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Best Birth Control for Endurance Athletes?
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Hi ladies! I'll be the first to admit m not a triathlete, but I am a comppetetive distance speed skater, rower, and cyclist looking to get on some sort of contraceptive even though I'm not sexually active (better safe than sorry at this point in my life). Ive heard that hormonal contraceptives negatively mpact VO2 max (and having been on itonce, didn't care for it at all).

I've been thinking about the non hormonal copper IUD, due to the lack of hormones.

But really, any input from you ladies would be amazing regarding any type of birth control :) I just don't want to derail my athletic performance (national team ambitions) over something silly
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Re: Best Birth Control for Endurance Athletes? [lucky87is] [ In reply to ]
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I was skimming this article yesterday and it made some reference to what you're talking about (http://www.strengtheory.com/...lete-guide-athletes/). Not sure if it's any use but might be a starting point for more research?

I'm by no means a competitive athlete in the same way you are but used to row (regional competition) and now do triathlon. I have been on hormonal birth control since 2009 and find that I am generally on more of an even keel on the pills; cramps etc used to be a problem but now they're not. I also run my pills through for about 3 months at a time so minimise the number of days when I'm actually bleeding. Not all pills were created equal so it may be a matter of finding the right one for you.
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Re: Best Birth Control for Endurance Athletes? [lucky87is] [ In reply to ]
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I've been on the pill for years; vo2 max tested in college @ 65 [whatever the units are... I forgot] so no ill effects there

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Post deleted by katcycles [ In reply to ]
Last edited by: katcycles: Feb 2, 15 10:03
Re: Best Birth Control for Endurance Athletes? [lucky87is] [ In reply to ]
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I've been asked this question quite often by female triathletes so forgive me if this is too much info... I have been on birth control since 2000, so around 15 years. I've never tried anything other than the pill but have tried multiple brands with varying hormone doses. I've never experienced any weight gain (at least I weigh the same as I did when I was 18yrs old and I started taking them).

I'm in the military so they like to spontaneously change types/brands of the pill without giving you much of a heads up or talking to us about potential side effects. I found that some of them caused me severe nausea during the first week (those that had three levels of hormones with highest being the first week), taking the pill at night before bed helped some but I would wake up raging hungry. I'm now on a low dose pill that has the same level all three weeks and I've had no issues other than I've found out that I'm allergic to an inactive ingredient in some of the generic brands (throat swelling and hives on my face/neck/chest - found this out when they switched me to a new brand when I picked up my refill the week before my wedding - awesome!)

The last 5 years I've been taking the pills continuously skipping the placebo week and if I start spotting then I'll stop taking the pill for a week and let my body do it's thing. During race season I'll time my period based on my big race so I don't accidently end up with spotting during the race and I've read some research how hormone levels effect female athlete performance. There are a ton of articles but here is one that I found: http://home.trainingpeaks.com/...ycle-and-performance.


Elisha
"Triathlon doesn't build character. It reveals it."
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Re: Best Birth Control for Endurance Athletes? [lucky87is] [ In reply to ]
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I found 140.6 to be highly effective...
Last edited by: blackthugcat: Feb 2, 15 22:32
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Re: Best Birth Control for Endurance Athletes? [blackthugcat] [ In reply to ]
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ha ha. I was thinking of "long course training" as a response but you beat me to it!

Great non-hormonal method is cervical cap. Easily available in Europe, but harder to find in the States.

No coasting in running and no crying in baseball
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Re: Best Birth Control for Endurance Athletes? [lucky87is] [ In reply to ]
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I have the Mirena IUD with hormone and it's fantastic for me. I have no period to speak of, so I never have to worry about the timing of my period of race day. I can't forget it or leave it at home when I travel, and it's good for five years. Absolute game changer. I am however very BOP so my VO2 Max isn't something I'd really notice an effect in anyway.
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Re: Best Birth Control for Endurance Athletes? [lucky87is] [ In reply to ]
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Hormone based birth control has been a disaster for me... depleted me of all the natural hormones I needed for endurance training. Over the last five years, I trained hard and kept getting slower and felt worse at 70.3/Ironman distance triathlon, we finally figured out (cutting a very long story short!) that the BCP had reduced my testosterone/DHEA levels to zero and I had low estradiol.

Even though my physical/outward symptoms had been minimal (no headaches, weight gain etc.) on the BCP, what was going on "under the hood" was a whole different story. I stopped taking hormone-based birth control in September and I'm now swimming, riding and running better than I have done in years.

I'd suggest you take some baseline blood and hormone levels and monitor them over time, regardless of what type of birth control you end up selecting. The impact is likely as personal as the decision...

Good luck,
JB

my story --> http://jbtriathlon.blogspot.com/2014_10_01_archive.html
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Re: Best Birth Control for Endurance Athletes? [lucky87is] [ In reply to ]
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Have used continuous BC levonorgestrel in the past and had no problems. Was nice not to have wide mood swings every month also!. I didn't notice any difference or reduction in vo2 max but wasn't actually tested. I've since had a hysterectomy and all the problems that caused me to go on BC are now removed.
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