coughing up blood at gym

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AprilCF2009

New member
So last thursday I was working out at my gym. I usually do 2x a day. Cardio and weight training. I fell in love with it. I was doing leg lifts and I noticed a wheeze that was really watery. I knew what was coming because it happened 4 years ago. Blood! I coughed it out and it was all over my hand. (I hope nobody saw) but I nonchalantly walked to bathroom trying not to panic. It went on for about 5 minutes and I left, I continued to go to the e.r to just get checked out. Everything was fine. Doctor started an extension on bactrim (which I was already taking), then 60mg prednisone, azithomyocin, vit k, etc
haven't coughed up blood since. Im just wondering why it happened. It was so out of the blue. Its so discouraging when you do everything right, working hard and then that happens! I gained10 lbs from the protein i have been taking, also my numbers vary fev1s are : 78-76%
fvc25-75 : 57-49% Did I over work myself? Did my pre workout cause it?

Any advice or words of wisdom!

Headed back for the gym today..first time back.
 
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Melissa75

Administrator
I'm sorry you had bleeding while doing something you love and that has so many benefits. I think exercise temporarily increases blood pressure, including in the vessels of your lungs. Heavy lifting in particular can cause a spike.

Were you also working out when it happened four years ago? If not, then you don't have a trend yet, just one data point. I would avoid lifting type strain for a while, so you don't pop your scab basically. Then get back into it and see what happens.

I've bled from doing nothing (seriously, i felt great and lay down to rest and bam, wet gurgle.) I've also bled from infections. So far, not from exercise, which like you, I love dearly and credit with my low infection rate since starting several years ago. I do maybe work out less than you? I do 2-3 hours of Zumba a week and 2-4 hours of rock climbing. So 4-7 hrs all week, with at least 2 rest days.
 
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imported_MaggieB

New member
I've coughed up blood at the gym too, and as alarming as it was, it never happened again. On the other hand, I've coughed up blood in all kinds of situations, and they are almost always after a strain on my lungs (once after I carried a couch up some stairs with a friend, once after a five mile walk in Cornwall). My advice is to do what you're doing. Listen to your body, take it a little easy, trust!
 
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stephen

Guest
AprilCF2009:

Sorry you had this experience. If it’s any comfort to hear, many of us have had bleeding experiences.

It was explained to me that trigger for the bleeding could be “dead tissue just sloughing off”. Needless to say, preventing infection reduces the sites where injured tissue develops.

For me, the bleeding usually started when I was sleeping. I would be awakened by a “percolating” sensation in my chest and blood in my mouth.

The first time it happened I really panicked. (It was before being diagnosed with CF.) The only negative thing I can say about the pulmonologist I was going to at the time, and whom I really adored, is that he should have told me that with bronchiectasis, bleeding could occur and not to panic. (Many of his patients were devastated when he was hit by a car and killed.)

I was very fortunate. Many here have had experiences much worse the mine. My episodes, which happened several times a year, lasted for less that 20 minutes and never required treatment. It wasn’t uncommon for the bleeding to reoccur on a few consecutive days.

Thank G-d, it’s been nine years my last bleeding episode. Following the proscribed CF treatment regimen probably deserves some of the credit. Hopefully, with the exciting new drugs and treatments being developed, bleeding will become a thing of the past for all.
 
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skifreek

Guest
I lift at the gym 5x a week, and sporadicly have blood like that.. Maybe 3x this year so far...just take a couple days off to heal and go back at it.
 
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cam

New member
Sorry to hear bout ur bleeding hope u get back to better health had it bunch of times just keep up gym and hopeu get and stay healthy bleeding sucks and scary I know
 
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4hats

New member
I've bled numerous times. Mostly when it was totally unexpected. However, this last winter I did start bleeding after I was shoveling heavy snow for an hour or so. I went inside after I was done, took one cough and the floodgates opened. This is the only time I can remember it happening after exerting myself, and I exercise quite a bit. Mostly it has occurred when I've laid down, as others have described, and I had been feeling relatively ok.
 
