cycling
13. November, 23:31 Uhr
Weird issue when exercising (26M - Endurance Mountain Biker)
Hello! Apologies as I’m on mobile. This is my first time here, but I’m kind of desperate at this point. For starters, I’m a 26 year old male. I race bikes which involves a great deal of training as well (5-6 days a week, 100-200 miles a week). I was doing pretty well, but last year I kind of had a dumbass moment as my wife calls it.
I had broken a rib at a prior race. Nothing major, just painful. So I decided, “Yeah, I’ll race this 70 mile gravel race next week!” And that was a bad decision. I got through it but really had to push my body to its limits and probably overreached. So I get back and my wife and I load up the car, make it about a mile down the road, and I get delirious and start puking. I throw up probably 5-6 more times, at this point I can’t remember what happened, at some point removed my shoes and shirt? I had very weird pins and needles shooting all over my body, similar to like when your foot or arm is “falling asleep.” We called and ambulance and the hospital treated me with fluids and monitored my blood. Sent me home 8 hours later with no explanation or really any diagnosis.
Ever since then I’ve been battling some really strange illness on the bike. It only happens sometimes and I cannot pinpoint what’s causing it. When I get “sick”, it’s as if someone has pulled to plugs on my body. Absolute no power left, lights out, I’m done and can’t pedal any further. My breathing gets very heavy, vision goes blurry, and I get those same pins and needles all over my body to the point I can’t use my hands, or my eyelids will start twitching. As you can imagine, it’s pretty scary and also puts quite the damper on my racing.
At first I thought it was heat related, but then it happened in the cold (35ish degrees) and on a 70 degree day. Then I thought it was my diet, I’m a small person and don’t each much, so I increased my calories. That didn’t do it for me. Then I thought hydration - so prior to a big race I went to a friend’s clinic to get a full IV hydration treatment the night before. Just a bag of fluids. I drank plenty, but again I was taken out of the race from this incredibly terrible feeling.
I went to my PCP, but it’s harder to explain because where I’m from (Kentucky) isn’t exactly a mecha for endurance athletes. Their solution, 9 times out of 10, has been to “ride my bike less” or “don’t race.” Which, yes, that would fix the problem, but not really a solution in my eyes. I went to an endocrinologist as well, they ran a blood panel on me and didn’t find anything. Although the test was done at 10am, I had already eaten breakfast and started my usual water drinking. I wasn’t under any stress, so I thought of course the results were normal. I also went to a cardiologist and was given the same answer after an EKG.
I’m sorry for the book. But I’m really at a loss. I have no idea what else to try or what to do. It’s had a heavy impact on my mental health, as I can’t train or race like I want to. Not only that, but it’s terrifying as I’m usually in the middle of the woods, far away from people.
Another thing to note is I have studied my diet on the bike as well. Nothing has changed and my training, while I have gotten stronger, hasn’t changed in volume.
Thank you!
TL;DR: endurance athlete with strange symptoms “it’s as if someone has pulled to plugs on my body. Absolute no power left, lights out, I’m done and can’t pedal any further. My breathing gets very heavy, vision goes blurry, and I get those same pins and needles all over my body to the point I can’t use my hands, or my eyelids will start twitching.”
Edit: I just wanted to reiterate that I’m not here to take someone’s word as the end-all-be-all. I’m just trying to find something similar to these issues, or find someone that’s had something similar happen. I really do appreciate the help!
Canyon Bikes 
Bike Components 
Radfahren in Stuttgart 
Bikepacking 
rotscher's bike blog 
Zwift Insider 
Radsport-News.com 
Rund ums Rad 
inside MTB 
fahrradreparatur.net 
Cyclingmagazine 
BikeonScott Twitter