[--gKrish--]

Originally Posted by pandabear

Suffering from low immunity to a host of unrelated symptoms, used to injure myself with the slightest exertion at the gym, with longer recovery times, chronic back pain, acidity bloating, lack of sleep,... you name it. None of the docs could catch it, but yeah got hints on the internet and got myself tested, turned out I was chronically low.

I had exactly same symptoms that you described and I think it is pretty common these days among Indians. A lot of people I know had same symptoms due to the same cause. My doctor was almost certain about this even before I got a blood test done. When the results came, she was spot on. I had severe deficiency and it had caused a few other related absorption problems and related deficiencies (calcium and magnesium like you said).

I think getting outdoors and exercising is also necessary to maintain the levels even after supplements. I took 60,000 IU of Vitd3 for 8 weeks and the value was in normal range in another 4 weeks. The symptoms slowly got better. However, after 9 months, it is the same story all over again. I followed the same diet, never went outdoors and never exercised much either. Making lifestyle changes and ensuring a balanced diet is the permanent solution. With vegetarian diet, b12 deficiency is another problem that is common these days.

[pandabear]

Originally Posted by --gKrish--

My doctor was almost certain about this even before I got a blood test done. When the results came, she was spot on.

However, after 9 months, it is the same story all over again. I followed the same diet, never went outdoors and never exercised much either. Making lifestyle changes and ensuring a balanced diet is the permanent solution. With vegetarian diet, b12 deficiency is another problem that is common these days.

Lucky that your doc managed to find it. I was struggling for 5 odd years before figuring it out.

Unfortunately what I read is that this is chronic. Now a days I make it a point to stay in the sun few times a week 11am for 30 mins, yeah the work from home has been a blessing. Does it help? No, its tough to maintain the normal levels with our lifestyles. I am resigned to taking 60000IU once a month. Yeah and the B12 deficiency did cause me tremors. Like I said this has been a one fix pill.

May people may be slightly deficient and the heart may just give away during strenuous exercise or lack of sleep.

Just take care guys, life is too fragile. Like the Gita says, do what you have to do, remaining leave it to God the things not in our hands.

[AirbusCapt]

Folks, the gym or the treadmill is a 'red herring'. Please take the media analysis with a huge pinch of salt. Infact I'd go out on a limb and say that were these 48 year olds not working out, we would have lost them at may be 38 itself.
The real killer is the extreme and repetitive stress these folks live under. That is the real silent killer so to speak. For the modern professional every activity under the sun is a competition with some goals to target. They have lost the ability to do anything for its sake, to perform a task because it is fun.

The entire corporate and business world makes us feel that if you don't make money, you don't exist, you are useless. The entire media drivel too makes us believe this kind of bullshit thinking. I mean who but a psychopath will sincerely believe in phrases such as 'sleep is a waste of time' or 'every minute if my time I make X dollars' or 'dont be a minimum guy'

Most of these corporate/media/business success stories are just that , stories! What is sucess when you suffer from anxiety attacks, pop multiple pills, do recreational drugs, chase the fountain of youth and live in sham marriages?

Coming back to the topic, overdoing anything is a recipe for disaster, one can't pick up a pair of dumbells at 30 and expect to be an Adonis at 50.

[armaan_singh]

I recently turned 30 a few months back and while I didn't wake up on my 30th birthday and suddenly feel a change, I have gradually in the last year or so started feeling the difference between what I was at 20 versus today. 30 may not seem like much on the surface but it's a huge departure from the previous decade of one's life as I suppose the 40s and 50s respectively would be.

I think one needs to adapt to the change in one's body, rather than trying to fight out. Like when we see bad patches of road on a trip, we don't race over them we slowly glide over them to avoid injuring our car, the same way our body needs the same care too.

The more one adapts the more enjoyable it becomes is what I've experienced, as initially I was rather bummed about not being able too head out every night like I once used too, that's not to say I didn't try but my body gave me subtle hints that it was time to slow down, and that's when I realized the importance of quality over quantity. Enjoying the finer things in life which I used to dream about, that's when I realized I may not be the life of the party anymore but I can do much more like host parties, go to far far better places than I've ever been too.

