Category: exercise

And my brief, recent medical history

Medical History

During the pandemic (2020) I developed insomnia. I can go to sleep fine, but wake up after 4 hours or so and can’t get back to sleep for 1 to 2 hours, if at all. My work performance dropped. I became irritable. I had trouble concentrating or remembering things. I had a “fog” over my brain. I did my Googling with my symptoms and convinced myself I had diabetes.

Diagnosis

I went to the doctor in fall 2021 and plead my case and symptoms and at the end he says “You don’t have diabetes. You have depression.” I had major clinical depression a decade before. (I was on drugs for a year and then got off and was fine.) He thought maybe a sleep study would be a good idea, but we decided to try drugs and see how it goes.

So he gives me an antidepressant and sleeping pills (also an antidepressant). I somewhat get better. The fog goes away quickly. But I don’t like the sleeping pills. Even though I sleep through the night, sleeping for 8-9 hours on them feels worse than 7 hours without. But it’s better than 4-6 hours, but I don’t need them every night, but I don’t know when I’ll need them until it’s too late to take them.

I’m generally better now, but my sleep insomnia is back, and I feel tired all the time. I’m irritable again and have headaches. I stopped exercising altogether in October, but before stopping I was down to one day a week for months with another “break” in the spring, because it makes me feel even more tired for days afterwards.

I went in for a routine annual physical and when I got the blood work results, it says I have high CO2 in my blood. I looked it up online and it said it could be caused by sleep apnea. I remembered his thoughts earlier about a sleep study and being tired now, so I asked him if he thought we should try it now and he agreed.

I met with the specialist and they gave me an at home test. You wear yourself and connect to an app on your phone and it uploads the data they can look at. I have mild sleep apnea. They look at two numbers. One of mine was not normal but the other was. But they won’t do anything for it because the bad number isn’t a risk for heart problems and it’s mild. She said she doesn’t think sleep apnea is the cause of my problems. An expensive $750 to learn this, but at least we can rule it out.

I’d heard the commercials on the sports talk radio shows about low testosterone. Some of the symptoms match so I went in. They did a blood test and yes, I have low testosterone. I was about 250 (300+ is normal) and 225 (they test twice on different days for confirmation). My free testosterone was about 5.5 (normal 2-5).

Treatment

So I started testosterone injections. I’ve done 3 now. Improvements can be in as little as 2 weeks, but most guys are 6-10 weeks. My sleep has improved somewhat. I started exercising again multiple times a week. So, I’m trending in the right direction. I have to get another blood work done in a few weeks to monitor for possible complications and maybe an adjustment in dosage. They start everyone at 180mg per week and then adjust.

The symptoms of low testosterone (low T) are:

• Breast enlargement
• Low sex drive
• Trouble getting an erection
• Low sperm count
• Fertility issues
• Bone weakness
• Irritability or trouble concentrating*
• Hair loss
• Depression*
• Loss of muscle mass
• Fatigue*
• Hot flashes

* = my symptoms

Advice for Others

So guys, if you are having these problems, maybe think about getting tested. It’s just a blood test. I got a PSA number as well, so kinda killed two needs with one blood test.

There are possible complications, so please read up on them and consult with your doctor. It may not be a good option if you have other health concerns (heart related specifically).

I always knew I “should.” I tried running a few times, but had to stop due to an injury. I finally got some insoles that solved the problem and just kept going. Then the doctor story kind of made it permanent. This Web Comic The Oatmeal is also a factor. Not that I was ever super overweight, but running from my past of being super unhealthy.

I was just going 5k 3 times a week for a few years, and wanted to do more and had some more time, so I thought about doing a 10k, but that didn’t feel like a challenge, so I pushed for a half marathon. Then covid happened. I kept up with the training, but shortly before the race got bored of running. Training runs for 3 or 4 hours around the same trails around the neighborhood gets so boring.

I’d always wanted to try cycling, so I bough a used bike and gear off Amazon and went. I intended to keep running, but cycling was too much fun so that fell away quickly, much to my regret now. I got into Zwift and did an online racing team and got super in shape. So I cycled so much I actually put myself into overtraining syndrome and had to take a several month break. Yah, too much exercise is also bad. Then I recovered and trained for a 100 mile ride I did last September (5:45 hours:minutes). Then wanted to do more, and again went into overtraining syndrome. After another few months break, I’m starting up again and adding running to try and keep more balanced. Also, since cycling so so low impact, the running impact helps with bone strength.

After starting CB, I got super motivated to lose the “last 5 pounds” that I’ve been struggling with for months. I’m almost to exact ideal weight for the first time in decades. Partially, I also wanted to get into shape to entice the wife. That didn’t work. But I figured if she divorced me, at least I’d be in good shape to attract suitors then too.

If you’re interested in starting to run, I recommend the Couch To 5k (C25K) program. It’s fantastic. There are many apps and you can get some for free to help keep track. Get some new running shoes. If you can, go to a running store and tell them what you’re doing and have them watch your gait while running. This will really help prevent injuries. Stretch for 10 minutes after each run. I could get a 5k run in, 5 minute warm-up and cool-down, and 10 minute stretch in under an hour.

I’m happy to chat more about running or cycling if you’d like any advice. I’ll try my best to help you, but I’m no expert or coach.