Anyone trying to be an elite athlete w/ Hep C ?

[cyclist13]

Hi,
I am a new member.  I am 52 and found out I had Hep C in 2003.  I probably contacted it in 1974.  I am a Masters bike racer and do OK but having more and more problems w/ recovery and aches and pains, plus mood swings.  I am hoping that the new treatments due out soon(?) will be able to help me.  I also have Atrial fib that is under control w/ meds but hard training efforts are beginning to effect it.  My doctors are pretty clueless when it comes to serious athletes.

Are there any other people here that are trying to really push their body in sports despite their infections?  Any suggestions, diet, recovery, supplements???  Do the liver cleansing products work/help?

Thanks a lot!
Bruce

[simcha511]

I just walked up the basement stairs to fast and needed to quickly lie down so I didn't fall down - I am a runner but I think that, that will just have to wait until the end of tx

[Deb9991]

I've exercised rigorously my entire life.  I studied ballet growing up and was a gymnast in college.  Through the years, I have constantly exercised in some form or another.  Everyday, I put on music and dance for a while -- I still do those ballet exercies.  I love cycling and today I went out twice and cycled.  I'm a bit tired this evening to say the least.  I'm a firm believer in exercise for numerous reasons.  First, the human body was meant to be mobile, with firm, hard muscles.  Now, I know, that it is easier said than done, especially if you work in an office environment, or sit in front of your TV or computer most of the day.  Also, the aging process is a miserable fact of life.  Nonetheless, tou can keep active your whole live, notwithstanding some type of illness that prevents you from exercising.  I don't know of any studies that claim people who are more fit, have a higher level of SVR, but studies do show that an active life style, makes for a healther life.

I'm not cycling and exercising quit like I was before treatment, and I've only been in treatment 3 weeks.  I have no idea what I am going to feel like in a month or two.  But, I've made a goal with myself, that no matter what, I will get some kind of exercise everyday while I treat.  And if that only means crawling on my hands and knees to the corner of the block, then that will be my exercise regime and I'll be thankful, if it comes to that point, that I am able to do that.  

There is also the issue with exercise and mental health.  Many studies show that vigorous exercise is almost as good as an anti-depressant, if you suffer from depression or have a tendancy at times to suffer from it.  I suffer from depression, and my doctors are, and have been concerned in the past, about my undergoing this treatment with depression.  I do know, that exercise DOES help my moods, and it keeps the weight off, and keeps my body toned.  Whether you achieve SVR or not, exercise may be an important ingredient in keeping yourself more healthy, than you otherwise would be if you didn't exercise.  We need every arsenal at our command to live with hepatitis C and be and stay healthy.  

Cyclist13, you just keep going.  Don't beat yourself up if you can't do what you did last year -- that doesn't matter.  What matters is that you are still exercising, and that is commendable.  

Deb

[burned74]

My profile is very similar to yours.

Certainly if you are undergoing tx, you will not be able to be an elite athlete, but unless you reach cirrhosis, nothing I have read or experienced myself would effect training and performance.

I run bike or swim 3 to 5 times a week and lift weights another 3 times/week.

[cyclist13]

Thanks everyone!  I had 2 liver biopsy's and the second actually looked better.  I rode 6000 miles last year and this year I am stronger but I take a lot longer to recover from really hard days.  I eat a good diet.  I am very thankful that I am able to do what I do and that is why I have not started treatment.   I too suffer from depression and endorphins are what makes every thing OK!  I have been on a huge dose of anti-inflammatory for years, having been diagnosed w/ all kinds of disorders before finally finding the Hep C.  I take my vitamins, Glucosamine / Chondroitin and my Wellbutrin plus heart meds and keep pushing..

The current treatment sounds horrible, so at my stage I will wait and see what they come up with.  I read so much about the Vertex drug dropping responds time to 12 weeks or something, that would seem doable.  I have to think that quality of life would be better w/ out the virus and hopefully in the next year or two it may be possible to find out.

Thanks everyone and good luck to you!

[brianmo]

I did a Triathlon yesterday and place 2nd in my division...

Keep going, i was so happy to come on the site and see your post and all the responses.  

I have talked to many, many doctors about how exercies and hep C work together and no one can give me any insight. I have been and avid exerciser since 24 when I stopped drinking, I am now 55. Dx 10 years ago, got it when I was 19. So, I have had it 36 years. Have not done tx, stage 1 grade 1 type 1A. I have decided to  do tx when new meds out in spring (hopefully). I do get tired but I am 55. Doctor says it partly has to do with having hep C. Every doctor has said that I will have to pass on working out at this level while on tx. I always feel great in the summer time but winters send me to a terrible place even though I still work out its not the same and being outside all the time.

I do not do cleansing, I am a believer in eating right, I have recently gone on the Paleo way of eating, Check it out, there is a book Paleo Diet for Athletes. I have recently decided to contact a dietician regarding liver and pushing the body and are all the gels and shot blocks good for the liver??? While doing long runs my side will really start to hurt in the liver area. I did a 1/2 marathon a few weeks ago and had to stop at mile 11 due to pain in liver. Again, the doctor say keep running,  

Good luck to you. I bellieve that exercise has been the reason I have handled having Hep C so well. And, I have lived a clean life since 24 which has helped a lot.

Mo

[yodennis]

Hi: You stated "nothing I have read or experienced myself would effect training and performance". Is this conclusion empirical, based on research, an outgrowth of discussions. I have cirrhosis (failed tx. times 2) and esophageal varices and ambiguous mild encepholapathy. I continue to bodybuild, play music with Ashford and Simpson and others multiple times a week, i.e., remain vital and hit the gym 2 out of every 3 days! Admittedly I am choosing to live while I live as it might  be more prudent to not chance variceal hemorrhage by suspending these activities but exercise has been my lifestyle forever (plus I'm vain).             What provokes frustration in me is the desert of information beyond subjective speculation about athleticism, bodybuilding, etc once diagnosed with advancing and advanced liver disease (and I have worked in health care for over 2 decades). I know from my years in Hospice care that at a certain point longevity rather than quality of life is the quintessential ingredient of the patient plan of care.....                           Anyway my ability to build and maintain muscle tissue has been impaired (there are relationships regarding testosterone and advanced liver disease that many hepatologists are neither aware or concerned with). It reminds me of a AIDS patient I took care of many years who had been a competitive bodybuilder: "I feel like i'm shrinking". I do miss my baseball shaped deltoids but hope to never give up my gym membership and am still more muscular than any of the clinicians monitoring my cirrhosis.  p.s. Wellbutrin is an activating antidepressant so if an athlete is going to take any antidepressant that fits his/her lifestyle this is the one to try on. d