Tag Archives: antibiotics

An extended recovery, and the flip side of antibiotics

I extended my recovery period after Vancouver a bit, in part due to the effects of the antibiotics I had to take for my elbow.

On the plus side, the clindamycin I was prescribed did work. The redness immediately ceased, the swelling and some of the pain went down, and three days into the 10 day RX the heat around my elbow began to fade. It still hurts to lean on the elbow sometimes because (infection or not) I still have bursitis in that elbow and from experience that hangs around a while. I can still push and pull and use my right arm fine for the most part. At least now I can actually put pressure on the elbow (probably will stick to straight-arm planks for now, though).

However. The minus side is that antibiotics mess with your entire body, and it certainly has messed with mine. Yes, I’ve taken probiotics to counter the mass murder of gut bacteria from the antibiotics, and eaten a mild diet to minimize any c.diff problems.

But the clindamycin still wreaked havoc on my overall organ function and my overall energy. Even with good sleep and diet I’ve felt tired every day (when the infection started, my energy levels and running were okay, so it wasn’t that). I have sizable bags under my eyes, indicating havoc on my kidneys. My sweat smelled like the medication this last few days. I took the last of the RX last night and I’m glad that’s done.

And of course, the pills affected the energy I have to run. Sure, it got fairly hot for Chicago this past week (87 degrees Fahrenheit, 30+ celsius), to the point where I had to cut my last run very short. But even prior easy runs took more effort than usual. The medication certainly dried me out some, and even with plenty of hydration it often felt like I was a bit dried out before and during runs.

Yes, having run a marathon almost certainly is a key factor to this as well. Again, the elbow problem developed a week after the marathon. My body being heavily compromised probably made it a lot easier for bacteria to take hold in my elbow, as well as easier for the subsequent medication to do a number on my still-recovering body. Add in returning to easy running a bit early, and it appears I just need a bit more rest.

Fortunately, I don’t need to begin training officially for the Chicago Marathon in October until mid-June. I will want to be running regularly by then, of course, but it’s not crucial that I be out there training every day right now. My last run Thursday in fact capped 5 straight days of running, so I’m certainly not starting from zero if I take the weekend off and resume on Monday.

I probably need the rest not just coming off the medication, and to acclimate to the incoming summer heat, but also still recovering from the marathon. Two weeks is a standard, and some do more (Kenyans famously take a couple months off after marathons!). Taking three easy weeks is totally fine.

I’m going to drown myself in fruit and fiber this weekend to get the medication out of me and get back to normal, so I can get back to normal running.

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The Hidden Benefits of Antibiotic Treatment

Yesterday, I had to go on antibiotics for the first time in decades thanks to what apparently is cellulitis in my elbow. As usually happens with these sorts of infections, a weird chain of circumstances likely caused the condition.

A slight cut near my elbow in Vancouver wasn’t totally covered up. Though I cleaned it off regularly, I didn’t bandage it due to its awkward position (band aid style bandages would just fall off), not realizing until after the fact that a knuckle style bandage would have held on fine.

However, that little nick healed after a few days and there were no issues.

Saturday I was doing a bodyweight strength workout that at some point called for a standard elbow plank. I go to the floor and I felt like I leaned on a nerve in my right elbow. It didn’t feel good, but I adjusted and finish that + the workout with no issues.

The tip of my elbow was a bit sore a little later that night, like bursitis (which I’ve had before; that just goes away after you stop doing whatever’s causing it), which I didn’t pay much mind.

But then Sunday morning the elbow was real sore. I already knew then it wasn’t normal bursitis, further confirmed that night when my elbow felt rather warm to the touch… a telltale sign of infection. Knowing I cut that elbow last week, I suspected that bacteria got in and, after bumping it on the elbow plank, managed to work its magic.

I took a mild dose of NSAIDs and waited a couple days hoping maybe my decent immune system would maybe work things out on its own. But by the following night, even though the pain had subsided, the elbow was still warm to the touch, the redness was beginning to spread a bit and I realized I needed medical intervention.

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