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MichaelL

New member
I've had this happen to me several times -- twice when I was at the gym. The first time at the gym was after I was finished working out and showering. The second time was when I first got to the gym and hadn't done anything yet. I have not noticed anything specific that seems to bring on the blood. It just happens unexpectedly. I take Vitamin K all the time now because of my past episodes. I also have a supply of Cyklokapron, which I only take after coughing up a several tablespoons or more of blood.

It's always upsetting to me when I cough up solid blood. Usually, I just take it easy afterwards -- no hypertonic saline or flutter until 24 hours after the blood stops. I've only had one situation where I had to call an ambulance. That time I was gasping for air and having trouble breathing. I coughed up at least half a litre of blood (~2 cups). Every other time, it's been less.

I hope you don't have this happen again soon.
 
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Angelo

New member
I know some CF Warriors have had embolism or cauterization for bleeding lungs. But I prefer solutions that don't cause more damage. I discovered some amazing supplements about 20 years ago. One in particular for bleeding. This supplement is commonly used for angina patients and my doctor decided to try it on me. It actually heals fragile blood vessels. I have answered this issues so many times, that I posted the details on my blog. http://www.angelodistefano.com/bleeding-lungs-and-nose-bleeds/
 
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skifreek

Guest
Angelo said:
I know some CF Warriors have had embolism or cauterization for bleeding lungs. But I prefer solutions that don't cause more damage. I discovered some amazing supplements about 20 years ago. One in particular for bleeding. This supplement is commonly used for angina patients and my doctor decided to try it on me. It actually heals fragile blood vessels. I have answered this issues so many times, that I posted the details on my blog. http://www.angelodistefano.com/bleeding-lungs-and-nose-bleeds/
Click to expand...

I had an embolism done in 2005, major bleeding happened in my sleep and i was lucky to wake up in time or i would have drowned in my own blood... Needless to say it wiped out a large portion of my upper left lobe and rendered it useless.
 
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erock77

Member
I'm a chronic bleeder and have bled at the gym, and all types of situations. I have noticed a trend with any excursion getting my heart pounding hard, running, and sometimes laying down if I just had one. I've been pretty good for a while now and have been hitting the exercise harder than ever (which isn't that hard compared to healthy gym goers). I'm all about preventative. Stay on ADEK vitamins (water soluble) with high vitamin K content, take probiotics daily, which help absorption of vitamin K. The scar tissue could start opening more regularly, so it's best to have your blood plateleting in good working order.
 
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welshwitch

Guest
When I have hemoptysis it's a sign from my bod (which is healthy, strong, and amazing) that I am doing too much and need to slow down. When I lower my stress level, the hemo goes away! That goes for working out too. If I cough up a little blood on my run, time to take it easy for a few days. It's worth it.
 
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RockyLass

New member
I just came off ivs after 3 weeks and once I get my butt back to the gym, I hope this doesn't happen to me!! I remember very clearly a few years ago when it did the first time ever. Did my best 15 minute run. Everything was fine, went home, ate dinner, FELT GREAT, then during my nighttime treatment, this really weird gargling sensation happened. I never had that before, and could even feel what side it was coming from. Ran to the sink and PURE blood came out. I nearly passed out from such a scare, it stopped eventually, but then keep coming back and had to go on ivs. The bathroom sink looked like from the movie scene Stephan Kings IT! !!! Ok, maybe not as bad, minus the mirrors, face, but there was some splatter my people! :O

In fact, below here for the viewing of this infamous clip....

I ran through just like the girl screaming DADDY DADDY THE SINK SINK!!!!, as my Dad was watching TV. I feel like too is CF and Pseudomonas talking...., "YOU GONNA DIE TRYING TO FIGHT US, HEHEHEHEHE "

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx3jS5v0swc

-My experiences.
 
