Running Intolerance, Military Service & Lyme

Good Afternoon All!,

I was curious about a few different issues regarding my Lyme illness. For your situational awareness, I was bit in July 2015 and have been struggling with Lyme and co-infections coming up on 3 years. I stopped seeing my LLMD and stopped taking antibiotics in November 2017. Since then I have been treating far more holistically with diet, herbs, supplements, increased detox efforts etc. My current situation is the same story you have heard a thousand times with peaks and valleys but I feel (hope?) I am trending the right way albeit slowly.

My first issue is understanding what happens to me when I run. I have made exercise a big part of my efforts to regain my health. I used to be a workout animal. However, now I make sure I never overdo it. For whatever reason my sweet spot seems to be weightlifting. I'll lift for 30-45 minutes doing 4-5 sets of 4-12 X repetitions per exercise. Anytime, I feel like I am pushing myself too hard I back off and end the workout. I try not to lift more than two days in a row. Overall this has been great for my health and detox.

I had a couple of great weeks and the lifting was going great. I felt good. I had not run since my PT test back in September 2017. Since I was feeling good I decided to try a short run at a jogging pace last Friday. I ran one and half miles in about 14:30. Within a few hours of my run I started to not feel so great. By that night I felt miserable and frustrated. How could a short run at a slow pace such as that hurt me? I am just now starting to get over the set back that run caused me. My question is does any understand why this happens? Does anyone else have this issue? My guess is it has something to do with weight lifting being an anaerobic exercise and running being an aerobic exercise. But I don't understand why aerobic puts me out of commission and anaerobic seems to be helpful. My body is used to being heated up from weight lifting and sauana therapy (4-6X a week)

My other question is regarding military service and suffering from chronic issues from Lyme. I was hoping somebody here would have experience with this situation. I am a reserve member of the Air Force. Luckily, my job is an office job and even though it wrecks my health sometimes working twelve straight days during drill weekend these weekends are certainly doable from my perspective. My issue is in my career field people deploy quite a bit. Since I am reserve it is not REQUIRED to deploy but it is definitely looked down upon to never deploy and there is always the chance of being activated and deployed. That is the point of the reserve after all. In theory, I agree serve members should be deployable and I want to do my part. However, with this illness I don't know if deploying will ever be a realistic thing I can do. My contract is up in about 11 months. Selfishly, I would like to stay because the benefits (insurance) are so very valuable to me and where I am at in life right now. This is almost more of a morality, right or wrong question. Does anybody have experience with this? Should I just let the reserves go?

Thanks for reading.

Hey, friend. Long time, no chat. Back in December, you were kind enough to comment on my thread about whether or not I should quit my job. Well, I did, back on January 2nd. Thanks for your input.

Now, I want to chime-in about your possibly quitting YOUR job with the Air Force.

I was in a different branch of the Military, many years ago. I did a four-year hitch and have been out for almost 30 years. While deployed to the Middle East in 1987, I met a guy that became my best friend - more like a brother, really.

Well, after my enlistment, I got out. He finished his enlistment and got out, too. He joined the Reserves, for a short while, but didn't like it. He then switched to the Air Force Reserves and liked it a lot. Between his time in both branches of service (active and reserve), he logged 20 years.

So, in addition to what money he's saving from his "corporate" job, he's also got a retirement plan waiting on him with Uncle Sam - plus the other benefits that come with being Retired Military.

* Is your desire, in an "ideal" world, to spend 20+ years in the Air Force Reserves and retire?
* Do you currently have another (non-Military) job? Other benefits?
* How are you set financially? Can you afford to quit? Do you have any savings?
* If you do not have another job, do you feel confident you can get one? Do you have prospects?

As for the quasi-morality question, in my opinion, I see nothing wrong with staying and explaining to your colleagues and superiors about your health condition. (If you feel the need to do so, that is.) If being deployed isn't required, then it isn't required. Those are the rules. You're not trying to bend, break, or circumvent the rules.

But, I get the other part of it - the internal feelings and dialogue. Unfortunately, that's something you'll have to sort-out for yourself.

Many of us, myself included, tell ourselves stories about things - or, we're told stories by others - but we don't always examine their validity. (Religion is one example from my own life.) Instead, we accept them as fact and we keep repeating these memes to ourselves. A belief is simply a thought we keep thinking. And, of course, our beliefs direct our actions.

But, sometimes, we need to closely scrutinize our thoughts and see if they're REALLY true. ("If I don't get deployed, then ________.") If they're not true, then we have to change our thinking. This, in turn, will change our beliefs, and, thus, our actions. It's a feedback loop.

Anyway, back to the idea that you may not deploy. Maybe that's true, at least, until you recover.

But, what would be the result of your being deployed and then not being able to function 100%? What's the worst that could happen? Not only to you, but to the Unit? Could you deal with the worst-case scenario? Could the Unit deal with it? Is there a contingency plan?

