Fever and Chills with Extreme Fatigue the next day following yoga

[energyup]

#2681

I would love some help. I go to hot yoga 1-2 times a week. I am a newbie at it – I just restarted last September (after taking a few classes a year earlier). I had gone to 15 classes of hot yoga (temp is 90 degrees – there’s a thermometer). I am not the best at hydrating but try to drink before, during and after class. The last 3 times I have gone to class (which I have spread out over 2 months to give my body a rest) I end up with a 102 temp with severe chills. I could set a watch by the timing – fever begins 6 hrs after class and lasts 12 hrs. The next day – poof- fever is gone just extreme fatigue. I’ve tried a morning class and evening class and it still occurs. I went to the doctor and all of my labs for infection were negative. I do have slight anemia (just barely below the low end of normal) and I have been trying to supplement with iron pills. I have been complaining to my doctor of feeling run down, have dry eyes, and a cracked tongue. I was tested also for Lymes disease, sjogren’s disease, arthritis, and all came back negative. I have Hashimotos thyroiditis and my TSH = .5 Any ideas what could be going on? The last time this happened was last Friday morning @9am. Feel fine during class, showered, ate, went shopping. By 4pm, started feeling cold and feverish. Fever and chills lasted until 6am the next morning. I am 41 and female. Thanks so much! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)]

#11197

Hello energyup

Thank you so much for your detailed post. I do have a few questions for you before we go further. I want to know what in the physical environment I have to take into account so … Can you please tell me

>> Where is the thermometer in the room
>> Where are the temperature sensors in the room?
>> Is the temperature sensor the thermometer?
>> How humid is the room? And how do you know? Maybe you can tell me if you do sweat a lot and whether you are feeling hot in the room.

Over to you!

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

[energyup]

#11198

Hi Gabrielle,

The thermometer is in the back of the room by the heater. I’m not sure of the humidity, however. I am fine during the class. It is hot but not too hot (I don’t feel faint, dizzy, or weak). I sipped water in class and had some sweat dripping but wasn’t soaked. I’m not sure if that helps…..

Thanks for the response!

[Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)]

#11199

Hi energyup!

I know this is going to sound pedantic but I would really like some more information.

So, the thermometer IS the sensor. It’s a standalone gauge. It’s near the heater. Presumably it is placed near the controls of the heater.

1. When you say the thermometer is next to the heater, do you mean it is near the actual heat source, or it is by the control panel of the heater?

2. What kind of heater is in the room? Is it ducted air or infra red panels or maybe underfloor heating (the least likely 😉 )?

3. Is there one sole outlet for the heat or are there are number of outlets?

4. Is the thermometer wall mounted or on the floor? At what height is that ornery thing? :cheese:

5. Just to get your brain thinking otherly: What other activity to you engage in for your exercise?

6. Are you overweight, underweight, or ‘normal’?

7. What is your level of challenge/struggle/ease with the poses themselves? Depending on your answer we could explore some important general principles to assist you!!!

8. What is your breathing capacity like? Does it feel like you can breathe in and keep breathing in? Or do you find it difficult to breathe deeply? How difficult?

I am going to ask more questions after this response, to be sure, so this is enough for now.

May I make a suggestion to tackle each question in turn if that’s OK! I just popped in numbers so that may help you! 😆

Thanks for your responses. I try to avoid coming to conclusions early because otherwise we can follow the ‘wrong clues’.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

[energyup]

#11201

1. When you say the thermometer is next to the heater, do you mean it is near the actual heat source, or it is by the control panel of the heater?
Yes, there is a thermostat on a table in the back of the room. The heater is above it in the ceiling

2. What kind of heater is in the room? Is it ducted air or infra red panels or maybe underfloor heating (the least likely )? The heater hangs from the ceiling so Im guessing forced hot air? There is also a humidifier type of thing in the corner opposite the back heater. I hope I am explaining this right.

