Flu like Symptoms When I Exercise

Question

Hi
I have this issue since I was 16 years old. I thought it was my imagination at first, but I'm now 52 and it never went away. I have no idea what it is except exercising for me leaves me completely adrenally exhausted with a low grade fever and aches like flu symptoms all over my body, including the joints in my fingers and hands aching. It's very frustrating as I used to love to exercise and now getting older it's even more important. I had the usual round of tests MRI's cat scans this doctor that doctor, herbal doctors nothing works. Does anybody know if this is part of the chronic fatigue senario. I always put it down to that and have always been told the same.

This all started in me when I was 16 about. I used to walk around with a 24 hr fever and chills all the time + another disturbing and interesting symptom was the night sweats and even during the day I'd be walking around with different parts of my body, mostly muscle groups actually wet with sweat and thus chills. The odd thing was it mostly seemed to be on one side of my body mostly. Honestly, if I were to take a marker and draw a straight line down the center of my forehead all the way to the ground deviding my body in half it would be just that. One side of my body sweating and the other side bone dry. My neck gland on the left was always swollen and wet with the fever 24 hours a day. This whole thing went on for over ten years and eventually backed down a little. Still, if I want to remember how I felt back then all I have to do is go running 200 yards for a few days in a row and I'm sick as hell. DOES ANY DOCTOR OUT THERE HAPPEN TO HAVE ANY SUGGESTINGS OR IDEA WHAT THIS IS. MOSTLY THE LEFT SIDE>> THANK YOU!
tom

This discussion is related to Flu-like symptoms after exercise.

tdcourt · Answer

Thanks you so much for your feedback. I really appreciate your advice. I've had this issue for a long time. It's the total exhaustion that goes with the whole thing, the underlying fever that's never far away and the tightening up of all my muscles from the smallest bit of exersice that always had me stumped. I've had many tests over the years.  I will look into what you suggest. Is any of this curable would you say? just curious. My blood/P seems normal by all accounts and  don't smoke and barely drink at all. I'm 175lbs and 6'1, so I figure I should  be able to exercise. Weird, even if I use weights 7lbs dumbells to try build my arms up my body becomes exhausted and my muscles develop severe weakiness. Very scary sometimes. Thanks You again

Tom

KMathurMD · Answer

Hi 
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
Sweating and cramps during exercise can be due to low blood pressure, high blood pressure, low sodium, low potassium, or due to increasing the pace of exercise beyond what your body can normally tolerate. Get serum electrolytes and a tread mill test done for this. Another cause is poor sweating as in Sjogren’s syndrome. Since one half of body is involved, it can also be a sympathetic-parasympathetic dysfunction issue. This system is the flight and fright system of the body, and has innervations that span across half of body. Please consult your PCP for primary examination followed by proper referral. Hope this helps. Take care!