Sorry Guys...Menopause and swimming performance

Of course many of us have suffered, continued to swim, and made it through what you are experiencing. Perhaps Dr. Mary Pohlman will respond. She did a study several years back tracking menopause and performance. Personally, I can't evaluate the effect of menopause because I developed several other health problems that had to be addressed. The good news is that 20 years later, I am still at it.

Your experience sounds pretty extreme. The most I had was a lot of trouble getting a good nights sleep, and hot flashes.

At 53 I am having my best year ever as a masters swimmer. The hot flashes are annoying and sleeping is more difficult but I am swimming faster. I attribute it to having more time to train (a la empty nest) and more resources to put into my swimming but also a year ago I mentioned to my health care provider at a check up that my allergies were exceptionally bad that year and I was actually wheezing. She listened to my breathing and confirmed it and put me on a steroid inhaler that I use every day (not for acute asthma attacks but a preventive). Within a week I felt 100% better! I never realized how much air I wasn't getting. I have been able to train better in the last year because of the improved airway. I think you should consider addressing your breathing issues that way rather than attribute them to menopausal symptoms.

At 53 I am having my best year ever as a masters swimmer. The hot flashes are annoying and sleeping is more difficult but I am swimming faster. I attribute it to having more time to train (a la empty nest) and more resources to put into my swimming but also a year ago I mentioned to my health care provider at a check up that my allergies were exceptionally bad that year and I was actually wheezing. She listened to my breathing and confirmed it and put me on a steroid inhaler that I use every day (not for acute asthma attacks but a preventive). Within a week I felt 100% better! I never realized how much air I wasn't getting. I have been able to train better in the last year because of the improved airway. I think you should consider addressing your breathing issues that way rather than attribute them to menopausal symptoms. I don't think I'm having any breathing issues different from before. For year's I've taken Allegra on race days to subdue any allergies. Some of the back halves of my races recently are ridiculously slow, though, and I feel like it takes me forever to recover. And I've never had hot flashes or sleeping trouble, just daily migraines that wouldn't subside until my doc put me on progestin. Don't know if the progestin somehow slows my recovery...

Of course many of us have suffered, continued to swim, and made it through what you are experiencing. Perhaps Dr. Mary Pohlman will respond. She did a study several years back tracking menopause and performance. Personally, I can't evaluate the effect of menopause because I developed several other health problems that had to be addressed. The good news is that 20 years later, I am still at it. The benefits I get from just training are so extraordinary when it comes to health and quality of life, that I will never give it up, even if I continued to slow down...

I don't think I'm having any breathing issues different from before. For year's I've taken Allegra on race days to subdue any allergies. Some of the back halves of my races recently are ridiculously slow, though, and I feel like it takes me forever to recover. And I've never had hot flashes or sleeping trouble, just daily migraines that wouldn't subside until my doc put me on progestin. Don't know if the progestin somehow slows my recovery... Instead of hormones, it might be worth it to try and find another method of dealing with your migraines. When I started going through the "change" in my early 50s, my doctor also prescribed progestin as part of my HRT, but I had a really adverse reaction to it. Within 24 hours of initially taking it, I almost passed out during a bike ride. I had to stop and literally lie down in the dirt -- it seemed like it took me forever to recover from that. So much so, I was afraid I had had a heart attack or a stroke! Everything checked out okay with my doctor, but I decided to forego any attempts at HRT and haven't looked back. That was over 6 years ago and I'm feeling great.

Instead of hormones, it might be worth it to try and find another method of dealing with your migraines. When I started going through the "change" in my early 50s, my doctor also prescribed progestin as part of my HRT, but I had a really adverse reaction to it. Within 24 hours of initially taking it, I almost passed out during a bike ride. I had to stop and literally lie down in the dirt -- it seemed like it took me forever to recover from that. So much so, I was afraid I had had a heart attack or a stroke! Everything checked out okay with my doctor, but I decided to forego any attempts at HRT and haven't looked back. That was over 6 years ago and I'm feeling great. That's interesting. I actually do get really dizzy from progestin sometimes and when its really bad, I ward it off with Sudafed. But the other offering is Topomax as a prophylaxis, which causes bone loss and weight loss and since I'm 110 and at risk for osteo with my small size, I think that would be worse than occasional dizzyness and slow swimming. I'm hoping these hormone migraines will only last until I completely stop menstruating. That's what my doctor and the gynocologist both think will be the case. I'm thinking about going to a neurologist to see if he has any other ideas just in case.

I use 100 mg of bioidentical prometrium, instead of synthetic versions. I don't seem to have any negative side effects, and it definitely helps me sleep somewhat better. Possibly there is a little grogginess in the am. Peri-menopause absolutely sucks. I don't have migraines, fortunately, but I haven't slept well in many years. I've also read that, in this lovely stage of life, your body just wants to rest, rest, rest. I feel this is true for me; energizer bunny gone. I can't wait until menopause actually arrives. I got my period the first day of the Greensboro meet, didn't sleep well the preceding days and was a bit of wreck on day one and skipped day two. There is a thread for discussing our uniquely female issues: forums.usms.org/showthread.php

Better not disappear from Masters Swimming!!! I aspire to swim equally as fast and you are my barometer. Hope to see you at LCM Nationals in Mission Viejo.

I use 100 mg of bioidentical prometrium, instead of synthetic versions. I don't seem to have any negative side effects, and it definitely helps me sleep somewhat better. Possibly there is a little grogginess in the am. Peri-menopause absolutely sucks. I don't have migraines, fortunately, but I haven't slept well in many years. I've also read that, in this lovely stage of life, your body just wants to rest, rest, rest. I feel this is true for me; energizer bunny gone. I can't wait until menopause actually arrives. I got my period the first day of the Greensboro meet, didn't sleep well the preceding days and was a bit of wreck on day one and skipped day two. There is a thread for discussing our uniquely female issues: forums.usms.org/showthread.php Leslie, thanks for chiming in. I tried bioidentical progesterone but the dose was too strong and I went from hand pain to overall body agony and went back to the synthetic birth control. The Jolivette is such a low dose, it keeps the headaches at bay and makes me sleep like a baby. I just started having periods even though it's supposed to stop them, but they are much less severe than before. I'm thinking maybe I'll grow accustomed to the medication and re-learn what works for my body all over again. I will check out this other thread as well.