Feeling hyper and could train all day and then suddenly have a breakdown?

[misssunshine]

Hello,

I have weird symptoms and I hope you can help me.

I have had this since 2 years already, coming every few weeks (sometimes just 3 weeks break, sometimes seven).

I am a gymnast, training 18 hours a week.

I am female, 5'4" and 130lbs. I never drink alcohol, don't smoke, sleep 8-9 hours per night and eat healthy and enough.

Those are the symptoms. The first 2 weeks, I feel super hyper. Like my body gives me all the adrenalin it has. I could train all day long, I could do without eating (but I still eat if course!) and although I can sleep, I am not really tired. I feel very very nervous (in a positive way) all the time and I make very good progressions in gymnastics. I feel
like right before a competition all the time, although there is no reason for me to be so hyper. It's hard for me to concentrate on school because I am so nervous.
Then for a week or so, everything is pretty normal. I don't feel overly hyper but also not tired. I do feel a little lazy when I am at home, but as soon as I am in the gym, I am
energized and can do my workout. Also, I get tired by the end of the day.
And then, there is the "breakdown".
Suddenly, from one day to the other, I feel like rubbish. I could sleep all day although I am not really
tired, my stomach burns as if I was hungry although I ate sooo much, I also feel lightheaded and dizzy when I try to exercise and my muscles feel weak. I feel like in slowed-down mode all the time. Normally, a back tuck or back handspring for me is like a forward roll for other people - but in this stage, I can't even do one! Although I know exactly what I need to do, when I try to do a back tuck, my body completely fails and I don't even make it around. I can't concentrate!

Have you got any idea what that could be?
I don't feel exhausted from training. Sometimes I am tired, but I have two days a week were I rest completely. Also my muscles or limbs don't hurt and I am not sick very often.

Might that be underrating or overtraining? Or hormones like the thyroid gland? Or something with the adrenal glands?

Has anyone experienced something similar? Or might know what it is?

I am thankful for every help!

[C.MARIVS]

Some of us have tendency to swings like that, some less some more. Some folks have extreme cases of such swings, where they go from happy phase to a real depression when days are a write off. It's just how we're wired, many of us,  probably to a degree most of us. Just take advantage of your "high gear" phase for your gains, and recover when your down and try not to get hurt by trying to hard.  I think you analyze it too much . .

[Josh Schmitter]

Age, how long you've been training, and diet could all play a part...as well as the things you mentioned.

 

I would get a full check up at your doc with blood work, etc. You can also tell him/her your symptoms, but that could be a hit or miss with a lot of docs.

 

How is your eating? Getting enough carbs around your WO? It sounds similar to carb cycling diets when you go through the ever pleasant crash phase.

[Mikkel Ravn]

Hope I'm not being creepy and all, but since what you described is in the neighbourhood of 21-35 days and, apparently, cyclic, could it be connected to the menstrual cycle? Being a man, I haven't got the faintest idea how that interplays with training, but it might be a possibility.

[Vinni Williams]

do you drink coffee, that could cause the ups and downs.

[miko]

I agree, that you should consult your doctor. If it is a hormonal thing, then get it taken care of. The symptoms you mention are not very detailed or plenty, so its hard to provide give advice. It could be many things, so go to the doctor and have him take a look and ask you some questions. 

[Douglas Wadle]

Definitely visit your doctor.  Ravn's thoughts are good as well.  This could be Bipolar 2 mood disorder.  This could be overtraining.  It could be many other things.  

 

You may be training too hard when you feel well, and not dialing it back appropriately.  Then you overtrain, crash, rest for a week, then you are "peaked" and ready to go, so you do, until your body crashes again.  However, you defiinitely need to be evaluated by a health professional.  You shouldn't have trouble focusing during your up phase and you shouldn't feel less hungry.  These things make me worried you may be having manic disorder, like hypomania.  Here's some more information for you: http://psychcentral.com/disorders/hypomanic-episode-symptoms/

 

Good luck, and get this taken care of.

[Laura McNally]

Sunshine, this kind of cycling merits a medical workup. No way around it.

That doesn't mean it's serious or difficult to address. It just means it's something that requires the trained eye of a medical professional who can evaluate you in person. The internet is great, but it can't substitute for in-person care.

Best wishes to you. Please keep us posted.