Hello,
I am a freelance writer as well as a swimmer. I am doing a piece on recreational athletes' misuse of over the counter medicines / products (sudafed, benadryl, Red Bull, advil, etc) and off label use of prescription drugs (inhalers, ritalin, etc) for performance enhancing purposes. The article will explore the prevalence of this behavior and the health consequences, if any. Being an athlete who has taken the occasional sudafed before a race, I'm not looking to flay anyone,
The question is not whether that makes you/me a drug cheat, but whether in our desire for PRs or records, we are willing to go down a similar path as steroid and EPO users, just not as far.
I would not use anyone's name in the article. If you would prefer to e-mail me privately, my e-mail is laurarob2@comcast.net. I am also interested in anecdotal evidence and your opinions on whether or not such behavior is widespread and/or okay.
Thanks.
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Former Member
I normally chug down coffee and Red Bull (after trying to de-fizz as much as possible) about 20 minutes before my sprint events.
I have recently (mostly) switched from coffee to green tea for the health benefits, and have reduced my caffeine consumption as a result. I have to admit that I'm hoping for a more noticeable boost in my next meet, since I shouldn't be so jaded to the effects of caffeine these days.
A couple of you have mentioned Sudaphed. My wife is asleep 10 minutes after taking that for her allergies. How could it be a performance enhancer?
I normally chug down coffee and Red Bull (after trying to de-fizz as much as possible) about 20 minutes before my sprint events.
I have recently (mostly) switched from coffee to green tea for the health benefits, and have reduced my caffeine consumption as a result. I have to admit that I'm hoping for a more noticeable boost in my next meet, since I shouldn't be so jaded to the effects of caffeine these days.
A couple of you have mentioned Sudaphed. My wife is asleep 10 minutes after taking that for her allergies. How could it be a performance enhancer?