Elite female runners and contraceptive effects

I think there's no set answer on this. If you read Stacy Sims' book "Roar" she has a chapter on this, where she advocates that the pill can definitely depress performance. That's really the most comprehensive discussion I've seen on the issue. Except for her stuff, there's a real lack of research in this area.

For myself (decently fast masters female, but not elite), I've been on continuous birth control pills (the generic version of Lybrel) for longer than I've been a runner, so I really can't do a comparison of how I ran on them versus off of them. I can tell you that before I went on continuous birth control, I used to feel absolutely awful one week out of each month, with migraines that limited my daily activity. So for me, I see performance improvement, simply from the fact that I'm not miserable from my cycle.

I've been told I have to go off of the pill in the next few years, so I guess I'll find out then. [if you're wondering why I have to go off of it, it's because I'm approaching 50, and apparently the risk of stroke from taking birth control pills skyrockets once you hit 50.]

Not currently on any form of bc but the pill made me moody, gain weight and just generally messed with me but I’ve heard largely from the elite community that copper IUD’s have been the way to go.

When I was at peak training in my early 30s, BC didn't seem to affect me or my results. That said, I have heard IUDs are the preferred choice of elites. However, for some people they are painful the first 6 months. Good luck with whatever you choose.

training = birth control wrote:

anon5505 wrote:

Truly disgusting, misogynistic comment. There is nothing healthy about the athlete triad. It’s a sign of an energy inbalance often from under-eating and can lead to life-long negative health impacts. No halfway intelligent person would link it to adequate training or an appropriate method of birth control.

Sorry if reality offends, but fyi I'm premed, so I know what I'm talking about.

Premed, eh? Then your misogyny, ignorance and tomfoolery must be A-OK.

The female athlete triad is defined as the combination of disordered eating, amenorrhea and osteoporosis. This disorder often goes unrecognized. The consequences of lost bone mineral density can be devastating for the female athlete. Premature osteoporotic fractures can occur, and lost bone mineral density may never be regained.

Stork wrote:

Elite level women who don’t wish to have kids at the moment have to be taking something (maybe the pill, maybe they have IUD’s) and I’m curious as to how those things impact performance. Any women with experience in those areas (or knowledgeable men!) who can weigh in on this would be very appreciated!

Just want to point out that there are other effective BC options that don't require women to risk the negative health impacts that can come from being on hormones manufactured by Big Pharma or having a foreign object placed in the uterus and keeping it there for the 3-12 years IUDs customarily stay in. Such as a diaphragm plus spermicide and condoms.

I took oral hormonal BC pills in my teens but quit after a couple of years due to terrible effects on my physical health and moods. From then on, I used a diaphragm pretty much exclusively except for when my partners used condoms. Never had an unwanted pregnancy; my kids were planned. But I have always suspected that taking hormonal BC in my teens might have had some lingering longterm negative effects on my endocrine system and my periods.

As to your larger question: unfortunately, there is very little research on this. Health issues that affect women specifically and solely don't get much attention. If you look into the research on the impact of sex hormones on women's athletic performance, you'll find that there's been pretty much zero scientific inquiry into the kinds of questions you're asking.

Nearly all the studies about sex hormones' impact on women in athletics concern how the predominant male sex hormone, testosterone, impacts performance - particularly in women who are, or have been presumed to be "hyperandrogenic," meaning with higher-than-normal natural levels of T. But when you actually look at the studies, the athletes constantly described as "women with hyperandrogenism," "hyperandrogenic female athletes" and "female athletes with naturally high testosterone," almost always turn out to be XY athletes with male-only DSDs competing in women's sports like Caster Semenya and Dutee Chand.

Much more is known about how testosterone that comes from the male gonads, testes, affects male athletes, including the many male DSD athletes in women's sports, and about how exogenous testosterone affects athletes of both sexes who have doped, than is known about how the predominant female sex hormones that come from the female gonads, ovaries - and which are mimicked and blocked by hormonal birth control - affect athletes who actually are female.

Mary Decker blamed a positive test on birth control. Also, it is not called the female triad any longer. It is REDS, reduced energy deficiency syndrome

I have a copper IUD as I want to avoid hormonal contraception.

This type of contraception has two major downfalls:

- heavier periods which can be an issue if the athlete already struggles to keep iron levels high

- it is not possible to manage when the periods happen.

Hi,

This is a really interesting topic and as you stated no black and white answers!

I will speak to what I know. The key is consistency without injury. It seems that estrogen has protective effects on bone health for endurance athletes. However, there may be some adverse effects on tendon resiliency. The nice thing is that you can target both these variables with bone or tendon loading strategies.

Do what is in your best interest and let things fall as they might. When it comes to being prophylactic with injuries consider either bone loading or tendon loading strategies based on your personal injury history and use of contraceptives.

Good luck

We need more discussion with this. It’s difficult to be a women and talk about this with your male coach. Not everyone is comfortable discussing despite the fact that it’s a very important component of racing and training.

I’m an elite runner an I have only been on the pill once, had terrible side effects and swore I wouldn’t do it again. It’s brutal having period in the days leading up to and during a race. It makes me feel so groggy and lethargic. Personally, I would never compromise my health to shift my period. Taking BC had terrible effects and frankly there isn’t enough research on other forms of BC. Period is natural, I’m not willing to mess with that.