Is there anybody out there swimming with Meniere's Disease? I would like to hear what challenges you have had and how you cope.
I developed tinnitus and Meniere's a few years ago, during a time when I wasn't swimming regularly. After 31 years away from swimming competition, I joined Masters in February and increased my swimming intensity from just swimming for fitness to sprint training for breaststroke events in competition. I had been doing open turns in freestyle during my workouts, because I wanted to concentrate on my stroke and figured I wouldn't be needing them in competition, anyway.
Well, I decided to start doing flip turns and noticed the quality of my turns went from decent to worse to horrible, throughout my workout. It got to the point where I was so disoriented once I entered into my flip that my legs wouldn't go where I wanted them to go. My brain was sending mixed signals to my body and I couldn't do a flip turn at all. Then, I started feeling seasick; something I never had experienced IN the water before (I used to kayak and body surf!). :confused: It finally occured to me it was the Meniere's causing the problem.
After a few more attempts at practicing flip turns during workouts and ending up feeling horrible (seasick!), I've had to give it up. :bitching:
Since I plan to compete only in breaststroke events this year, then add fly and/or IM in the future, I should be ok, for the most part. But, not doing flip turns is slowing me down in workouts and not doing my shoulders any favors.
Any advice out there? Any advice for improving my open turns? I'm beginning my turns the same as my breaststroke turns, but trying to get good at my SDK off the wall.
Thanks for any advice you can offer! :)
I have been living with meniere's since the mid-90s. Seems to be mostly under control and was never severe to the point of on-going vertigo. In the beginning I tried a lot of different approaches. Diuretics and low salt helped quite a bit. I can't hear out of my right ear and left ear ain't great. I wear ear plugs and would be in trouble in the pool without them. Haven't experienced the flip turn dizziness. Biggest swimming problem has been getting disqualified on the starts. I have been thrown out for coming up late on backstroke starts because I haven't heard the command. Between no hearing, ear plugs and a cap it's getting tougher and tougher. I have gone to getting hand signals from the starter when the amplification on the sound system is bad.
I will also be in Atlanta and it might be nice to have a meniere's support group meeting.
Rich Burns
rich@gnugroup.com
I have been living with meniere's since the mid-90s. Seems to be mostly under control and was never severe to the point of on-going vertigo. In the beginning I tried a lot of different approaches. Diuretics and low salt helped quite a bit. I can't hear out of my right ear and left ear ain't great. I wear ear plugs and would be in trouble in the pool without them. Haven't experienced the flip turn dizziness. Biggest swimming problem has been getting disqualified on the starts. I have been thrown out for coming up late on backstroke starts because I haven't heard the command. Between no hearing, ear plugs and a cap it's getting tougher and tougher. I have gone to getting hand signals from the starter when the amplification on the sound system is bad.
I will also be in Atlanta and it might be nice to have a meniere's support group meeting.
Rich Burns
rich@gnugroup.com
