Christopher Hobbzilla discusses how he developed rhabdomyolysis and the events leading up to being arrested by the police while he had it as well as what happened in the hospital and the supplements and diet he was following. This is the strangest case of rhabdo I’ve ever heard and one I think you will find fascinating. Every police officer needs to be familiar with rhabdo. This is episode 144 of the Joe Cannon Health podcast. Listen here or on your favorite podcast app.
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Rhabdomyolysis is the painful and serious side effect of exercise you need to know about. I've been teaching about rhabdo for over 10 years. If you are in the US, you can order it directly from me.
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I have an MS in exercise science and a BS in biology & chemistry. I’ve been helping people understand dietary supplements for over 20 years using an evidence-based approach and have written several books including Rhabdo, the first book about exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis.
Disclaimer: Episodes are for information only. I’m NOT a medical doctor. NO medical advice is given or implied. ALWAYS consult your doctor for the best health advice for you. I participate in the Amazon Associates program.
Hi Joe. I appreciate you and your research. I’m a 53 yr old, fairly fit woman (I play tennis and hike/walk). I used to do a little more when I was with my CrossFitter boyfriend, but after about 8 months of nothing extra, I decided last Wednesday to do a workout in my garage gym. Rowing and dumbbell burpees, high intensity. My arms felt like rubber afterwards, but not more extreme than I had felt after previous such workouts.
9 hours later, my right shoulder started hurting. It was bedtime, so I took an icepack to bed with me. The pain intensified. I tried a hot compress. The pain further intensified. By 3am, I was rocking back and forth and sobbing with the most excruciating pain ever. Yes, worse than childbirth. My trap muscle was bulging off my back, my shoulder slumped down, could not move my arm.
I drove myself (with my good arm) to the ER. I rolled up disheveled, out of my mind with pain. I said I thought maybe my shoulder was dislocated. I was basically treated like a junkie looking for a high. They eventually took an Xray. No dislocation. They said it was muscle strain and spasm. They injected me with an anti-inflammatory and sent me home with Rx for Norco and Flexiril. These meds did virtually nothing for me.
On Thursday, the left side started, and I spent the day rotating through drugs/massager/ice/heat/drugs/nap/ice/soak/foam roller/ice/drugs/nap/and so on. Finally Friday, I went to my chiro. He and his PT guy worked on me with some ultrasound therapy, scraping, cupping, etc., and casually mentioned that what I went through kinda sounds like that Rhabdo thing.
Hours later, I started researching, and upon seeing that darkened urine is part of the diagnosis, I initially dismissed it. By the time I saw YOUR stuff, it was late friday afternoon. I decided if my pee got brownish over the weekend, I would go back to the ER. It didn’t.
Monday, I finally got my doctor to order the CK test and received the lab result this afternoon. So, FIVE days after the onset of pain, my CK was 19480 (normal range is 29-143). So yeah, it was Rhabdo. Because the CK typically peaks within 24-48 hours, my doctor believes my kidneys handled it, and it will continue to come back down with lots of fluids and Vitamin C.
I still have a constant ache and significant weakness in both shoulders. I’m hopeful it will continue to improve every day. I’d like to return to tennis in a couple weeks, hopefully.
And ER doctors, PA’s and nurses ought to be more aware of rhabdo. They ran no labs on me. They also injected me with NSAID and recommended I take Advil at home. Big no-no’s with rhabdo.
Oh Dana, I am SO SO SORRY this happened to you! Did you tell the people at the ER you had worked out earlier in the day? I’d like to think that would have been a tip off to them that you were experiencing rhabdo but I have heard from others who said ER staff dismissed then even when they specifically said they thought they had rhabdo. Ive heard this so many times that in my book, I included a section on how to explain yourself to hospital staff if you feel you have rhabdo. I know doctors and nurses are taught about rhabdo. Where I think they err is in thinking someone has to do a navy-seal type workout to get it.
My hunch is that your CK levels were much higher before you got the CK test. It also sounds like your levels are trending downward which is good.
How many sets and reps of the exercises were you doing?
Just met Chris a few weeks ago and was sorry to listen to this terrible trial hes gone through.
I agree Gayle, it’s just awful.