Exercise induced Rhabdomyolysis

I think you have overdone it, for which I am a veteran of. I have been getting exercise induced rhabdomyolysis for 15 years before I realised what was going on. Similar story: cyclist only get it in thighs severe cramps especially when not riding eg days off. Unfortunately live next to a mountain. Train 4 x/week, hopeless diet probably low in everything:sodium,potassium,calcium, too much caffeine, always dehydrated, not enough protein,too much wine. Had a lot of metabolic tests including muscle biopsy, electron micrographs,McArdle gene testing,fatty acid oxidation deficiencies etc..all negative. Get severe cramps only occasionally when exercising (if so get off bike and stretch few minutes), but often days when I am resting or do other exercise eg running, walking. Get severe rhabdomyolysis once/yr only hospitalised x 1. No kidney effects. Can't ride or walk. It takes 3 weeks to recover from,almost to the day. Be keen to talk to any others with problem. Currently taking lots of supplements and am going to give up caffeine, not sure about the wine though.

What you are both describing here mirrors my symptoms, aside from the hospitalisation. I've been having this for two years now and am beginning to get very fed up. Have you had any success in treating it?

What is usually prescribed for pain relief in rhabdomyolysis as you are "Detoxing" the statin and the built-up muscle toxins? My doctor gave me high dose Ibuprofen to do 4 times a day and something called Relafen to do twice a day. And to drink a ton of water and Gatorade. And... basically just wait it out.

-Dave
Took Lovastatin for a little over two years

I have had 8 episodes of Rhabdo. CK in the 2000 and all i did was clean my house, another time walk the children to the pool. I wanted to know what supplements are you taking?

My exact symptoms! When cycling, which I do every week at least once, if I either push past a particular level of intensity, or cumulatively a couple of reasonably high intensity rides, 5 days later I start getting severe quad pains. My wife worked for a specialist in muscle disease (how lucky was that...) and I had the IV contracture test and was diagnosed with Malignant Hyperthermia. This means I'm susceptible to exercise induced rhabdo - also avoid the normal anaesthetic agents! My best is a CK level of 41,000, which put me in hospital for a weekend on a drip. I find that everything is okay until I reach the trigger point, at which I get some intermittent pain, but if I go for a big ride while in the "Zone", 5 days later I can't walk. If I feel I'm in that zone, I take things easy for abouit 3 weeks and then resume the exercise and all's okay. Oddly enough, my last episode was a resuly of spending a day on a boat, and all the rocking was causing my legs to clench and release all day. Result - 12,000 CK.

I lived in Okinawa, Japan back in 2006, visited the Phillipeans and got sick from the water. After i got back, i started riding my bike hard, 50 miles a day (okinawa humidity too).

Before I knew what rhabdo was, i was riding through the quad cramps that sometimes were severe..but I rode through it and it went away. I did that for 3-4 days until one day just walking I had severe cramps in my quads and had to sit down and wait out the episode. I then rode again and came back and urinated blood....REDFLAG! i drove over to the Navy hospital expecting to be there for a few days...viola! CK count of 70,000!! I was there for only 2 days and my count got down to 2,000. I stayed on fluids and weekly blood and urine test for 3 weeks after.

Once i was home I tried riding my bike a week later, only got 1 block. 3 days later, i got 1 mile, a week after that...5 miles (no symptoms of pain, but stopped anyway). Alittle over 2 weeks it took for my legs to feel like they had recovered.

Last week (Aug 2011) I travelled back from Michigan to North Carolina. I was moderately dehydrated and mowed my yard....I got the same muscle cramps and knew right away what it was.

I went to the hospital and they confirmed Rhabdo, but only a CK count of 700 (normal is 200-300).

I rode my bike 2 days ago 5 miles and I was fine, but kept it easy.

Strangely enough, I raced hard in Michigan the week before, no problems, then i mow my yard, and BAM...rhabdo!

David

I did two consecutive workouts at a crossfit gym. tuesday/wednesday. I was just starting. My legs were sore right after the workout and I thought they were just pumped from the workout. two days later my arms were in so much pain. I couldn't raise them. I went all weekend in pain. by the next tuesday my left arm had swollen so bad that I had to go to the ER to make sure that I didn't have a blood clot. I was diagnosed with Rhabdomyolysis. My creatine level was 7000. I was in the ER for 5 hours while they took x-rays and did an ultrasound. They were going to admit me into the hospital at midnight but I chose to go home. Which in hindsight probably wasn't the best idea. My body needed the fluids that they would have given me. I went home and the swelling in my arm continued. They gave me prednisone to take for 5 days. I did nothing but keep my arms elevated trying to get the swelling down. to make a long story short, I had other problems that started. erratic shooting pains through the muscles, numbness and swelling in my face... back and shoulder. weird sensations in my head. A month later I thought I was good so I did a mild workout to p90 cardio. No problem getting through the workout but my legs swelled up. the next day the left side of my face went numb, tingling with pins and needles. I was afraid I was having a stroke so I went back to the ER and they said it was repercussion of the rhabdo. They sent me to see a neurologist to find out why I had so many weird sensations going on in my head. Luckily, no muscle damage so I thought time would be the healer. It's been 10 months now and any time I do anything physical my legs swell up. Not sure what it going to take to get back to normal.