Point being, if you adapt to the change, you'll ride the wave like a king else as the OP has posted, things don't always end well.

Thanks,
Armaan.

[AKSarkar1]

Covid has really propelled such incidents with gentlemen in their middle-age, mainly due to stress. The stress of job/finances/responsibility coupled with Covid problems is a real killer. I don't mean to bring down the Indian work scene but the working conditions in our country are a real killer. Individuals and corporates alike need to start being more mindful about what they are doing to their employees due to the constant stress of performing etc. Eating and lifestyle habits that come with so-called "high pain high gain" are well known to all of us.

Regarding the gymming/exercising point, I don't necessarily feel it is that harmful. If the person in question has been a gym or fitness enthusiast since the very beginning, he or she shouldn't have a problem continuing the trend in their 40-50s. The scenario changes if they are a complete newbie and stress their body physically on a daily basis when they haven't done it in all their lives so far.

Above all, I feel it is time we learn to take a step back and focus on ourselves for once. Being mindful about yourself and your body really goes a long way!

In the meantime- Stay home, Stay Safe, and Stay Relaxed!

[kpkeerthi]

Age is not a factor here. Chronic stress, poor diet, sleep deprivation and poor lifestyle habits are. Chronic is the keyword here.

Most people abuse their body till their health goes south and the doctor advices "exercise" and that's when you hit the gym. It's already too late and your body is pretty beat up already. A 40+ years of abuse is not going to be reversed with a daily 1 hr treadmill session at the "gym".

[pandabear]

Originally Posted by AKSarkar1

I don't mean to bring down the Indian work scene but the working conditions in our country are a real killer. Individuals and corporates alike need to start being more mindful about what they are doing to their employees due to the constant stress of performing etc.

Well said, the mindset needs to change more pressure does not mean more productivity. Basically it's the master salve mentality at workplace aka colonial hangover.

The human resources team should lead the organisation to be more humane.

A proper work life balance is a must and unfortunately many people get trapped in the competitive vortex.

IT and Telecom are some of the toughest environments that take a toll on the health.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by AKSarkar1

Regarding the gymming/exercising point, I don't necessarily feel it is that harmful. If the person in question has been a gym or fitness enthusiast since the very beginning, he or she shouldn't have a problem continuing the trend in their 40-50s. The scenario changes if they are a complete newbie and stress their body physically on a daily basis when they haven't done it in all their lives so far.

Sorry, I will have to correct you here. People who worked out since young age aren't supermen. They are no different in body than who started in the 40s. The difference is in perspective, which comes from experience. I have mentioned it here.

I started at 15, and now I am 52. Now I am not able to keep up the intensity of workout I could do 5 years ago. I was not very surprised because I was expecting it, I was told to expect it from many veterans of fitness. Still it comes as a disappointment. And many are not able to handle it, and try to overcompensate. So you can't keep up the trend just because you did it from young age. In fact, those who worked out from young age are quicker to detect the age factor limiting their fitness goals, and start reducing the expectations.

Even the fittest person can't outrun aging. Some due to genes can prolong it by a few years, but they are outliers. However, most will have to accept the age limitation by late 40s.

Stress is a different thing. It can kill even in the 30s. As a businessman I experience intense stress levels many times a year. However, unlike a corporate employee I don't undergo constant stress applied via artificial pressures. I can just say screw it and walk away and try something else.

[shatananda.k]

Originally Posted by pandabear

Suffering from low immunity to a host of unrelated symptoms, used to injure myself with the slightest exertion at the gym, with longer recovery times, chronic back pain, acidity bloating, lack of sleep,... you name it. None of the docs could catch it, but yeah got hints on the internet and got myself tested, turned out I was chronically low.

.

Pretty much sums up the issues I had for a very long time.
Due to chronic back pain, I visited a new orthopedic doc. He recommended Vit-D tests. The levels were pretty bad.

