Posted by Vincent_QC on April 14, 2009, at 7:58:05
Hi Everyone,
Another post, that I hope, will not be leaving without an answer. It's a long post...I'm sure someone here already experience the problem I encounter now.
I start the Gym last week. I got a complete evaluation of my physical condition by a Kinesiology at the gym, includung a 20 minutes of bicycle at varying intensity, measures of my fat level, things like that.
The results : I'm not in a good health physically (not surprise of the result), I have a stable blood pressure around 140/90 but the pulse rate his high, not normal for a men of my age and at the intensity of the physical exercises I do on the test.
Anyway, when I had my evaluation, my blood pressure stay the same (140-80-90), before the bike, during the bike and after, mean that I don't have a heart problem, that's what the coach told me...but he is not a Doctor...
The coach make to me a physical work plan that I have to follow each time I go to the gym (4 times week). I start with 10 minutes of bike at a low intensity, after I have a couple of machines for the developping of the muscles. I always do 2 sets of 15 and I do a break of 30 seconds between each set. After I have another 10 minutes of bike, muscles again and the bike again for 10 minutes and I end the programm with muscles exercises. That sound pretty good on paper, but on pratice, for someone like me who never do physical exercises, who smooke cigarettes and take valium pills each day as well as a lot of vitamins because of the Gastric by-pass I had, with aenemia problem...that's maybe not a good idea to do 30 minutes of cardio exercises ??? I ask my PDoc last week and he say it was ok for the gym...
So this is my problem: Last night, I go to the gym and it was the first time I do the whole physical work plan at once.
I start on the bike, I was watching the TV and listening to my Ipod, so no reason to freak about my heart, anyway I was able to see my pulse rate and it was ok. Suddenly, around 7 minutes I start having heart palpitations and BANG... Big panic attack, pulse rate goes around 190-200 without any sign...that's happen in 2 seconds...I Was around 130..and 2 seconds later I was around 190-200.
I said to myself, well that's normal, you are not use to do exercises since at least 2 years...you have probably a reaction to the hormone that the body produce when you do physical exercises (endorphins). Anyway, I slow down and press the cool down button and stop the bike around 9 minutes.
After, it was a nightmare... This panic attack start a process inside me and all the times I stay at the gym (around 1h 30), I had terrible trembling of my hands and legs, heart palpitations, chest tightness, hot flashes, numb sensation on my face, especially lips and my arms, not just the left..., weird pain in my head in the two temples and behind my eyes, like someone was playing with my brain (I know, I always feel this pain but it was WORSE than ever).
I experience dizziness all the times I was at the gym with light-headedness and of course the commun derealization sensation. It last even after the gym, I don't sleep a lot last night and I do nightmares and wake up 3 hours later with all my back sweat + migraine.
I try to calm down at the gym, I go to the locker room, put some cold water on my face, try to breath deeply, I take 10 mg of Valium as an extra help, but each time I was trying to return on the bike, I was doing major panic attack. I do 3 BIG panic attacks, the worse since a while, if you don'T count the big one I had for no reason last week when I was driving my car...
That very frustrating to not be able to control them after 14 years!!! My friend was with me last night, he try to change my minds but nothing to do, I had a fixation on my heart and the STRANGE sensation inside my head... I also had pupil dilatation and running nose.
So my questions are:
1) Is it totally related to the panic attack and the fact that i'm not used to feel the effect of the physical exercises in my body (endorphins), fixation over my heart beat that make me feel bad because I fear an heart attack?
2) Since I had an EGK for the heart and they found nothing wrong except that my blood pressure was more hign than normal, is it dangerous for me to continue to go to the gym ? Did I had to ask to do less cardio exercises and more muscles exercises, since they tend (musculation machines) to don't make my heart start racing?
3) Did the panic attack will diminish with time and the pratice of cardio exercises (by cardio I mean eliptical machine, steps, all the machines who you make the heart beat faster) ?
4) Someone have a trick for this problem? I don't seek for a miracle pill or anything else, but tricks to help me to control my anxiety? The Ipod seem to not helping me...
5) Is it normal to feel like my head will explose or that I will faint after 7 minutes of bike? Is it related to the fact that I have also social phobia and that I fear of doing panic attack in front of the others peoples?
6) Can it be caused by the Valium? That's normally an hypotensive drug no? Can it be the cigarettes smooking, the aenemia, or a mix of all the things I wrote above? I stop the coffee, so I cannot blame it... I tr to stop smooking but for now that's too hard...I do a one day without smooking yesterday and after the gym I was so anxious that I stop at the convinience store and buy a pack...
Everybody say that cardio exercises and gym is very helpfull for the anxiety and depression, my family Doctor or the psychologist always told me this, you will see, your anxiety level will diminish and you will sleep more well!!! Strange, I found it very unpleasant, I don't sleep well, in fact it make me more anxious...
That's cannot be situationally bound panic attacks because I do in the past a lot of mountain bike, and I used to walk at least 1h 30 each day to go to the university 3 years ago... it was the only one exercises I was doing at the time...
Maybe it's related to the place where I go, the environement, the location of the place, the fact that it's full of people? I'm used to take long walk and I never felt this way or do panic attack because of this before...
Any informations will be welcome...
Thanks!
Vincent ;-)
poster:Vincent_QC
thread:890601
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090408/msgs/890601.html