need some quick tips cause i'm sick

[browndustin]

Hey guys... jeeze, I had a pretty gnarly leg day on thursday (as posted in the Am I Alone thread), and my sick little brother was chilling in my room with a buddy that night... the little bugger was coughing a lot and I was past my bed time and didn't get the best sleep. Took ZMA, my last white blood, melatonin and a big shake. Woke up feeling all right, last night I was coughing and this morning I was in horrible shape!!!!

I was in agony, the coughes were just down right nasty. After gargling some listerine I loosed up the phlegm and watched cartoons. Slept forr.... at least a good 13-15 hours in total, and got most of the crap out. My aching back stopped hurting and I'm not drinking fluids again. I've only a protein shake and now a gainer shake (cytogain) and I'm feeling a TON better.

But what do you guys do when you're sick? My appetite's coming back, same with my gf who will undoubtedly bring me food. She made a hectic soup and roast beef sammiches, so that should be good. Do you guys have any personal remedies for when you're sick? If so, please share them. I've only been sick one other time since I started lifting weights and I sketch out. Lost 10lbs but that's all right, it'll mostly be water weight and I have some nutrients back in me. Popped a multi, is this okay?

I have some powerade upstairs in the fridge. It's the blue kind, couldn't find any peach. I wanna mix some PW with it. Should I do doing this if I'm sick? What supplements could I possibly take? Try eating more solid foods? And if so, what kind? I just had a bad cough and now that the phlegm's gone, I doubt I'll get an infection. Just gonna take it easy.

The whole day I tossed and turned on the couch, but now I feel really good. Someone please post any tips, home remedies or best practices for when you've felt under the weather. I would, highly appreciate it. And I think it'd be good for the community to toss some ideas about this subject, no doubt.

[Mr. Aries]

8g vitamin c spread out in 4 dosages throughout the day.

3 gallons of water/gatorade combo

OPC-3 antioxident: pine tree bark extract, grape seed extract, and red wine extract

vitamin E: 400 IU

bed rest..

increase carbs to boost immune system.

[browndustin]

Thank you kind sir.

I'm off to the medine cabinet as we speak.

I'm really happy to be feeling better, but don't want to slip any further into catabolism and unhappiness.

[Mr. Aries]

Thank you kind sir.

I'm off to the medine cabinet as we speak.

I'm really happy to be feeling better, but don't want to slip any further into catabolism and unhappiness.

also add on 40g glutamine

20g EAA

20g BCAA

[Booty]

Hope you feel better soon, looks like John has you covered!

[asianbabe]

aww...
a heck of fruit and vege will do you good
and some hot tea perhaps?

get well soon!

[pu12en12g]

Good lookin out above regarding the Gatorade / Electrolytes...keeping calories at or near maint. levels should help the immune system (in theory).

I also (personally) LOVE:

Herbal tea's
Echinacea
Vitamin C
NAC / Solid Multivitamin
Moderate activity + plenty of SOLID sleep (even if a sleeping pill / med is necessary)
Those cheap Eucalyptus throat drops from Walgreens... lifesaver for me... don't know why

... but results will totally depend on if it's a actual virus or not. Maybe Dr Dave can chime in here... I know Vitamin C is pretty controversial, but Goldenseal is supposed to have some merit.

Since we're on the topic, I would LOVE to hear a discussion regarding circulation / oxygen levels and whether or not some low intensity cardio / activity could help vs. just bed rest only (in theory I think the combo should be best... BUT are there studies ?).

[browndustin]

I wouldn't mind some up to date discussions on low impact cardio while sick. Most people say that you should avoid this at all costs because of the caloric expenditure, risk of pneunumonia if sweating and basically kicking yourself while you're already down. But what about us? We're a little exceptional, aren't we? While once can generally argue that our immune systems may be a little taxed already, I'd say we're generally stronger so why would it hurt? I thought about this all day but pretty much lazed around.. heh. It's all good though, feeling a ton better. Thanks for both the tips and concerns, especially you Dr. Mom (Johnnn!!)!

It was hard to get an appetite today, so I just ate a lot of bread. Not the greatest to eat white bread, but it's totally packed with carbs and tastes really good. Sipped on gatorade with PW and BCAAs, got in lots of vitamin C regardless of debate, oats and instant oatmeal, took my ZMA and will happily down another protein shake with 1% milk before bed.

Once you hack all of the phlegm up, you feel like a new person though. I'm so happy it came up easy. For some reason, I actually look really good today. Radient skin, dropped an even 10lbs which makes my mid section look nice, and buzzed my head again lol. Wondering if my strength will be hurtin in the gym in a few days but not too concerned. meh

[LancerV]

I wouldnt recomend doing any type of cardio/weight tranining while being sick.
A. I wouldnt want you in the gym if you had something that you can spread
B. It lowers your immune system and your sick time will just be longer

[browndustin]

Nah, nah, nah... if anything it'd be a nice walk around the block or something bundled up really good. Absolutely wouldn't hit up the gym in this condition.

