to do whatever you can to make yourself feel better physically.
Some people I know would jog very easily for an hour. Others would do strides (stride out, walk back, stride out, walk back). I know people who really enjoy doing drills where they "bounce" (eg A-skips, B-skips), these seem fun to them. Some people lift. Maybe an hour of stretching alone in a quiet place with no distraction. Of course it's possible that the best thing might be a 60-minute nap, or something passive like sitting in a hot tub or sauna.
What would you do, right now?[/quote]
I would most likely do yoga or something similar. Exercise literally just knocks me out. It feels "good" to go out and jog for a little bit since it's a break from the usual, but I hurt physically and I get exhausted quickly.
All is the same, no improvement. I run about 15-20 minutes 5 days a week (have a knee injury and still trying to figure that out, but can run a little bit) although it's extremely hard to muster up the motivation to even go out and do that.
Sleep is truly awful. I have not woken up feeling refreshed in at least a year. This is a typical day now in terms of sleep:
4:00-6:00pm - feel really tired, like I could go to bed right there
9-10:00 - start to "wake up" and can't shut down to go to sleep.
Usually up until at least 1 or 2, finding things to do, not tired.
When I fall asleep I usually wake up at last twice, usually more often than that.
Late morning typically dead tired and need a nap. I find myself biting my nails and grinding my teeth often. Anxiety. REPEAT. ENDLESS CYCLE.
I'm thinking about trying to get on some kind of sleep aid like Ambien or Lunesta - something that can knock me out and get restful, uninterrupted sleep and still wake up on a schedule. This used to not be the case. I would sleep soundly almost every night.
No. I drink one cup of coffee per week at church.
Some have suggested celiac, others say no way. I have definitely considered the gluten free approach, and am currently trying to plan out and transition over to that to see how it goes. My only question regarding that is, wouldn't that have been present my entire life? I'm willing to try anything though, so I will surely give it a shot. Not easy, but worth it.