3. Is there one sole outlet for the heat or are there are number of outlets? there are two of these ceiling mounted heaters in opposite corners.

4. Is the thermometer wall mounted or on the floor? At what height is that ornery thing? The thermometer is on a table – so at about waist leve.

5. Just to get your brain thinking otherly: What other activity to you engage in for your exercise? I’m modderately active. I also go to the gym 2/3 times a week and go on the treadmill and lift weights. I had been doing yoga 1/2 times a week before the episodes started 🙄

6. Are you overweight, underweight, or ‘normal’? I am overweight- 5’5 160lbs.

7. What is your level of challenge/struggle/ease with the poses themselves? Depending on your answer we could explore some important general principles to assist you!!!
I am taking a beginner class, so I am not struggling at all. I am however NOT very flexible at all but never allow a pose to “hurt”.

8. What is your breathing capacity like? Does it feel like you can breathe in and keep breathing in? Or do you find it difficult to breathe deeply? How difficult?
I think my breathing capacity is good. Our instructor makes us focus on our breathing. I am sure at times I am focusing more on doing the pose correctly, than breathing deeply. My focus on breathing generally happens at the beginning and end of class.

[Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)]

#11203

Hello again energyup

So, you exercise elsewhere. It seems you don’t have any problems other than to those related to exercising in the hot room. Please correct me if I am wrong. If you every feel any of these symptoms at any other time – other than when you’re in the room – then please say so.

I think that if it is only happening in relation to the hot room then there are a few things to look at:

Hydration
Electrolytes
Heat
The poses themselves

If, as you say, you only get this problem when the room is heated then I would check out Dr Google for these 2 conditions: Hyponatremia and Heat exhaustion. Both of them have a little overlap and whether or not it is either of these things, it’s worth familiarising yourself with the lists.

You report that the temperature is 90 degrees at your studio. Well it might be that temperature but it is probably not IF: it is a standalone thermometer. If it is just a device that sits on a table then it is only measuring the temperature at the thermometer’s location and that’s it. [BTW it’s very common for studios to be far hotter than temperature readouts.]

If that is a readout of a thermometer that say, has a couple of sensors through the room and feeding an average back to the display then you may in fact get something closer to reality. For the moment let’s just assume it’s not wired in. If that’s true then the temperature is not 90 and it could be higher or lower. Given that you do hot yoga, it’s possible it’s higher.

Do you sweat, do others sweat in class? Do you have to take breaks during the poses, and do you see others having to take breaks?

Now, everybody knows that when you sweat you lose fluid but you also lose electrolytes. These must be replenished (sea salt, powders, tablets, etc). If one only takes water then one can end up with a low salt condition called hyponatremia (hence your research!).

I might suggest making sure you drink water with a pinch of sea salt in it (and a few drops lemon juice if you need some flavour) – during class. The effect can be (and is for me) instantly refreshing.

It might be worthwhile taking electrolytes (salt or other forms) in all the water you drink through the day. Perhaps, since you seem to suggest you don’t drink enough, get yourself a 1 or 1.5 2 liter bottle and drink from it throughout the day making sure you drink a minimum of 2-2.5 litres. Make sure you drink as you need to in class (between poses not during!). A common problem is not knowing how much is being taken, so to know you have to drink 2 and a half 1 litre bottles for example, can take the pressure off or at least make it easier to gauge.

You also suggest that you could pay a little more attention to breathing: Breathe! All poses! Flowing breath, no holding it (except in Pranayama if you can’t keep breathing in for the duration of one inhale (or exhale) ). I don’t think it is causing your problem but I think that better breath control can stand you in better stead.

Let me know what you think as you ponder and experiment.

Another consideration is that you are of a peri-menopause age and the effects of that with heat can have a potentiating effect. This does not necessarily mean you have to give up the yoga.

Let’s continue on the path of looking at heat, water and salt and move forward from there.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

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