Chronic fatigue

[helena.m.power]

#2692

Hello, i was hoping that you may have some suggestions or know of any thing in relation to the side effects I’ve had from Bikram.

Two years ago in February i started practicing hot yoga. I started and within a month was practicing daily, days or nights. i practiced daily for about 2 months and loved it. I had bad balance which was improving and it was great. i drank water a lot and didn’t find the heat unbearable as i enjoy hot temperatures.

However i then started collapsing in classes and getting disorientated. i wouldn’t move from a pose so the teachers would lie me down and id relax for the rest of the class. i often didn’t know where i was, feeling confused. They said i was detoxing so i continued.

With in a few weeks i was collapsing all the time, up to 6 times a day and so i stopped the yoga. i didn’t get better tho and my instructors didn’t know what to do.

Fast forward 2 years later to today.

Symptoms i have or have had
– extreme fatigue
– shaking (still)
– confusion
– fainting and collapsing (often)
– disorientation
– extreme muscle pains
– nerve pains
– chest pains
– dizzy – i faint now i i bend over quickly or jump on trampolines.. ect
– head issues – can’t have my head touched or things waved around my face as i faint. e.g.: someone speaking using hand movemenets

a month after stopping yoga the fatigue was so extreme i was sleeping 18 hours a day or more. now I’m medicated which allows me to stay awake 12 hours and function kind of well

Tests
– all bloods
– MRI
– Sleep studies x2
– CAT scan
– Heart scan
– EEG
– ECG
– alternative doctors also
and many others.

all the tests come back clear and the sleep study shows I’m really tired.

I’ve run out of specialists to see and also tests so I was hoping you may have some suggestions for paths to explore. i loved the yoga and still think its great, it just wasn’t for me sadly. that is the only link i have to becoming sick but it may have not been it. i was an active 19 year old student, working and living life full on. i never drank alcohol and was very healthy.

I really hope that you have some answers or suggestions.

Thank you so much,
Helena

[mzsocialworker1]

#11239

Since this has been going on for a couple years after you tried hot yoga, I highly doubt it is related to that.

Best of luck in getting answers.

I’ve heard that it can be challenging getting an accurate diagnosis for many conditions that involve pain and the other things you listed.

If you enjoy yoga though, you can also try non-heated varieties.

I know many people who have tried hot yoga and just decided that it wasn’t for them for whatever reason, and you know what?

That’s okay.

I hate when people try to force whatever kind of exercise onto someone else because THEY love it ;).

[bunni]

#11255

One thing to consider – and maybe you already have – is whether any other factors like drugs/medicines, eating habits (caloric intake, allergies, nutrition), work schedule, or stress/depression could be contributing to your symptoms. I also like the suggestion in the prior post of trying a non-heated style of yoga – it might be a good thing to try if you feel comfortable giving it a shot.

[Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)]

#11260

Hi Helena

That is a truly horrible experience you have had and seem to still be having. I am so sorry that things are not as they should be.

Have you taken a look at the other chronic fatigue story from years ago? I will just see if I can find it … (tick tick)…

I popped the words “chronic fatigue” (without “”) and found a good dozen threads that may be interesting for you to read. I cannot find the particular one that I was after, but I shall continue to search over the coming days. It concerned a man who lived a few hundred metres from me, and his amazing feelings of energy with the yoga. But it’s not essential. You’ll find other threads of adrenal fatigue and so on.

I wish you had come to the forum when you started experiencing your issues. You see, whatever has triggered this condition for you, is possibly (and probably) not the same thing that is keeping you super tired and in a less than optimal state.

The initial issues on first collapsing most likely were a combination of hyponatremia and high heat. It is highly probable given the level of confusion you were experiencing that you had “heat exhaustion”. Please go and take a look via Google searches for the signs of “hyponatremia” and “heat exhaustion” (and then the worse condition of “heat stroke”). I am positive that you were not at all ‘detoxing’ (and that is irresponsible of your teachers to have been telling you that and I do not say that lightly) but you were experiencing some very serious physiological symptoms.

I am not sure it’s going to be worth asking you about how hot the room was in actual terms because your memory of that will be unreliable. You may have been able to notice that other people were also not coping. Perhaps there were always several people taking breaks often. Or others who had to sit out a pose or 3 at a time. That is usual what happens. But having said that, there are always individual responses to heat and moisture that might have been singling you out. If you have anything that you would like to tell me about the level of heat, or your reactions to it and those of others around you then I would love to hear (read 😉 ) them.

If you have chronic fatigue then getting back on track again and finding your ‘mojo’ may take some time.

I have some suggestions for you, but before I do, perhaps you can take a look at what I have said in this very post and see how that holds for you. Do your research and let me know your gut reactions. That way we can head you in a useful direction.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

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