Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Running with Crohn’s: Aspirating vomit



Running with Crohn’s: Aspirating vomit

Not really related to Crohn’s or running but I want to share a bad experience I had last night.

As I lay down to go to sleep, I felt the urge to belch (sorry Beth).  I successfully burped; however, I did not immediately realize it was a “wet” (one with a bit of acid reflux) burp.  I apparently inhaled this stomach acid, which threw me into a coughing fit that last 20 minutes.  It caused a great deal of pain from the center of my chest (lungs) up to my sinus cavities and made it slightly difficult to breath.

My throat became extremely raw from the coughing fit and the rawness and pain in my throat made it extremely difficult to speak.  My wife volunteered to take me to the ER and I seriously considered going.  However, I recovered enough on my own that I felt I did not require immediate attention.

I eventually recovered enough to sleep and I feel much better this morning.  However, my throat and lungs remain sore/tender, it hurts to talk, and I feel like I have chest congestion and phlegm in the back of my throat.  Because I think heavy breathing from activities like running, I plan to take a short break from running.  I had planned a short easy run for today and a rest day for tomorrow anyway so this is not inconvenient.

I am treating this as a “running injury” and doing what I advise others to do, not run when you are injured.

If my lungs or throat worsen or I do not recover after two days of healing, I plan to see my doctor.

No comments:

Post a Comment