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kmhbeauty

New member
This stuff works! I tried it after Angelo wrote on my post about coughing up blood. I have not had any bleeding since. Probably the change in elevation when you were doing the leg exercise. I had mine when I went to sit down in my car. I have only seen little blood clots in my mucus lately. I havnt been feeling well lately but no blood.
 
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Angelo

New member
kmhbeauty said:
This stuff works! I tried it after Angelo wrote on my post about coughing up blood. I have not had any bleeding since. Probably the change in elevation when you were doing the leg exercise. I had mine when I went to sit down in my car. I have only seen little blood clots in my mucus lately. I havnt been feeling well lately but no blood.
Click to expand...

So glad it helped. I try to give helpful tips. In 53 years, I have tried a lot of things. I share the things I know will work. I always keep a large bottle of Cyruta Plus in the fridge, and I always take it with me when I travel, just in case. Another supplement from Standard Process that all CF Warriors should keep is Congaplex. Unless you are post Xplant. Congaplex will boost your immune system to fight a number of pathogens. Anytime I feel a cold coming on, I take a bunch of Congaplex and I can knock out the cold before it gets a grip on me. I you want to know more about it, msg me and I will share more and how many I take. I think post Xplant patients probably should avoid it, because it will strengthen your immune system. I would be afraid of rejection issues.
 
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erock77

Member
Do you have any info on how this Cyruta works? Looks like the main ingredient is Buckwheat.

A remedy I've used for years to stop a bleed is cayenne pepper. It was recommended to me years ago on this forum by another bleeder who couldn't lay down or be active until using it. The first time I tried it, and many times after, I could feel the flow of blood stop within 10 seconds. I prefer cayenne powder from a natural foods store, it's usually more potent. I mix about 1/8 tsp or so with some warm water, a little more if the bleed is bad, then drink it. Supposedly it works by dilating all the blood vessels, which lowers the blood pressure, slowing the blood flow seeping into the lungs so it can clot off. I know for sure it's worked miraculously for me. After a few years of many doses the effects wore of a little. I still carry a little vial of cayenne in my pocket for emergencies, if no water is around I just pour a little in my mouth during a bleed.

Something I've been taking more recently is Lysteda (Tranexamic acid), which slows the breakdown of clots. Also recommended from this site. It is prescribed, and my docs were very hesitant to try it. They were afraid of some deadly risks that come with playing with blood clots. The side effects were low and I was in the hospital for bleeding, we wanted to avoid a 7th embolization for me so we tried it out. I'd only recommend this if you're a chronic bleeder with occasional massive episodes. They've tried it on some other patients too with good results so far. I posted previously in this thread about my more mainstream everyday regimen that keeps the hemoptysis at bay.
 
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Angelo

New member
erock77. I do not know the science of it, but you are correct. the main ingredient is an extract of buckwheat, which has some natural healing properties. I do know that it does not address the blood or clotting factors. It addresses the problem, not the symptom. It heals fragile and damaged blood vessels. If you just make your blood clot to stop the bleeding, you have not solved any problems and will have a recurrence. Of course it does not address the root problem that damages the blood vessels (that being CF), but healing the blood vessels goes a long way in reducing a recurrence. It also works for nose bleeds, as long as the blood vessel that ruptures in the nose is not too large. I just recently had that problem and still had to get my nose cauterized. But for lung bleeding, I have always had success with Cyruta Plus. If I see just a hint of bleeding starting in my lungs, I take 4 or 5 pills 6 times a day for a few days to be proactive. I have not had a gusher from my lungs in about 5 years. You can call Standard Process and ask questions if you need more info than that. (800) 848-5061. I just know it works and without nasty side effects like massive doses of Vit K and drugs and embolism have.
 
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LunaFaith

New member
Every time I've coughed up blood sans once it was at night while I was laying down for the night, it always struck me as odd when it happened.
*On a side note a common problem I have is with telling just how much blood I've coughed up, I've tried spitting into cups and using my phones camera, but even then it's hard to just how much is coming up.
 
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