Fitness - reaction to exertion & effect of meds
 

On Friday I mowed the back and front lawns. Afterwards I became quite unwell; shaky, weak, pressure headache, nauseous.

I phoned GPs surgery and msg I got back from doc was drink 4 pints of water which I did. It didn't make me feel any better. My concern was lithium toxicity. I phoned GPs surgery back after a couple of hours as didn't feel any better and got msg back that I'd feel better soon.

to cut a long story short I didn't feel any better and my Mum came over because I was scared I was going to die I felt that ill.
At 7.30pm I phoned 111 because I felt so ill.

The outcome of that phone call was that I had to go to A&E to get a lithium level test and blood pressure reading.

My Mum took me to A&E and they were brilliant. I had an ECG too which came out fine and my blood pressure was fine and my lithium level was actually only 0.3 which is below the 0.4-1 range it should be probably because I had drunk so much water.

Sorry, this is taking ages.

The doc at A&E said that it was probably a mix of effects of exertion and anxiety feeding off each other like a vicious circle. I felt a right fool. And by 11pm (when I was in A&E) I began to feel better.

I have felt slightly like this twice before; one time after painting the fences in the garden in May and then one time after doing a boot camp class followed by a yoga class. So both times I had exerted myself.

I don't know how I can build my stamina up or am I always destined to only do a little bit of work and then rest for half a day/full day and then do some more work?

Does anyone else get like this after exerting themselves? It's so frustrating because I don't feel tired after exerting myself it's just a physical reaction that comes on afterwards.

I'm thinking I should see my GP and ask them what I can do and if it's my medication which is causing me to react in this way. Do you think that would be a good idea?

Yes, I think you should speak to your GP about it. But also, it might be worth pacing yourself with activities like mowing the lawn. Such as doing just one a day.

Thanks catbug. Got an appointment for next week.

I find some medication lowers my blood pressure which can make me feel really poorly

Oh sorry- just read your blood pressure was fine! Ignore!

Following up with your GP sounds like a good idea. Not sure if this is helpful, but I did find that when I first started lithium I felt pretty physically sick in general, and exercising was very difficult. However, it has definitely gotten easier with time.