[jithin23]

Originally Posted by gkveda

. Exercises may be immediate cause of their death. After all, these corporate executives were working out just to overcome their obesity and get some shape to the body.

Then, what could be the real reason for their death at such young age? To understand this, we need to know, were they really living their lives before death? The corporate pressure and responsibilities the people at such top positions do not allow them to "live" their lives. They were just existing.

Honestly, people have to stop looking at their career, growth, power and all those corporate nonsense and start living life to the fullest extent instead of just existence for the sake of it. Work should be part of life and not the other way. i.e., life should not become part of life.

Dedicating life to professional career, working for 20-24 hours a day, forgetting the life is the result of these deaths. And people would not realise this fact till they die.

My condolences to the departed soul and may His soul rest in peace

Absolutely right with your observations! I've realized this quite soon in my career which is why of 2 years. Sometimes these sudden deaths can also be a result of multiple factors such as smoking which is very common in the corporate world and sometimes drinking too much in parties. Plus the pressure of professional and personal commitments increase as one gets older and these might be a factor too.

I've seen my colleagues and friends work 13-14 hours a day and the work/home boundaries are blurred in the WFH scenario.

There's more to life than only working our 100% or more for 5-6 days of the week. Life's short and it's time to live a contet life rather than a competitive life. We've been doing the competitive things right from preschool till university and it's okay to live life in one's own pace.

[tj123]

Coronavirus appears to be attacking the lining of the blood vessels leading to inflammation causing blood flow issues to major organs like heart. Source https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saska...vido-1.6062817

[Deep Blue]

It is pertinent to remember that all sudden deaths in young are not due to heart attacks( medically - myocardial infarction or acute coronary syndrome arising due to reduced or no blood flow to the heart muscle). Such deaths could also be due to massive bleeding in the brain due to an aneurysm rupture or due to abnormalities in the beating rhythm of the heart(arrhythmias). The ones that occur after strenuous workouts can be because of heart attacks.

Another postulated reason why the young die in an acute myocardial infarction as compared to older people is the lack of collateral supply. In an older person, who has gradually developed blocks in his blood vessels, collateral supply akin to bypass roads develops over time which will still supply some blood to the affected portion. A young person will not have collateral vessels and is more likely to have potentially serious consequences.

It may be worthwhile to look at your own family history. Are there people who have died young suddenly? Is there a family history of diabetes, hypertension? If that is there, it is better to implement primary prevention measures like exercises, and dietary measures earlier in life.

Moderation in everything - eating, exercising, working is like averaging your body limits when you don't know what limits your body can take and works for most individuals.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Deep Blue

In an older person, who has gradually developed blocks in his blood vessels, collateral supply akin to bypass roads develops over time which will still supply some blood to the affected portion. A young person will not have collateral vessels and is more likely to have potentially serious consequences.

What happens if such a person is brought to ER? Can you do angioplasty before it is too late?

[ashishpotdar]

There is an amazing TED Talk given by Dr. James O Keefe who was himself an avid runner, but after some incidents with himself and friends, studied endurance athletes hearts and the impact running has on them. He finally advocates walking / running at a comfortable place and enjoying it rather than competing. Quite an eye opener and relevant. Find too many people around who are trying to do fitness with a vengeance and with an element of showing off or competing. The Strava/Garmin tags on FB/WA become an addiction.

Do watch the TED Talk. Link given below

https://youtu.be/Y6U728AZnV0

[Deep Blue]

Originally Posted by Samurai

What happens if such a person is brought to ER? Can you do angioplasty before it is too late?

Yes. An acute heart attack is because of a sudden complete block of the blood vessel . This is usually because of a clot occurring on an already existing narrowing due to atherosclerosis. As a result, the area of the heart muscle that is supplied by the blood vessel is starved of oxygen. If there are collaterals, they can minimize the extent of damage and the person may survive longer for the cardiologists to do an angioplasty and restore the blood flow.