A Scottish woman reports suffering with early menopause, which she suspects was caused by her bodybuilding practice.
When Adele Johnston was a bodybuilder, she followed grueling diets and fitness regimes that always left her hungry and exhausted.
The two-time Scottish bodybuilding champion’s hair began to fall out, she had bleeding gums, heart palpitations, itchy skin and painfully swollen genitals.
After years of painful tests, she discovered that these were symptoms of early perimenopause, the phase before the end of a woman’s menstrual cycle.
On average, this begins when women are 46 years old. Adele, mother of two, was in her 30s.
“For years and years I pushed my body beyond its physical and mental limits. Bodybuilding is an extreme sport and it’s not healthy,” he told BBC Scotland News.
“You could see my ribs and bone structure, I was weak from lack of food. My body did not look beautiful and healthy and I was going against my intelligence and knowledge to put myself on those grueling diets.”
“I was always hungry and never felt full.”
“Stagnation of the menstrual cycle”
At 1.70m tall, Adele weighed just 53kg. “I started wondering why I went into early perimenopause and I asked a lot of doctors if it was due to my bodybuilding and they said, ‘It’s possible, but we don’t have the research,’” she said.
Heather Currie, a specialist gynecologist at NHS Dumfries and Galloway Hospital, speculated that extreme bodybuilding could have caused Adele’s menstrual cycle to become “stagnant”.
“Anything extreme can have other effects and what I usually recommend is to do everything in moderation,” he said. “Any excess will not do.”
Currie, who advises the Scottish Government on menopause and women’s health, said her ovaries could “go back to normal” once Adele stops bodybuilding.
“Bodybuilding may have influenced this, but we will never know.”
Adele has now given up bodybuilding, but has also started taking hormone replacement therapy with a Mirena coil, which stops the menstrual cycle completely, to ease the symptoms of perimenopause.
The 40-year-old Scottish woman is finally feeling better and isn’t ready to stop taking the medication to see if her periods have recovered.
“I suffered horrible perimenopause symptoms,” she said. “I had heart palpitations and thought I was having a heart attack, I couldn’t sleep at night and I was exhausted, I was in a cold sweat and itchy all over my body.”
“I had so much pain in my vulva that I had to stand at my desk at work. I had abdominal swelling and bleeding gums and was losing hair.”
“Since I have an IUD and my hormones are stable, I’m not willing to remove it to see if it’s still bleeding.”
Menopause is when a woman’s periods stop, which usually happens around age 51.
The period before, when menstruation becomes irregular, is known as perimenopause and begins, on average, at age 46.
This is the time when many women notice that their periods are becoming unpredictable or heavy and they experience sensations or physical problems that they have never experienced before.
When menstruation does not occur for 12 months, the woman has reached menopause.
Vicky McCann, president of the British Natural Bodybuilding Federation, said any potential link between bodybuilding and early perimenopause was a “very interesting topic”.
A 54-year-old competitor said: “I have been competing for 30 years and have only had signs of menopause for the last three years.”
“I have had no problems so far and have been dieting and exercising my whole life. I can think of three other people my age who have had no problems.”
“However, the fact is that everyone is different, and this is an interesting topic.”
Jessica Watson, co-founder of the menopause education organization Gloriah, said she has come across many stories like Adele’s.
“There is an urgent need for greater recognition and more research into the causes of early menopause, which is at the heart of what we are fighting for.”
“I could barely function”
Adele is now a menopause coach after stepping down from her role as head of operational resilience at an investment bank.
“My debilitating symptoms eventually forced me to quit my job,” he said.
“The company I worked for was unable to accommodate my needs while I was going through perimenopause.”
“I asked for six weeks of reduced hours while I adjusted to hormone replacement therapy and they refused to pay.”
“I was so sick I could barely function. So my husband Sean said to go away and we’d figure it out.”
Adele said she was nervous about leaving her job.
“It was scary having to say goodbye to my salary, pension, benefits and career path, but I saw it as an opportunity to retrain as a menopause coach, using what I’ve been through to help others.”
He added: “Bodybuilding is an attractive and fascinating sport, but behind the scenes we need to be aware of the health implications.”
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
