premature fatigue: please diagnose!

i have a daily routine that includes walking up a flight of a couple hundred steep stairs with my 1.5 year old in a baby carrier on my back (maybe 40ish pounds total). it's up and down these stairs to this beach in mexico im at for a couple months:

 

it is a nice regular cardio and strength touchstone and interesting to see how the experience of it changes day to day. a lot of factors contribute to how easy or hard it is and how fatigued i am after reaching the top--sleep, diet, recent workouts, hydration, vitamins/mineral supplements, etc, but it is very hard to isolate their effect since they are all somewhat irregular.

one thing that seems to vary quite a bit in the experience of the stair walking is how quickly the "heavy legs" feeling sets in. im not sure if that is lactic acid or what. but sometimes its not till halfway up. sometimes it's after a mere few steps. 

i was curious if there is a name for this "pre-mature" fatigue--im not breathing hard, it's not a strength limitation, it's like when you wake up in the middle of a sleep cycle and your legs are heavy or tingly or like noodles. not sure how else to describe it.

i have a few possible suspicions of what could be at the root, but would really appreciate some uninfluenced diagnoses from anyone that has an idea of what it could be. what do you think?

Hi Peter,

That place looks amazing!

unfortunately it's hard to give any advices behind a montitor. I would highly reccomend to work closely with a medical professional to get to the bottom of this. I would ask your doctor to check vitamin levels, metabolism, bloodpressure and hormone levels. 

i have had recent blood work for life insurance and all was well. im not clear on the other realms of testing that wouldn't have been included in that. is there a standard list for those sorts of testing?

aren't there any common causes that i could just self experiment with normal supplements or other changes that might confirm any of the possible causes?

Hi Peter,

Do you feel stressed or anxious in your life? Do you sleep well?

Do you often eat heavy meals hard to digest?

Do you drink enough water daily?

These questions are not exhaustive, but that maybe could help you.  Let us know! 

life is fine, sleep is fine, i intermittent fast and juice fast in addition to "heavy meals", though im not sure what you mean by "hard to digest". i dont always drink at much water as i intend (3 quarts), but the problem does not seem to be related to that.

ive done a bit more research online and found a lot of runners at least who talk about "heavy leg syndrome" or "dead legs".

people experience this even when iron levels are high, though i see something about a difference between iron level and ferritin levels (which apparently can be low even when iron is high). a number of other problems seem to be commonly suggested besides iron issues--magnesium, vit d deficiencies, and hypothyroidism.

does "dead legs" diagnosis help? are there any commonly recommended solutions to try for that?

Hi Peter,

I would still recommend to get the tests I mentioned above by a doctor to ensure that all is fine. The best would be to get an in person diagnosis from a medical professional. Unfortunately we cannot give you any medical advices on an online forum without for sure knowing your diagnosis. 

If you are suffering from  "heavy legs syndrome", it's important to do what you can in order to improve the blood circulation. I recommend to see a massage therapist and also keep your legs elevated whenever you can. It is however very important to get it checked as the symptoms may worsen over time without treatment. 

Hey mate, 

Not sure what the rest of your nutrition looks like but if you are bordering on Ketosis a lack of salt could yield similar symptoms. 

Good luck. 

I would reccommmend discontinuing IF/add in a bit more starchy carbs (squash is my favorite). I’m not sure if there are any other problems, but keto and IF, although fantastic tools, are a stress and could contribute to low energy/other issues. Adding in carbs/not fasting could be worth a shot.