The One Where I Almost Passed Out At The Gym

I’ve been dedicated to exercising for almost a year now, successfully making it a part of my daily/weekly routine.  And truly it’s been the best thing I’ve ever done.  However, lately (pretty much since the holidays)I’ve felt that  I’ve fallen a little off-track.  So, I decided to add more cardio, including a relatively intense class called “Cardio Body Training”.  Think lots of intervals with weight training & running included.  When I described some of the many various activities to my hubby, he likened it to some of the movements seen in the P90x series.  I’m not much of a runner (don’t like it and honestly don’t have the endurance for it), so during the 2 –3 trips out to the track in each class, I’ve been hopping on a treadmill. 

Two days ago I went to my 4th class, having not gone for 2 weeks due to that lovely cut on my arm, the weather, etc.  Things started fine, with us utilizing the bosu ball for a lot of the exercises.  I even joined the class for our first run, around the basketball court.  For the second run, I decided to hop on the treadmill….and it was there, after just a minute or two, that I was surprised by an odd feeling of not being able to catch my breath – as if I wasn’t getting enough oxygen with each breath in.  So I quickly jumped off  and started to feel better after walking around a bit.  I re-joined the class back inside the studio, and was in the middle of doing planks with weighted arm extensions when that feeling came over me again, just more intense.  I was already near the door, so I walked out of the room and stood there, hunched over and not being able to breathe….I couldn’t even get enough air needed to say my name, it just came out as a breathless whisper.  Another instructor was nearby, saw my panicked expression, and needless to say, in a matter of seconds about 10 people rushed at me….including the club’s nurse, who brought an oxygen tank and heart monitor.  I ended up sitting on the floor with her for a good 20 minutes, as my symptoms slowly subsided and I started to feel better.  All in all, she theorized that my heart rate most likely had shot up to way beyond it’s max limit!  I could have simply over-done it, but it could have also happened for some other reason.  She suggested I call my primary doc for some testing, and sent me to the club’s cafe for some Gatorade and a banana. 

So, I promptly went to my doc yesterday, and after a normal EKG and listening to my heart/lungs, he did not think it was a  heart-related problem, but possibly ‘exercise-induced-asthma’ or some other bronchial irritation.  Could also be a virus, but that would probably produce illness symptoms.  Honestly, I’m still not sure about his diagnosis.  Even today, 2 days later, I still have this feeling of heaviness/tightness in my chest and have dealt with radiating back pain most of the day.  And when you do a search for the whole EIA thing, most sites list coughing as a major symptom, which I did not have.

I guess I am a little anxious about the whole situation (which of course does not help).  My doc also gave me an Advair disk, to use if another ‘attack’ happens as a way to relieve the symptoms.   And boy, mentioning that tidbit to people has caused me to receive a firestorm of advice that Advair should NEVER be used that way, no matter what the circumstances!  WTF??   My doc assured me it was ok, that in my special situation it was perfectly fine to use the medication that way and others have done it as well.  I’m not sure what to believe, but I DO know that if I still don’t feel well tomorrow, I will call back and most likely he’ll have me go do a chest x-ray.  This is all so crazy, especially when I’ve NEVER had anything like that happen to me before. 

To say the least, the whole thing was a freaky experience and has totally caught me off guard!



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