Did Anyone Suffer From Exercise Intolerance During Recovery?

[SuzanneT]

Hi everyone,

I've been gluten free for about 7 weeks now. I've seen a few improvements, but still having lots of ups and downs. This forum has been a great help - in fact everytime I search for something related to celiac disease in Google, I end up in here reading lots of posts!

Before I started feeling ill (about 6 months ago) I was doing exercise (yoga, swimming, weights etc) about 5 times a week. My first symptom was actually fast uncontrollable heartrate during exercise, followed by extreme tiredness and generally feeling unwell for days after. I went through lots of tests on my heart, but everything turned out to be totally normal with that.

Last week I had started to feel much better from the gluten free diet that I went swimming. Everything went well and I felt so happy to be back doing exercise, but then the next day I felt exhausted and unwell and it took a few days until I felt ok again. I don't know if it was the exercise that did it, or if I ingested gluten somehow, but I had another few days of feeling unwell just after Christmas. I hadn't been exercising this time, but I had been rushing about round the shops, doing lots of cleaning, cooking and socializing in preparation for Christmas. It's almost like over exertion makes me ill and maybe I just need to limit my activities for a while.

My background is that I had a positive ttG IgA test back in October and I've been awaiting my biopsy (2.5 months and counting) I know I am bad for going on the gluten free diet before the biopsy, but I was barely able to stand up because I felt so ill, so I made the choice to risk the possibility of not having a confirmed diagnosis so I could feel a bit better).

Did anyone else get this tiredness/exhaustion after exercise or over exertion? It's not a pleasant tiredness either, it's a really weak, wobbly, lightheaded tiredness.

Thanks :-)

[lynnelise]

I doubt I'll be much help but I have been gluten free for over a year and still get sick within a week of resuming exercise. I have no idea whether this is related or not. I used to exercise intensely 5 times a week (pre-gluten free). Then in April of 2009 I got the flu. Started exercising again after resting a week or so...then in July 2009 I got mono. I rested for over a month, tried going back to light workouts and would get sick/exhausted within days. Now here it is a year and half later and I cannot exercise for more than a week, even light activity, without becoming ill and being exhausted for a week. I thought going gluten free would help this but so far it hasn't.

[laura4669]

Yes! I hardly have any stamina at all. If I do exercise, it takes me a couple of days to recover like you said. I have been gluten free since October, but I am now in the process of figuring out other food sensitivities. Could you have other allergies that are making you feel bad? Also, my ferritin levels were extremely low, and I am in the process of trying to correct that. Maybe you are anemic? I know anemia is very common among people with celiac. I am take meds for low thyroid, and that has seemed to help a bit with fatigue in the morning, but not much with the low stamina.

[dilettantesteph]

I also had this experience. When I returned to exercising, I began experiencing glutening symptoms. I am a person who needs to exercise. I eliminated more possibly cc'd processed foods and then I was able to exercise without symptoms. If I am glutened now, I can still exercise, just at a much slower pace. It seems to be a high level of exertion that brings on the symptoms.

[AzizaRivers]

I'm another one with the same experience. I was a competitive dancer and also spent days running around outside in warm weather. When I started showing Celiac symptoms I didn't have the energy to do anything, I could take a short walk without feeling hot, exhausted, short of breath and nauseous. I'm showing little improvement after 2 months gluten-free since I was diagnosed, but it's too terribly cold, snowy and windy to really test myself. Hopefully by the time it gets warm around here and I've been healing for 6 months or so I should be more back to my normal self.

My GI told me this was all normal. It sucks, but it's to be expected, I guess.

[SuzanneT]

Thanks everyone for your replies! It does indeed seem like this is a symptom of celiac disease, so that is good to know (since I keep imagining I have something else wrong with me too!)

I will just have to be patient!

[cap6]

I have a lot of trouble in warm weather (and we're in So. Ca) I have tried walking but if it is over 80 out within about 10 minutes I am nauseated, light headed, and feel like I am going to faint. My sodium levels are still all messed up and I am 9 months gluten-free.