* If so - and you want to be deployed - you could consider giving it a go.
* If not, then do not deploy.

At that point, it then becomes about whether you want to stay in the Air Force Reserves or not.

* If so - and you're able to find peace with not deploying - then carry-on.
* If not, then you resign.

Again, personally, I see no problem with staying-in, doing your job, and continuing to take care of yourself.

While it may seem selfish, you need to put your health first. It's actually not selfish, though. It's like being on an airplane and having the oxygen masks drop-down. What do the flight attendants instruct passengers? Put-on your own mask first, before you help anyone else. Obviously, you wouldn't be good to anyone, if you pass-out from hypoxia.

So, strap-on your mask, think about what you REALLY want, and then do it. Reevaluate as needed.

Thanks for your service and good luck!

The Dude

I also wonder about why exercise causes an increase in symptoms. I was a personal trainer in a former life and even after that was pretty fit, I love crossfit and Krav Maga and other intense stuff. Now when I train, certain movements make me feel like my brain is going to bleed out through my ears. If I press weights overhead is the worst, I even resorted to an empty 15kg bar and it was too much, I dropped down to pressing a plastic pipe and it was still brutal on my head. I can tolerate a light jog if I keep it really smooth and have done a half marathon whilst sick (very very slowly, but I didn’t walk so it still counts!). But shuttle sprints or anything that raises my heart rate high causes screaming headaches.

I now do light Krav Maga training, technique over power and fitness, horse riding, and have bought an electric bicycle to help me with getting to and from work. The bike is brilliant as it takes over on the tough bits like uphill or into the wind where normally I would pedal harder and get my heart rate up.

I did see one school of thought that said that exercises increase the circulation so if you are on treatment you may get more bacteria die off as the treatment is more easily able to reach more of the nasty little buggers. But I haven’t started treatment yet so I’m not sure on that one.

I’m determined to add in more exercise rather than reduce, purely as I don’t want to let this bloody thing get the best of me. I will just have to adapt and survive!

Lymie24 said...
Thank you Dude. Giving up military service would be difficult for me as it is ingrained in my blood. My dad and older brother are retired AF and my little brother is active duty AF. Financially, I have been on active duty orders for the last two years. That has been my only job since I graduated college in 2016. I actually acquired Lyme measuring trees for an independent study class. Even though I have financially relied on the military the last two years with my skills learned through my military career (Intelligence) and my Bachelor's degree I can certainly find another job that will make me financially stable.

Thanks for your perspective! I have a lot to think about over the next several months as I make my decision.

Being so young and having that education and experience, you should definitely be in a good position, employment-wise!

Given your comment about your other family members and their Military service, I would just add to make sure that you're doing what you want and not what you think others expect of you. It seems like you're doing so, but I just wanted to offer that suggestion.

The years pass quickly and people can easily get caught-up in starting a job, making a living, buying a house, having a family, paying-off debts, etc., that they forget (or, perhaps never consider) to enjoy what they do for a career.

The mindset of my parents' generation was just to get a job - any job - and be grateful for what you have. So, for some years, I had that mindset, too. I didn't like a lot of my jobs, but I stayed with them, because they paid well and most people I knew didn't like their jobs, either. The old saying was: "That's why they call it 'work!'" But, doing something for years or decades that one doesn't enjoy can take a toll.

Anyway, I get the sense that you're further ahead than I was at your age. So, you're probably doing just fine.

The only other thing I would mention, now that I think about it, is to save AT LEAST 10% of your income (more is better) in some long-term, diversified investments. Get some professional help with this and use a fee-based advisor and not a commission-based advisor!

Ask anyone in their 50s or older and you're likely to hear this comment lament: "I wish I had started saving sooner." You're young, so time (and, compound interest) is your friend. You can put-aside less money each month over a longer period of time and have a lot more money than trying to start in your 30s, 40s, or later and trying to play "catch-up." In fact, much of the time, most people cannot catch-up.

I nag every young person about this, so I don't mean to sound overly-preachy to you.

A good, easy-to-follow book is "The Truth about Money" by Ric Edelman. I've given copies to several young folks getting started in their lives, though the book is good for anyone at any age. It's $13.46 on Amazon.com and will return an exponential yield on the small investment. Do yourself a favor and get it.

The Truth about Money by Ric Edelman
/bit.ly/2xMoWVZ

Good luck, amigo!

The Dude

Post Edited (The Dude Abides) : 6/5/2018 8:33:57 PM (GMT-6)

It was my privilege to serve, goshawk. Thank you very much.

Also, good suggestion about Ric's book "The Truth about Your Future: The Money Guide You Need Now, Later, and Much Later."

The Truth about Your Future by Ric Edelman
/bit.ly/2JlSE5t

Post Edited (The Dude Abides) : 6/5/2018 8:34:48 PM (GMT-6)

bmoberg337,

That is absolutely fascinating stuff and makes a lot of sense. Thank you for spreading your knowledge!