Ultra-fit personal trainer issues stark warning after common gym mistake triggered life-threatening brain bleed
An ultra-fit personal trainer has urged gymgoers to be wary of working out too vigorously after years of 'overdoing' it almost killed her.
Linzi Todd, 40, believes the years of dedication she put into looking after her health and wellbeing ended up biting her in the backside, as she reckons it might have triggered a major brain bleed.
The mum-of-one, based in Northampton, explained that although she isn't someone who is prone to illnesses, she began to experience a lot of strange symptoms earlier this year.
At the time, she was running a two-day outdoor training bootcamp, so decided to soldier on after popping some painkillers to keep her suffering at bay.
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"I went to bed that evening and developed tinnitus, which I'd never had in my life," Linzi said of the first day of her fitness programme. "I woke up the next morning with a really banging headache.
"I popped a couple of pills, felt unwell but cracked on. I rang the doctors and they put it down to labyrinthitis because I felt dizzy as well. I just thought maybe my body was tired."
After being assured that her symptoms might have been down to an inner ear infection by her GP, the 'really fit and healthy' personal trainer threw herself back into her work.
Unfortunately for Linzi though, her pounding headaches persisted and she recalled how she'd wake up with an 'intense throbbing' sensation each morning.
Describing the intensity of these episodes, the mum said: "It felt like the worst brain freeze, and only lying down and painkillers would give me some relief."
In March this year, Linzi visited A&E after growing concerned by the prevalence of her headaches and was told she had 'low pressure' in her head.
She claims doctors told her to increase her caffeine and water intake, while she was referred an MRI scan - and this revealed the chilling source of Linzi's constant agony.
In May, two months later, the personal trainer received a frantic call from a neurologist instructing her to head to hospital immediately.
The MRI scan uncovered a large bleed - covering more than half of the right side of her brain - and a 17mm blood clot on Linzi's brain.
Explaining the information which medics relayed to her, the former personal trainer said: "He said he could see an acute subdural hematoma on my brain, which is very serious and a very large blood clot.
"He said we don't often see bleeds of this size in women of my age without any head trauma, and it was a medical emergency. I was Googling what this condition was and it said there was a 25% survival rate.
"I thought, am I going to die? Do I need to plan my funeral? It was so traumatic. I had to say goodbye to my husband and daughter. I didn't know if I was going to see them again or not."
Linzi said that doctors were stunned that she could still string a sentence together, let alone carrying on with her usual routine, due to the severity and size of the bleed on her brain.
"Doctors were baffled by how I was presenting based on my scans and what they found," she continued. "I was high risk of a stroke and seizure, yet I was passing all of their cognitive and reflex tests.
"It's normally found in boxers, rugby players, horse-riders - someone that has had a trauma to the head. I was walking around with that in my brain and it could've killed me."
Linzi was later told that the bleed on her brain was a result of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), a clear fluid that protects the brain and spine, leaking - which she suspects may be a result of years of intense exercise.
The mum claims that medics explained the leak can happen to fit and active people who 'overdo it' and put too much pressure on their spine, which is what they believe may have happened to her.
Now, she's urging others to be wary of the risks of overzealous workouts.
"There's no real way of knowing what exactly has caused this," Linzi said. "The [doctors] believe I may have overdone it during exercise and caused a tear in my dura - however I wouldn't have felt this happen and only the symptoms in my head later on.
"Because I've been consistently active, it's just consistently worn down and created this leak," Linzi went on. "It's just unlucky it's happened to me.
"I don't want anyone to be put off exercise because it's a very rare thing to happen but it's the only logical reasoning for why this happened.
"I never thought a bad bout of headaches would result in this and nearly three weeks in hospital. I had to push every single step of the way. It would've had a different ending if I hadn't pushed as much as I did with doctors.
"I absolutely would've died. I just knew there was something wrong. I always tell others to listen to their own body and gut. Push to get seen and get answers. You'd rather get a normal result than leave it and it be too late."
She remains in hospital and is now hoping that the leak and clot will heal naturally, while she has swapped personal training for a less physically demanding role at a mental health company.
Olivia Burke