Health questions for high-mileage riders

[joeydurango]

Posting this here because this is the category where the long-loooooong-miles freaks hang out. 

As some of you know, I generally ride a lot - big day rides (10-15 hours), races (100+ milers, 12-24 hours, multi-day), and tours, plus all the normal back and forth when you tend to live on your bike.  However, that hasn't been the case this year - much too busy at the shop, and no help for much of the year.  Riding, unfortunately, took a major back seat after the AZT300 this spring.

For the last two months or so, I have had some sort of un-diagnosed chronic health issue related to my gut.  No change in diet (smaller portions since I'm not going gonzo), or anything at all, other than the fact that I haven't really been riding much.  After 15+ years of not needing to see a doctor, I've seen three in the last two months; and they all say I'm perfectly healthy.  I don't feel very healthy.

My question is:  Have any of you long-mileage folks ever taken a long break from riding and noticed that perhaps you don't process food the way you used to?  I'm wondering if my metabolism just reached a point of inactivity where it decided it didn't need to run at as high a level any longer, and slowed down, leading to my weird gut issues - maybe nothing's wrong with me per se, but I certainly don't feel normal.  Or has anyone noticed any other sort of overall health issue that you could tie back to reduced riding?

I know, vague - but I don't need to share all the details, and this is a completely off-the-cuff hunch anyway.  Just curious if anyone has ever noticed adverse health effects as a result of suddenly not riding like a crazy person.  Thanks for any help!  (Oh, and before anyone gets all wise with me:  Yes, I'm staging a comeback to the bike soon.  Winter looms, and so does actual help at the shop!  I will be running an experiment to see if I get better once the miles start adding up...)

[bigeyedfish]

I've never done super high mileage, but I started having digestive issues when I started working at a desk more and spending less time doing a physically demanding job and riding my bike as much as I used to. I have recently been riding more and it seems to be helping, though it could just be a coincidence. It seems that really intense workouts are more helpful than longer, endurance base type workouts.

I don't have a background in any of this, so my evidence is entirely anecdotal and likely being misinterpreted in some way. I do know it sucks.

My wife and I ate paleo for about a year, and it was helpful. If you give that a shot, give it at least a month. It takes a while to adjust.

[Unai]

If the doctor says that you are OK, perhaps it could be anxiety?
If you are use to ride a lot of miles and now you aren´t riding your bike as much as you want, perhaps this cause you anxiety?

[AZTtripper]

The mind is every thing. What you think you become. Buddha

After Tanner broke his leg WindowAce on here posted up some advice on using visualization to speed the healing process. Since then I have taken an interest in Buddhism, meditation and alternative medicine.

Chopra's Ageless Body Timeless Mind was basically a long list of studies that back up his theory. Basically that the mind is everything and if your not thinking happy healthy it's possible to become unhealthy as a result. In one test the study group all men in their 80's are tested to find their body's physical age. Then half are left to act like 80 year old men. The other half have to start acting 50. They have them listen to music from the youth and tell them to start planning on having lots of life left. After when tested again, those who thought younger tested as physically younger. Your age by the calendar is out of your control. The age you act is up to you. How your body ages is affected by how old you think you are. At least that's the theory.  

Dharma Singh Khalsa's Meditation as Medicine mentions a study that finds its possible that happiness can block the common cold. If your excited about an upcoming trip your body releases norepinephrine that blocks the same receptor that the cold virus is trying to get into.

It might be possible that the thought of not riding enough may have you thinking you should not be allowing yourself to eat as much and somehow screwing with you.

Mind you I have no medical training and my good friend who's a retired ER doc say's it's all just the placebo effect. So just more rambling on line. 

[SlowRide]

Coming out of last winter getting ready for the AZT I had a terrible gut for almost a month(bad digestion/bad stool/generally yucky feeling almost all the time to the point where food was becoming less and less palatable), like you described I just didn't 'feel good'. I tried everything I could think of trying to isolate what I had 'changed' to cause the issues thinking it was probably dietary. I had been very active all winter backcountry skiing, skinning up multiple mountains before work every day and I was just getting back on the bike for spring training, so I didn't figure it was any sort of change in workout routine causing it. I was getting very nervous that I may have to skip AZT if my issues didn't subside. I tried listening to my body as well as I could and low-and-behold my body told me that probiotics were what was needed. I had never taken them ever in my life but somehow my body knew what it needed. I went to the store and got some GoodBelly probiotics to try, got home, chugged one and like flicking a light switch my gut problems were gone. You might give them a try if you haven't already. They will help you to more completely digest food, breaking down many compounds within common foods that your body can't(even if the probiotics don't help...they can't hurt).

P.S. - I would suggest trying GoodBelly or similar because it's a live culture, as opposed to capsulized form.

Hope this helps, cheers Joey.

[joeydurango]

Thanks for all the responses, guys.  Yup, been taking some awesome probiotics.  No change.  Not super down in the dumps about it, don't think it's stress/mental in nature.  Guess I'll just keep on trying to isolate potential causes, try to ride more, and hope like hell it's not something more sinister.

