OW Swim... UH OH!

[KSH]

Yes, the wetsuit will make you feel like you can't breathe... but it sounds like something more serious was going on there. In fact... what you mentioned...

I found this posting about pulmonary edema and swimming, found it quite too familiar to what I experienced tonight. Very scarey that it can get as bad as described here. Maybe this wasn't it, but the symptoms are eerily similar... the wet wet wet coughing that continued until just a bit ago. All through dinner I kept coughing up liquid. I'd not heard of this before.

My friend had this happen to hear at Ironman Arizona this year! Because of it, she had to DNF the race... and even when I saw her an hour later, when she took a breath you could HEAR fluid in her lungs.

Please don't gloss over this experience. Get to a Dr. and have a discussion with them. What happened wasn't just because of the wetsuit. See what can be done to fix it, if it happens again.

Here is what she wrote about it:

I am still debating whether to do an actual race report, but the short story is...

I felt GREAT leading up to the race. I think it was the first time I did not have to run to the port-a-potty 10 times before the start.

As soon as I jumped into the water, I knew things were not right. At that point, I chalked it up to nerves. As I swam out to the starting point, I felt it getting harder and harder to breathe. I tried to just float and take deep breaths. When the cannon went off, I started swimming and felt OK for the first 100 or so. Then, the wheels fell off.

No matter what I did, I could not catch my breath. I tried breast stroke, back stroke, side stroke and nothing helped. That was the first time I hung on to kayak. After about 30 seconds, I swam a little more with the same results. Again, hung on to a kayak. This pattern continued until about 300 or so so yards before the Rural bridge.

The last time I was on a kayak (and I have to say that the support I got in the water was incredible), I knew it was over. My breathins sounded like I was a 90 year old emphasyma patient. There was so much junk in my lungs that my breathing rattled. I had no chest congestion prior to getting in the water.

Making the decision to get in that boat was hard, but I value my life and my health more than anything. It was the right decision at the time, and even 3 days later I have no regrets.

Expanding on that thought, I have no regreats about anything. OK, I'm not an Ironman, but I am still a triathlete, a wife, a friend and (I think) a good person. I am physically in the best shape of my life, and am more motivated than ever to keep training and improving.

[jesvetmed]

Thanks, KSH.. that sounds exactly the same as what happened to me. I'm glad she was ok, despite having to DNF... hard decision, but not when you cannot breathe.

I have an annual exam in 3 or 4 weeks and will discuss it then with the regular doc... (it will take me that long to get in anywhere else anyway unless I hit the er!)

I'm planning to hit the lake next Friday with my friend in her kayak -- I think I'll try no wetsuit first, then if going okay put the wetsuit on and see what happens. If I can't do it, I may scratch the tri until I get an exam and see what's going on. It is pretty scary to say the least. Will probably mess with my head a bit now!

Thanks for your support all.
I'll keep you informed.
Jes

[kelownagirl]

I was going to mention SIPE. I read about it in my latest Triathlete Magazine. They stressed the importance of getting medical attention. It can take weeks to recover enough for you to swim again.

[KnottedYet]

I have an annual exam in 3 or 4 weeks and will discuss it then with the regular doc... (it will take me that long to get in anywhere else anyway unless I hit the er!)

I'm planning to hit the lake next Friday with my friend in her kayak -- I think I'll try no wetsuit first, then if going okay put the wetsuit on and see what happens. If I can't do it, I may scratch the tri until I get an exam and see what's going on. It is pretty scary to say the least. Will probably mess with my head a bit now!

After reading about SIPE, I'd say bag that swim with the friend and the kayak; see the doc first! (please, please, please!!!) I don't want you to die! Your friend would have to jump out of her boat, drag your "flooded" body back to shore, and attempt CPR with the impossible task of forcing oxygen into lungs already drowning in their own plasma. She'd be left feeling like a failure, she'd blame herself for the rest of her life. And she'd lose her kayak in the process of rescuing you!

(scared yet?)

Seriously, please see the doc and tell him about SIPE and your concerns *BEFORE* you go swimming again.

[mimitabby]

wow, that's scary! I've never heard of this before (i read that link too, sounds just like what you went through)
make sure you're all cleared up before you try this again.

[NbyNW]

Jes,

I'm glad you're okay. I'm sure I would have panicked if that happened to me.

There was a story that circulated last week about a boy who died from "dry drowning" hours after getting home from the swimming pool. Very bizarre story, and very sad.

Take good care of those lungs

[OakLeaf]

wow. Very glad you're okay. Be careful out there.

[kelownagirl]

Hey Jesvetmed - how about an update?