Cold water swimming and “the change”

For the women who have swum throughout their lives.....pre, during, and post menopause, particularly......

Do you (or did you) find any differences in terms of managing the cold in relation to the presence of hot flashes?

I’m just starting out exploring colder water, and it happens to coincide with the development of hot flashes by my body.....I wonder whether I’d be able to do as well as I have if my body wasn’t basically an independent furnace at times.

And.... slightly tongue in cheek.... would hot flashes have to be disclosed for a documented swim..... as something helping the swimmer to stay warm??? ?

flystormsBridgetwendyv34

Comments

  • flystormsflystorms Memphis, TNSenior Member

    Sara how does your body react after the flash is over? Do you get even colder?

    I have to laugh at this question. About 2 years ago, I was doing a long swim on a chilly February Saturday morning and my coach instructed me to do a 5k straight through for time. No problem, except that the pool's boiler was acting up and it was at about 84 degrees. One of the vents was at the end of the lane I was in. I'd swim over the top of it, turn and go over it again. I got a massive hot flash, jumped out of the pool and ran outside in my wet suit/body and stood out there for a couple of minutes to cool off. Coach didn't know what to do with it when I told him what was happening. I just finished it out on my own time that day. LOL!

    Bridget
  • SydneDSydneD Senior Member

    Perimenopause here. (FUN!)
    No change at all in that department. I'm still f'ing freezing all the time.

    I do think about what Stacy Sims talks about in her Women are Not Small Men video and I think it's worth watching.

    heartKari33
  • Post flash, I’m not colder.....usually just back to normal.
    Don’t notice anything while swimming.........wondering if those periodic increases help in any way.

    Lol.....your hot water......
    I swam at my moms local pool while visiting knowing that it wasn’t going to be “competition chilled.” But it was HOT. People at the desk swore that it was 82 degrees..... no way. So, we put the thermometer in the freezer...a calibrated environment. The thermometer was off by 10 degrees....so they were overheating the water thinking that it was too chilled for their purposes.

    @flystorms said:
    Sara how does your body react after the flash is over? Do you get even colder?

    >

  • KarenTKarenT Charter Member

    My understanding is that a hot flush temporarily raises the body’s surface temperature by several degrees but the body’s core temp doesn’t change. So it’s unlikely that flushes provide any advantage in cold tolerance (although as with most aspects of menopause, vasodilator symptoms are under-researched and poorly understood). Also, after menopause, women’s core body temp falls slightly overall, so many women describe feeling more sensitive to cold more generally. This is definitely the case for me, both in and out of the water.

    flystorms
  • Ahhhh..... ok, it’s a surface temp thing.

    I did managed to fog up my car windshield the other evening when I was driving. I felt a “moment” coming on, and was stretching. I put my hands around the steering wheel to lean forward a bit to relieve my back, and the window fogged right up. Lol. As soon as I sat back, it cleared again. That was just from my hands and lower arms getting close to it, too.

    KarenTflystormsBridget
  • KarenTKarenT Charter Member

    @Sara_Wolf that’s some impressive overheating! Our bodies are amazing. Mine always start with the soles of my feet on fire, then woosh!

  • Wow....

    Mine start around my neck and jaw, then head down to my shoulders.....like where a cape might rest.

    Then to the backs of my hands.....oddly enough.

    Yes...I’m learning a lot about our bodies...they truly are amazing.

    @KarenT said:
    @Sara_Wolf that’s some impressive overheating! Our bodies are amazing. Mine always start with the soles of my feet on fire, then woosh!

  • ssthomasssthomas DenverCharter Mem​ber

    During chemo, I experienced menopause symptoms, like hot flashes. I did some cold water swimming in that time and never felt a hot flash actually come on during a swim, either in cold water or in the pool. My guess is that water equalizes your body temp so you dont really notice it? I would have really intense hot flashes following a pool swim though. It would be 10 degrees out and I'd have the windows down on the car, trying to breath. My poor, poor husband.

    lakespray
  • After swim......amen!

    Coat wide open and walking slowly from parking deck to office so I don’t get drippy. Lol

    @ssthomas said:
    During chemo, I experienced menopause symptoms, like hot flashes. I did some cold water swimming in that time and never felt a hot flash actually come on during a swim, either in cold water or in the pool. My guess is that water equalizes your body temp so you dont really notice it? I would have really intense hot flashes following a pool swim though. It would be 10 degrees out and I'd have the windows down on the car, trying to breath. My poor, poor husband.

  • BridgetBridget New York StateMember

    Well, nothing puts the kibosh on perimenopause like pregnancy. . . ;) Now, twelve years later, I'm on the edge again, but maybe the soy protein I consume is leveling things out. . . I have been cold swimming and thought a flash might be fun if well timed, but no such luck yet. ;)

    As for full disclosure in a swim record- I did a few triathlons and an open water swim while pregnant, and considered it legal blood doping. . . two hearts, increased blood volume. . . I did have to ask that one ambulance to back off during the bike leg, as the fumes were bothering me. :wink:

    Solo
  • SwimUpStreamSwimUpStream Portland Oregon Member

    Reviving this thread! Would love to hear others experiences on all thing’s menopausal related to swimming, specifically endurance training, sleep hygiene, mindset training, recovery, and goal setting.

    Kari33
  • heartheart San Francisco, CACharter Member

    I'm going through this myself now - have read Stacy Sims' book Next Level and, accordingly, have reduced the level and increased the intensity of my swims (think sprints rather than long slogs.) I also started lifting, and hope to be lifting heavy!

    Kari33cynswims
  • Kari33Kari33 PennsylvaniaNew Member

    @heart said:
    I'm going through this myself now - have read Stacy Sims' book Next Level and, accordingly, have reduced the level and increased the intensity of my swims (think sprints rather than long slogs.) I also started lifting, and hope to be lifting heavy!

    This is such a fantastic book. I also like the Hit Play Not Pause podcast- it's chock full of interesting and helpful info.

    SwimUpStream
  • @SwimUpStream RE sleep hygiene here is Dr. Sims recommendation https://www.drstacysims.com/BiohackSleep. I personal find tart cherry juice, magnesium, and l-theanine helpful (subjectively and by Whoop sleep measurements).

    SwimUpStreamKari33
  • Kari33Kari33 PennsylvaniaNew Member

    @cynswims said:
    @SwimUpStream RE sleep hygiene here is Dr. Sims recommendation https://www.drstacysims.com/BiohackSleep. I personal find tart cherry juice, magnesium, and l-theanine helpful (subjectively and by Whoop sleep measurements).

    The combination of magnesium glycinate and ashwaghanda has been a game changer for my sleep!

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