- Joined
- Jun 15, 2006
- Messages
- 2,864
Hey guys....it's been awhile since I have been on here. Sorry for a wall of text, but wanted to update some people and maybe if someone is going through the same experience...this might help.. Last time I was on regularly, things were going great. Had a decent look going for me at a good weight, and as I always monitor blood work....I felt the best I have had in forever especially since I am getting older (40+). But I have always been one to be very conservative about anything I take....and I have a great personal friend who happens to be my MD, and I tell him about everything I do.
So sometime around the start of 2016, I started getting these pains in my right lower rib cage area and in the same area on the opposite side of my back. Go to the Dr., and he suspects Gall Bladder. I tell him that it can't be as nothing I eat affects it, and it comes on at weird times. However over the course of the year, I get an ultrasound (Shows gallbladder and everything else fine), Get a Cat-scan (Fine) and then a HIDA scan (Fine.) They also told me they were worried about my Pancreas as I was loosing weight although I tried to tell them that I couldn't work out as that made it hurt...so my appetite had dropped. But it was normal as well. Keep in mind that any blood work that I had done always came back perfect during this time frame.
But they still say Gall Bladder and I even get scheduled for surgery. On the way home from the appointment, I called and canceled it as I knew that wasn't the issue. So I finally see my MD friend and he suggests something called Tietze syndrome. Inflammation of the cartilage around the ribcage area. I read up on it, and sure enough that sounds like what I am experiencing as I was training for a bench competition when all of this started.
So I start seeing a physiotherapist he recommends, and he says that I also have a bunch of "knotting" up in the serratus muscles in that area. He said they felt like little pellets, and that it could have been some tearing in that area at one time. So I start going through all of this massage therapy, getting adjustments from a Chiro, some trigger point therapy....and over the course of a few months things start to get better.
So the gist of things is that I didn't work out at all for the entire year last year and most of this year, and was finally given the okay to start training again about a month ago. Not being able to lift weights was depressing. At the time I was only on my prescribed TRT...but figured what was the use of that if I couldn't train. (Stupid I know). But I stopped TRT, changed my diet around, and basically did stuff that didn't cause me any pain...which was mostly cardio related. So I didn't take anything other than a multi-vitamin and some fish oil for the last 14 months or so.
Ended up dropping a good bit of weight. Here are some examples.
1st Pic - Before all this started...I think I was around 200 lbs.
2nd Pic - almost a year with no weights...I think around 175 lbs.
3rd Pic - what I am starting with after being back in the gym for about a month. About 165 lbs.
So as you can see I lost a pretty good bit of muscle. But I was determined that I wasn't going to let myself go even if I couldn't train so I tried to stay lean.
I plan to start back on my TRT again. I have a good handle on my diet, and am now ready to start adding back some weight. I feel really good right now, and ready to "blow" things up...well within my conservative approach anyways. I hope that you all are doing well and plan to try and be on the board more. I have learned so much over the years from the guys here...and feel like a kid again now that things are going to start falling into place.
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So sometime around the start of 2016, I started getting these pains in my right lower rib cage area and in the same area on the opposite side of my back. Go to the Dr., and he suspects Gall Bladder. I tell him that it can't be as nothing I eat affects it, and it comes on at weird times. However over the course of the year, I get an ultrasound (Shows gallbladder and everything else fine), Get a Cat-scan (Fine) and then a HIDA scan (Fine.) They also told me they were worried about my Pancreas as I was loosing weight although I tried to tell them that I couldn't work out as that made it hurt...so my appetite had dropped. But it was normal as well. Keep in mind that any blood work that I had done always came back perfect during this time frame.
But they still say Gall Bladder and I even get scheduled for surgery. On the way home from the appointment, I called and canceled it as I knew that wasn't the issue. So I finally see my MD friend and he suggests something called Tietze syndrome. Inflammation of the cartilage around the ribcage area. I read up on it, and sure enough that sounds like what I am experiencing as I was training for a bench competition when all of this started.
So I start seeing a physiotherapist he recommends, and he says that I also have a bunch of "knotting" up in the serratus muscles in that area. He said they felt like little pellets, and that it could have been some tearing in that area at one time. So I start going through all of this massage therapy, getting adjustments from a Chiro, some trigger point therapy....and over the course of a few months things start to get better.
So the gist of things is that I didn't work out at all for the entire year last year and most of this year, and was finally given the okay to start training again about a month ago. Not being able to lift weights was depressing. At the time I was only on my prescribed TRT...but figured what was the use of that if I couldn't train. (Stupid I know). But I stopped TRT, changed my diet around, and basically did stuff that didn't cause me any pain...which was mostly cardio related. So I didn't take anything other than a multi-vitamin and some fish oil for the last 14 months or so.
Ended up dropping a good bit of weight. Here are some examples.
1st Pic - Before all this started...I think I was around 200 lbs.
2nd Pic - almost a year with no weights...I think around 175 lbs.
3rd Pic - what I am starting with after being back in the gym for about a month. About 165 lbs.
So as you can see I lost a pretty good bit of muscle. But I was determined that I wasn't going to let myself go even if I couldn't train so I tried to stay lean.
I plan to start back on my TRT again. I have a good handle on my diet, and am now ready to start adding back some weight. I feel really good right now, and ready to "blow" things up...well within my conservative approach anyways. I hope that you all are doing well and plan to try and be on the board more. I have learned so much over the years from the guys here...and feel like a kid again now that things are going to start falling into place.
Now here is