[carthief]

Hey joeydurango, (awesome user id btw).
1st, I don't have anything helpful to add as far as your intestines go. My life's experiences lead me to suspect it's a combination of slower metabolism/stresses of working but what do I know?
You didn't acquire some sort of parasite by drinking weird water? I've heard crazy stories from people that have hiked in Latin America and Vietnam. Just spit-balling there.
2nd, I clicked on the link in your post and HOLY COW!!! You sir need a little more advertising presence. What an excellent store! I'll be visiting in person in the next year or two, whenever I get out west. And I'll be pointing and clicking my way through there as well, one thing I want in particular is out of stock but I have my credit card in hand.
Hope you feel better man, physically and spiritually.

[davew]

2nd, I clicked on the link in your post and HOLY COW!!! You sir need a little more advertising presence. What an excellent store! I'll be visiting in person in the next year or two, whenever I get out west. And I'll be pointing and clicking my way through there as well, one thing I want in particular is out of stock but I have my credit card in hand.
Hope you feel better man, physically and spiritually.

not on the health side of things and sorry to hijack the thread but... Joeys store is a definite place to go. I had some mechanicals before taking off on the Colorado trail this year and Joey bent over backwards to ensure I was set to go and had some sage advice regarding the trail. He even crafted a lock-ring tool for a random/odd/unusual sized lock ring out of a socket  from his tool box. My bike was a shower of sh#t after the TD and Joey had it running beautifully in double quick time. His store rates as one of the best Ive been to, if not the best. (and if you hang around long enough you may even get offered beer)

On the medical side -seek  second, third, fourth opinions. Keep asking. All medical professionals can not be expected to know everything. I'd seen 5 doctors before I was diagnosed correctly.

[krefs]

I feel for you, Joey! I've never had any digestive issues when I back way off the mileage. My guess would be that it's something from drinking water in the backcountry that for some reason wasn't completely treated. I'd get some testing done for that sort of stomach bug as they can definitely get worse over time if not treated, and they're easiest to treat earlier than later.

[joeydurango]

Elmar, Dave, thanks!  I really appreciate the compliments.  Sometimes it feels like I'm beating my head against the wall of big corporate competition, but then someone like you guys comes along and says something really nice.  You made my day.  Only thing that would make it better is if my abdomen suddenly quit buggin' me...

Kurt, thanks for the reply - been thinking about possible parasites.  Along with about a million other ideas... I've learned that all the tests to see about these sorts of things are wicked expensive.  Come on, January 1st (insurance effective date)!

[Majcolo]

Hey Joey, one other consideration - not all probiotics are created equal. Different bugs and all that... I experimented with several before I found one that did the trick.

[Mike McElveen]

Joey, I can confirm all the compliments about your store.  I was trying to ride the Idaho Hot Springs route last August when all the fires started.  It got too smokey so I caught a flight to Denver and rode The Divide to Del Norte, then over to visit my son in Durango.  I had been wanting to see your store and I was not disappointed.  Not only is your stock first class and hard to find in a standard LBS, but the whole place is so tastefully done.  It was busy.  You should be very proud.

About your plumbing, I'm a doc with lots of miles (temporal and cycling) with wilderness adventures and a case of Giardia, if you want a free consult.  There may be a "poor man's" approach to a diagnosis.  You're too young and fit and your temperament too good for this to just be something "in your head."  I've never heard of exercise withdrawal as a cause of anything except obesity and depression.  Having said that most of these things go away as mysteriously as they start and time is ultimately the best healer.

If you want me to call your store and leave you my email address or phone number I'd be happy to.  The cycling community owes you plenty.  You hand out priceless free advice all day.

Mike

[joeydurango]

Hi Mike, thank you as well for the kind words!  You guys are all making me blush over here with the accolades, more than taking my intestines to the semi-public in desperation has.  Seriously. 

Thank you for your generous offer of medical advice as well!  I may take you up on that, but first I want to pursue a lead that just happened yesterday afternoon, thanks to a fortuitous conversation with a customer.  For the first time in the 2+ months of this problem, I have a real, physical, potential condition that matches all my symptoms, and is apparently WAY under-diagnosed by the typical doc.  Best of all, after some research, treatable at home through temporary diet restrictions and some massage.  I will give this a try for the next week or so - and if it works like I hope, I will disclose the cause, for future reference by others.

[joeydurango]

Okay, update:  I've seen three different doctors, one of them three times, and not one of them gave me as much info as a customer I just chanced into a conversation with last week.  He mentioned that I should look into whether my ileocecal valve (valve between the intestines) could be the cause of my varied symptoms.  Not expecting much, I looked into it, and sure enough, all my symptoms (GI and non, including chest pain, swollen lymph nodes, stiff neck, etc.) matched what they call ileocecal valve syndrome.  So did the causes - too much healthy food!  (Seriously, too much rough, raw food, eaten too quickly as I often have to do here in the crazy shop.)

Essentially, that same evening I began massaging the ileocecal valve area (lower right abdomen) several times a day, cut the roughage from my diet temporarily to give the valve a chance to heal, and began eating much more slowly and consciously.  Immediate results!  Two days in, I felt better than I had for 11 weeks.  One week in, I am 80% better.  You'd better believe that I gave that customer his repair for free...

As I said, just posting this for future reference use - maybe someone can not spend weeks in pain for nothing like I did.

[SlowRide]

Great to hear Joey....Glad you're on the mend!