General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Ironman Training w/Anxiety Meds Rss Feed  
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2015-02-01 9:50 PM

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Subject: Ironman Training w/Anxiety Meds
BT'ers

I would like to share my condition i am newly diagnosed with General Anxiety and Insomia

I am taking the following meds

Ambien 10 mg - at night when needed.

Klonopin .5mg to 1 mg twice a day .

Venlafaxcin 32mg a day.



before i was diagnosed i am already two months into IM Training 3.5 months to go i dont know if the meds will interfere with my training. I have finished 3 HIMs in perfect mental condition. I am very concerned with my present condition. Maybe my IM Training is the one causing my anxiety.

Any body with the same meds above who are training for long distance endurance races any advice is appreciated.

Sincerely

Carlo

Edited by strykergt 2015-02-01 9:57 PM


2015-03-13 1:57 PM
in reply to: strykergt

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Subject: RE: Ironman Training w/Anxiety Meds

Hi, Carlo.

I have anxiety issues too and take a fair amount of prescription meds to control it as well as depression.  One of those meds is venlafaxine.  At the recommendation of the dr. who prescribes my psych meds, I also take 6000 mg of fish oil/day and an ashwagandha supplement, both of which help with anxiety.  The ashwagandha also helps with stress reduction by helping to metabolize stress hormones (or so I've been told).  I don't know that it works like that, but I definitely feel more anxious when I don't take it.

While I haven't trained for HIM- or IM-distance races, I can say that my anxiety meds haven't caused issues with my training except for the venlafaxine causing some dry mouth and flushing/sweating.  I live in a dry climate and have to make sure that I drink lots of water or I'll get dehydrated.

Other than that, my guess is that your training actually helps reduce your anxiety unless you're finding that planning and thinking about the training is making it worse.  If that's the case, you might consider backing off the distances a little so that things feel more manageable for right now.  In the meantime, getting some cognitive behavioral therapy can really help.  It will give you some tools to help you "talk yourself down" when your anxiety is bad.  Breathing exercises and meditation are good for that as well.

Anxiety sucks but it won't kill you (even though it sometimes feel like it will!!!!).  Hang in there and take good care.

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