Dizzy after ows?

[Fujichants]

It's been a while since i've really posted anything on this board - i've missed it!

This morning I went for my first ows in my new wetsuit and it was a blast (besides panicking several times because the water was scary green and all I could think about were mean eels and sharks).

Anyways, when I got out of the water, I felt really dizzy and disoriented. I tried jumping around a bit to get all the water out of my ears, but the dizziness remained for a good 15 minutes. I can't imagine having to get on my bike like this.

Does anybody have this problem, and what do you do about it?

My apologies if this has been addressed before.

[fatbottomedgurl]

Hmmmm. If you went out today in Los Angeles you probably had a lot of swells and big surf, right? Maybe you were a little seasick.

[kacie tri-ing]

When I finished my 5K open water swim, I was really dizzy. I think I might have needed a little nutrition because I am a slow swimmer, and it took me a long time! I might also second the seasickness too! OWS is so much fun, but you just never know how you are going to feel!

[roadie gal]

How cold was the water? If cold water gets in your ears it can confuse your inner ear, which controls your balance, and make you dizzy. If I swim in cold water I wear my cap over my ears. Seasickness is also a good possibility if the water was choppy.

[Fujichants]

Somebody said the water was around 64 degrees. Since it is in a little bay area shielded from the ocean, the water isn't choppy at all. I can't imagine how i'll feel getting out of the ocean!

[HillSlugger]

Try wearing earplugs.

I got seasick during my last OWS; not fun!

[colby]

In addition to the possibility of cold water making you dizzy (64 is cold enough), and the seasickness thing, I think some of it is adaptation to exerting that kind of effort in that position in those conditions (if that makes any sense). Sometimes only my first few OWS are dizzy and after a few it works itself out, sometimes it's if I'm exerting more effort than normal (or the conditions are crappier than normal, windy or whatever). Warmer water definitely helps, but I seem to get weird inner ear headaches (I don't know if there's a fancy name for them, but that's what they feel like) in cold water more than balance problems.

I would try everything until you get it right. I can't STAND things in my ears but some people swear by them, even in warmer water.

[fatbottomedgurl]

I wear earplugs all the time, even in an 80º pool. I can't STAND have water in my ears!

[HillSlugger]

I wear earplugs all the time, even in an 80º pool. I can't STAND have water in my ears!

me too

[ginny]

oh man! I get SO dizzy after every single OWS... I stagger around like a drunken sailor. I can't even begin to get my wet suit off until I sort of equilibrate. I think it has to do with water in my ears ... I get it swimming in calm lakes; I get it swimming in the ocean; I get it surfing; I get it swimming in a pool. I guess I'm just dizzy

[tribogota]

I recently watched a tri (in a lake) of elite men, 100 of them, almost every single one of them was disoriented and looked dizzy getting out. Especially the ones who swam really hard. I would think it would be natural to be dizzy, you are going from a horizontal position with a different dynamic of balance to a standing one, just the visuals alone are confusing without talking about the change in muscle activity...on top of that people are RUNNING from the lake, ocean, pool, to the next event. This is what makes triathlon what it is, the transitions, as in, transition of balance, muscle, visual, everything. It is like putting or taking off somebody else´s prescription glasses, the brain must adjust, and the difference is the speed with which it does it.
I would think that if someone were NOT dizzy, they either slowed down and started changing the muscle activity before getting out of the water, or have learned through constant repetition to change the focus so quickly that they are ok.
Like I say, the elite men looked dizzy and they TRAIN hard to get over that transition.

[Fujichants]

Thanks everybody! Glad to know i'm not the only dizzy one - and what a great way of putting that into perspective tribogota!

I will definitely wear earplugs next go around. I can't stand having water in my ears. I try to ignore it when i'm swimming, but it's hard!