A Near Death Experience (PLEASE READ UP ON PROTEIN)

[IRonBuilT]

I have to say I thank god that I didn't die after what had happened to me these past few weeks.... Let me give you a little history real quick, I began using DC Training taking in 350g of protein a day with around 3500cal... My gains where GREAT I have to say I gained about 30lb (27-28 muscle) in a short 8 months, untill 1 day I almost died... I started having bad symptoms like being a little dizzy then one day I started throwing up 100 times and I went to get hospitalized, later that evening I was in a Coma for a long time its not just bad being in a coma but I also lost 17lb of my muscles in a short week... just 2 days ago I was released from the hospital and I have to really thank god that I came back alive without being a vegetable... Now this is what they found out that caused this problem.... Protein! When the doctors found out I was taking in 350g of Protein they thought I was crazy, but I was confused because I know plenty of people on this forum who take the same if not MUCH MORE than me. But what the reality is that not everyone is created equal.... some maybe lucky and able to take in that much and some people may not, sadly I found out the hard way. Now to go in a little details its not from a kidney failure or anything.... it was simple a Nitrogen imbalance that the Protein had created in my body... having a nitrogen imbalance I ended up having an ammonia level of 800 in my blood and brain... now if anyone knows about ammonia in the body you would surly know that 800 is life threatning and it was a miracle that im alive right now... Currently they are putting me on a 60-80g Protein diet for a loooong time and to tell you the truth im just too scared to ever go back at protein levels like that again. Here's what I also found out for weightlifters... you only really need 1.5-1.7g per KG to keep your nitrogen balanced and many many people say that this is plenty for your system and that anymore protein would be too much for the body to absorb... Thats also why I hit a level of 800 my body started to store more and more protein in my liver and other places and once it was all released it reached to 800. I felt that I just had to send this message out to someone because im sure there is someone else on here that might have the same problem and it might save this persons life in the near future!

Now I hope Dante or someone else who works with Dante and his DC Training program can PLEASE help me out and message me and really help me out with the DC workout plan, but having it modified for me to use only 1.5-1.7g per KG (im just shy of 180 after what happened so I would only take in 122-140g)
But right now I have to stay on a very strict 60-80gMAXX diet
I lost soo much muscle and all I want is to just gain it back and stay constint from there on... I was very happy with my size back then
But I cant complain... Im happy im alive!

 

[pullinbig]

prepare to shrink on 60-80g/d of protein.

you the first one I have heard of having probs with high protein intake. i know guys taking in 1 kilo/d at times. i routinely go up to 600/d in heavy training cycles.

good luck

 

[IRonBuilT]

lol thanks for the boost of confidence... they didnt know it was the protein after a looooong time and the shotty part is the side effects the come before the coma which is too long to explain but it may be more common than you think but if you want to know in details I can

 

[hornedfrogs07]

Wow, that stinks bro. Glad you're doing okay (relatively) now though. I've always heard that 1-1.5g/lb is about right (ask a doc and they'll tell you it's overkill though)........that's one of the few things I never agreed with the DC program on.

 

[pullinbig]

everything is bad for you today. food, lifting, sleeping to much, not enough, not lifting, sex, no sex, breathing, not breathing.

if its so common where are all the folks at then? i havent met any but you and i havent met you?

and im gonna go in a coma because i eat a lot of meat (food jcp)?

spare me the details. the "not to do list" is already out of hand.

OK i just did an internet search for protein intake related comas. no matches that had any bearing on this topic. must not be too common.

i aint saying it didnt happen to you but you may be a rare case. an the docs are 100% positive that no other factors are invloved?

besides i just read a study the other day on the importance of a positve nitrogen balance for building muscle.

hope it all works out for ya. i hate you went thru the problems too as you are one of our bros in iron.

 

[inked1]

I thought that 1g per lb was like a minimum maintenance for protein intake

 

[Deep-Squats]

You MUST have had a pre existing illness, quite possibly a degree of renal impairement or abnormal protein metabolism, or both.

 

[pullinbig]

You MUST have had a pre existing illness, quite possibly a degree of renal impairement or abnormal protein metabolism, or both.

like ya name bro.

 

[hornedfrogs07]

You MUST have had a pre existing illness, quite possibly a degree of renal impairement or abnormal protein metabolism, or both.

I agree. Before what I said earlier is taken the wrong way, 2g/lb really isn't that excessive.........hell, last spring when I was actually able to watch what I ate and all, I was downing at least a minimum of 350 - 400g/day between diet and supps (btw 1.5 and 2g/lb at the time).

 

[IRonBuilT]

well dont do a search on protein and coma.... do a search on "Protein increasing ammonia levels"... They mentioned that it may be a protein metabolism problem... I am getting lots and lots of genetic testing done so I will keep you updated if that was the problem. But none the less im not here to tell everyone dont use that much, im just here to share my life story and I know there may be someone else on this forum who might have the same problem like me and if I can just change that ONE persons mind to not take more than 1g/lb in protein and save his life I will feel much happier, thats all. 1g/lb isnt bad at all, my old roomate reps 405 easily and takes in only 170-190g and hes 5'8.5 205lb with 3% bf...So lots and lots of protein isn't the only thing that will get you bigger

 

[Die$eL~Man]

Bro Listen To Yourself Not Everyone Else.....

