Ever heard of IR causing this?

Scout · 04-26-2004, 02:12 PM

I have not been diagnosed as IR, but my doctor thinks I have some variant of PCO, and has prescribed met to see if I start ovulating on my own.

I'm wondering if I do have IR issues. I'm thin, but I've always had a difficult time doing any sort of aerobic activity. For about six years, on and off, I've done a running program. The most I have EVER been able to run at one time is 30 minutes, and that's going very, very slowly. It takes me forever to get up to that amount, though. Right now I've been stuck at walking for 3 minutes, then running for 3 for 30 minutes for the past few weeks.

Sometimes I get a little light-headed after a run, too.

Is this just the way my body is, or could this be caused by IR? I'll be interested to see if met has any effect on my ability to run.

tarinka76 · 05-02-2004, 06:33 PM

I was diagnosed with PCOS in December and have run a marathon in under four hours, completed an olympic distance triathlon, and raced competitively for 10 years. I have never heard of this being a side effect and certainly has not been one for me. I do get hypoglycemic sometimes, but only if I don't eat enough and then eat a small amount of very sugary food. Maybe you just don't have the slow-twitch muscle fiber composition needed to perform long-distance running or else you are not eating the right things to fuel your body. Ask your doctor, maybe he/she has more insight into this, but I personally don't think that this is a side effect of PCOS.

Bekah1999 · 05-02-2004, 08:51 PM

I have a similar problem, though for me it is caused by asthma. I have exercise induced asthma, which makes it very difficult for me to run further than 1 1/2 to 2 miles at any time. I also run very slowly, more at a jog, because I just can't get the air I need to fuel my muscles, etc. When I first started running, it took me FOREVER, like a good six months, to even pass the 1 mile mark and I was sooo happy when I did! Sometimes I do better, and sometimes worse. I just find it easier to not worry about the neighbors that run a good 3 to 5 miles a day. I'm not competing with them. I do it for enjoyment!

Scout · 05-03-2004, 04:54 PM

Thank you for your replies!

tarinka76, just *reading* your post made me tired! I think you might be right about the slow-twitch muscle fiber. I was afraid this was just the way my body was created. I do think I eat fairly healthy (I'm a strict vegetarian) but maybe I'm not consuming enough of certain nutrients. I'll have to do some research on how vegans can best maximize their diets for exercise.

Bekah1999, I looked into asthma at one time, because sometimes it does feel like I can't get enough air. For example, when I'm running sometimes I try to take a deep breath -- really fill my lungs -- and I can't. But I don't wheeze or gasp for breath, and I don't notice it at any other time. My doctor did give me an inhaler to try, but it didn't really seem to make a difference, and I hated to use it if I didn't really need it.

Hmmm...

PaintedDaisy · 05-03-2004, 05:22 PM

I have exercise-induced asthma as well and from your description, that can very well be your problem.

I use my albuterol inhaler before I exercise and it helps, but not 100%. It also gives me the shakes really bad. However, I started using a preventative inhaler like Asthmacort and it really has helped a lot. I don't even need the albuterol inhaler any more.

See if your doctor can refer you to someone to run some breathing tests on you. They can hook you up to some monitoring machines then have you walk/run on a treadmill so they can measure your heartrate and breathing. It might reveal asthma or something else.

In any case, I would say your breathing problem is something that needs attention because it's not normal. It may be asthma or it may be something else but it's definitely wroth investigating.