I just got out of the hospital a couple of weeks ago and while I was there, I made a mental note to come back here and post my story. It was so beneficial for me to read other people's stories, the good and the bad, while I was going through it. So here I am.

Like many others, I got rhabdo from taking my first spin class. I'm not out of shape by any means, but I also hadn't been working out at that level of intensity. I knew at the time something was wrong. Halfway through the class my thigh muscles just gave out. But I continued on because you don't want to be the loser who doesn't keep up with the group or even worse, leave the class early. And as soon as I got off my bike, I practically fell to the floor. For the rest of the day and the next, I couldn't bend my knees to even walk. I was being made fun of for "walking like an old person," mainly by myself though. At this point, I was thinking this has got to be the worst DOMS ever. However, the following night, the pain was so bad I couldn't sleep. So at around 4am, I started googling and rhado was the first thing that popped up. Went to the bathroom to check out my urine and sure enough, it was coke colored. Decided I'd go to a doc in the box the next morning. Treatment was to go home and constantly drink fluids (they admittedly had no clue how to treat this condition). The next day it was apparent that I should've gone to the ER in the first place. And off I went. By this point, my legs had gotten pretty swollen. At the ER, my bmp labs came back pretty good. My kidney function looked good, but my ALS and ALT levels were elevated, but I was told that was to be expected. At this point, I was thinking maybe the situation wasn't so bad and I'd be able to go home. Then my CK levels finally came back. At 196k, I was told by the doctor (and subsequent doctors I ended up seeing) that my CK levels was the highest they'd seen.

I spent 6 days in hospital with the same drill as most everyone else. Round the clock fluids and checking my labs twice a day. For the first few days, I think I was getting 500ml of fluids every hour. The following day, CK levels went down to 140k. Then went up to 150k 12 hours later. At this point, the doctors were slightly worried there might be an underlying condition that was preventing my CK levels from going down, something like a thyroid issue or a musclular degenerative disease. There was talk about doing the muscle test if they continued to go up or plateau. Luckily, the next day, CK levels were down to 91k. Then over the next couple of days they continued to decrease until they got to 9k, which was when my doctors felt comfortable releasing me. I had a follow up appointment a week later and my CK levels were down to 395. So I can only assume they're in the normal range now.

I feel like (knock on wood), I've had the best case scenario from an absolutely awful situation. My kidneys were working like a champ and I feel so fortunate that I had no damage. Thank God for the brown pee that made me seek immediate medical attention! I don't want to think about what could've been the outcome if I had waited any longer. But all in all, I've been feeling pretty good since I was released. All the swelling in my legs from the rhabdo and also all the IV fluids went away within 24 hours of leaving the hospital. My legs have been a bit weak but are getting stronger everyday. I went on a 5k walk this past weekend for one, to see if I could even do it and two, to see if and how much soreness I'd get. I was a little bit sore for a couple of days but the good kind. And really the only problem that I'm encountering is that I'm incapable of squating down all the way to the floor. And if I dare say, I feel like my legs look even more toned than before. Not sure why and not that rhabdo was worth it by any means!

Like I said, it's only been a little over two weeks since I've been out of the hospital. And reading other's stories, of course I'm scared that I'm going to get it again or my muscles would look deformed or that I wouldn't be able to work out again and that I'd start to put on weight and then I'd get depressed. And I'm not saying all that to diminish these issues because it really does still scare me considering I haven't been out that long and who knows what lies ahead. But I'm going to try to focus on the positive aspects, and I'll deal with the residual effects if and when they do come.

I can't help but think that maybe certain people are predisposed to this condition. I mean, how many people go take a Crossfit or spin class for the first time without getting this? And side note: I freaking hated everytime I had to explain to doctors and nurses that yes, I got this from a spin class. But maybe there is something else going on that the correlation just hasn't been made yet. I know that personally I've suffered from painful leg cramps my whole life, especially when I was a kid. I can't help but think maybe that has something to do with it.

Anyway, I wanted to post my story for all those people who might be laying in a hospital bed with rhabdo and are currently reading up as much as possible about it. I was literally just there. With my scary 196k CK levels and thankfully, I'm bouncing back fine (so far).