 

[Derek_D]

Hey Trick,

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm real glad you're still alive, but I do agree with the others... trust me there are other factors involved here and they will surface once genetic testing results are in.

Dr. Peter Lemon is the leading researcher on protein and its effects on endurance and strength athletes and he has come to radically different conclusions. He basically said that if you wanna figure out how much protein is needed in strength and endurance athletes, then you HAVE TO have strength and endurance athletes making up your subject groups during testing... and previously that has not been done. Doctors and researchers were using regular sedentary people and forecasting those results onto the general population which includes the strength/endurance athletes. Check out this interview with him (http://www.sportlabdirect.com/learning/athleticrequirements_protein.html)

Anyways, either way, I'm glad you're still here and I hope the doctors can find something else that went wrong and fix it. If not, you can still look good if you train properly, eat what you can, and do your cardio. Sometimes genetics are a bitch!

Derek

 

[insaned]

High protein intake may induce your body to have excessive ammonia, but your body should be able to clean it up.
It could be caused by any other ilness, or other problem that along with the high protein ingestion caused your body to let the ammonia levels get that high...

keep us updated

 

[UncleL0925]

Out of curriosity... how much water do you/did you drink a day?

I'm a big believer that increasing your water intake is the best way to stay healthy. Especially when you increase your protein intake or add any supplement/drugs. I hear a lot of people say, "I drink a lot of water," but they have no idea how much. Just because you piss a lot doesn't mean you're drinking as much as you should. Get a gallon jug and try to get 2 gal/day and dont forget to drink at night too.

Just my .02

 

[therev]

well Im not trying to be a jerk but did you tell the doctor EVERYTHING you was on/taking?

 

[painless2]

It's important to note that protein intake should be factored by considering your lean body mass, not just your body weight. Feeding protein to the fat and water in the body isn't going to help you gain muscle mass. Fueling the existing lean body mass will.

 

[DiscoFever]

fuck everything else dude god has blessed you by keeping you, i dont even know you but im glad fer you, hope shit works out

 

[IRonBuilT]

I wasn'y concious at that time this happened believe me when i told you they did all different types of testings from A-Z.... 24 pages of blood tests which also includes all recreation drugs testosterone dehydration etc.... This isn't a reg hospital it's a University Hospital which is one of the best kind of hospitals you can go to. It's Def Protein but they have further testing being done to see if it was genetics or the right combination of stresses on my body with high protein that caused it. Lets say that it is a genetic problem (which I will find out in a few weeks because there will be more blood tests) There could be someone else here with a genetic problem to and im agreeing with DIESEL MAN: Listen To Yourself Not Everyone Else..... I will keep you all updated on this matter.

 

[IRonBuilT]

Currently they are checking to see if one of my liver enzymes are predisposed to a genetic problem, but they are also speculating that it may be something else completely (meaning that I may not be predisposed) because I only react bad to the whey protein supplement not real food protein...I was maybe unclear earlier but I am not telling everyone that high protein is dangerous for everyone because I presonally don't think so. If you have been taking high amounts of protein for several years they hey, your fine don't worry about it but for people who just started taking high amounts LOOK FOR THESE SIDE EFFECTS: this is what I experienced thru those 8 months of high intake.... every once in a while I would feel nauseated/dizzy/vomiting after 30min-1hour of a protein shake consumption this happened about 4 times during the 8 months span. The last week before I was admitted to the hospital (Which let me tell you I dont remember what so ever, but I have logs on AIM that ive been telling lots of people how I feel) has me telling my friends that my eye sight was blurry, ears feel muffled, dizzy, always tired, I was losing weight for no reason, weaker at the gym, vomiting, not able to concentrate (I thought I had ADD at one point), forgetful, acting very different. I was messed up in the head yet I would try to tell myself I was fine... The day I went to the hospital I drove myself to the clinic, with all these symptoms, thank god I didnt crash or anything, but sometimes you may think your fine when your really not. So having that said in the meantime till I find out what really happened if any of you experience these symptoms, just be REAL careful with what supplements you take. My #1 big warning was dizzy and vommiting after a protein shake so for those of you just beginning to take in high amounts of protein look for that. I hope that helps a little.

 

[joshbeam1]

Wow. Glad u're alright bro. Never heard of such a thing. Would think it was more then just high protein intake though, drs can be wrong too. Suppose it was a easy conclusion for them, that way wouldn't have to look too far into the problem. Who knows?? I've known LOTS of people who have went on the adkins diet where all u really eat is protein and really nothing else(like 100g of carbs a day which is shit) and have all been fine. I myself eat a shit load of meat and eggs every day and am fine. If it was so dangerous, I'm sure more people wouldve been affected by high protein intake. Freak thing. Hope u get well.