Constant Dead Legs Feeling

Tested ferritin recently?

Yes, I have been tested for iron deficiency, and my levels are normal

How many grams of carbohydrates do you get per day? If you do not know, ensure you are getting lots. Not sugar. I mean, pasta, grains, rice, etc.

Ck123 wrote:

Hi!

I am a high school female cross country runner--no star or anything, just varsity on my cross country team. I also race the two mile in track. I am going to be a senior this year.

When I was 9 years old, I had severe anorexia and was hospitalized, but I consider myself recovered now. However, over the past year, I have developed a binging problem that is seriously interfering with my running.

I am currently on a high dosage of prozac, and my diet is pretty healthy besides the occasional binges.

For the past couple of months, I have a constant dead leg feeling, and my performance is suffering. My legs feel like bricks, and i can't figure out why.

I am not overtraining--I am running 30-40 miles a week.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Magnesium level? It's very important for runners.

Thanks for the response! I am not sure, but I do eat bread or rice or pasta with every meal

Hmmm I never considered magnesium--I had a blood test recently though, and there was nothing wrong.

Could the prozac cause muscle fatigue? Before taking prozac I remember being much faster.

1.) Dead legs can come from many different sources.

2.) If we are to know what the source of your dead legs issue is, we are going to need to know some information.

A.) What are your race PRS and what has been your weekly schedule from the month of August? (Be sure to include paces and mileage).

B.) How long have you had these dead legs?

C.) As someone said above, what does your typical diet consist of and what is your weight and height?

3.) Giving us this information will give us a muh better idea of what your problem could be.

~Bdot OUT.

Ck123 wrote:

Yes, I have been tested for iron deficiency, and my levels are normal

Normal for a sedentary person or normal for an athlete with history of eating discorders?

Check iron AND ferritin. Test for other things (see an endocrinologist).

tx is right. Although my legs weren't dead, my breathing was very, very heavy, even in easy workouts. My pr is 18:48. I could not finish a 5k race. My ferritin level was a 3, yes a 3! Got on iron, quickly, and I'm back at it. Get a blood test and eliminate the obvious.

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

Ck123 wrote:

Yes, I have been tested for iron deficiency, and my levels are normal

Normal for a sedentary person or normal for an athlete with history of eating discorders?

Check iron AND ferritin. Test for other things (see an endocrinologist).

I would say, stop the prozac intake (gradually if you want), and most importantly, take a break ... maybe a whole week.

Besides, you can try adding some vitamine C to your meals.

NobodySclean wrote:

I would say, stop the prozac intake (gradually if you want), and most importantly, take a break ... maybe a whole week.

Besides, you can try adding some vitamine C to your meals.

Yeah, it doesn't seem to help if you've just gone from anorexia to [exercise] bulimia. Work with your doctor on another treatment, whether it be a different med, therapy or a combo of the two. Or just get another doctor who can recognize that you're still fatigued and binge eating.

Thanks everyone for the responses!

I have an appointment with my doctor next week, and I am getting a blood test to test for iron and ferritin deficiencies.

I am also going to talk to her about stopping the Prozac, as I have heard SSRIs cause fatigue in athletes.

I appreciate every single response!