[ddawg91]

Lots and lots of sleep! And what everyone else recommends.

[Dr.Dave1]

Good lookin out above regarding the Gatorade / Electrolytes...keeping calories at or near maint. levels should help the immune system (in theory).

I also (personally) LOVE:

Herbal tea's
Echinacea
Vitamin C
NAC / Solid Multivitamin
Moderate activity + plenty of SOLID sleep (even if a sleeping pill / med is necessary)
Those cheap Eucalyptus throat drops from Walgreens... lifesaver for me... don't know why

... but results will totally depend on if it's a actual virus or not. Maybe Dr Dave can chime in here... I know Vitamin C is pretty controversial, but Goldenseal is supposed to have some merit.

Since we're on the topic, I would LOVE to hear a discussion regarding circulation / oxygen levels and whether or not some low intensity cardio / activity could help vs. just bed rest only (in theory I think the combo should be best... BUT are there studies ?).

The advice above from everyone looks good. Hydration, and rest are key in viral illnesses. And while you may not want to eat food it can be beneficial to try to maintain caloric intake as Pu mentioned.

As far as herbs and vitamins to reduce the duration of viral illnesses there is conflicting data on the benefit of such measures. I think it is more due to poorly designed studies b/c the people with the deep pockets (aka pharma) are sure not going to pay for studies like that. I think sticking to the mainstream recommendations is a good idea for safety. I have found mega dosing vitamin C similar to Mr. Aries suggestion seems to help. I have not tried goldenseal but I have heard some anecdotal evidence that it works well. Zinc can help if you start taking it early on when you first start feeling sick as it intereferes with the viral life cycle (it blocks cellular receptors for viral entry). Additionally, what works for one may not work for others as we all react differently and have different immune systems. If you have a method that works for you stick with it.

An article on moderate level aactivity . . . interesting stuff
Title Current perspective on exercise immunology
Authors Nieman DC.
Source Current Sports Medicine Reports. 2(5):239-42, 2003 Oct

abstract

By far, the most important finding that has emerged from exercise immunology studies is that positive immune changes take place during each bout of moderate physical activity. Over time, this translates to fewer days of sickness with the common cold and other upper respiratory tract infections. This is consistent with public health guidelines urging individuals to engage in near-daily physical activity of 30 minutes or more. Risk of upper respiratory tract infections can increase when athletes push beyond normal limits. The infection risk is amplified when other factors related to immune function are present, including exposure to novel pathogens during travel, lack of sleep, severe mental stress, malnutrition, or weight loss. Many components of the immune system exhibit adverse change after prolonged, heavy exertion lasting longer than 90 minutes. These immune changes occur in several compartments of the immune system and body (eg, the skin, upper respiratory tract mucosal tissue, lung, blood, and muscle). During this "open window" of impaired immunity (between 3 and 72 hours, depending on the immune measure), viruses and bacteria may gain a foothold, increasing the risk of subclinical and clinical infection. In general, if symptoms are from the neck up, moderate exercise is probably acceptable (and some researchers would argue even beneficial) when an athlete is sick, whereas bed rest and a gradual progression to normal training are recommended when the illness is systemic. [References: 24]

[browndustin]

I appreciate your input as always, Dr.Dave. You're going to make an excellent doctor, I'm sure of it!

I pretty much confirmed what I needed out of this thread. No radical ideas were introduced, but that doesn't mean that I'm not disappointed in the least. I had a feeling that it'd be important to keep my caloric intake around a normal maintenence level, but then again I didn't want to batter my body. It was really unexpected that I got sick.

Today's monday... went to work and about 30 people I knew had gone home sick. Everyone felt bad on friday (in the morning I had a few coughs, then at night I knew I'd wake up feeling awful) so the same virus must be floating around. We call it the NCO kennel cough. NCO is the company we work for, and if one bastard comes to work sick they usually do a fine job of not covering their mouth, washing their hands or sanitizing anything.

I'll keep hydrated, shovel food into my mouth, make sure my supplementation's calibrated for being in sick mode and keep sane!! I missed chest and back days over the weekend.

[pu12en12g]

In general, if symptoms are from the neck up, moderate exercise is probably acceptable (and some researchers would argue even beneficial) when an athlete is sick, whereas bed rest and a gradual progression to normal training are recommended when the illness is systemic. [References: 24]

Awesome find as usual Dr.dave !!!

[browndustin]

I can't say that he didn't surprise me!