All-Star Health Awareness Esp In Athletes, Read Please

[ShoWStoppeR]

hey ya'll. I know, I am an athlete and still a kid, but I would like to have a mini mom moment, since I know my mom doesn't really venture on here much anymore. and king, I just put this here because I knew people would see it more than the less loved forums.
so for those of you who know me, I am a little ball of energy. I'm naturally really healthy, exercise, eat right, so on so forth. well, up until I went to college and was getting colds all the time, but we just assumed it was a combination of college stress and what not. it was always the same, stuffy nose, runny nose, sore throat, and ended with a really bad cough. didn't really think much of it, just a cold right? When I went to college I also started oral contraceptives for other personal health reasons. So that brings me to this past week.
I had a really bad cough again, and my mom had said that if it didn't get better by the end of the week, I'd go see the doctor. Well then I woke up friday night with really bad pain in my side and shoulder and it was hard to breathe. I woke her up crying, and she knew that if I was crying there was something wrong because I never do. So we went to the ER with a cough and ended up finding out I have blood clots in my lungs. I don't know how much any of you know about blood clots, but its a VERY rare thing to see in people under the age of like 65, and especially in an otherwise healthy teenage girl. We don't know how long they were there, but we know that if we waited any longer it would have been bad news bears. That being said, we also don't know if the colds were related, but they said it's a possibility with the coughs i've had. They have no way to prove it for sure, but they said it was the oral contraceptives that caused them to form (I'll be able to take some blood tests down the road to see if its actually a genetic disorder) I have to stay on blood thinners for at least 3-6 months, possibly the rest of my life. Because of the nature of blood thinners, I am not allowed to cheer while on them, which means there's a chance my cheer career has prematurely ended. which, as upsetting as it can be, my health is obviously far more important.
so now to the point I was going to make. sorry guys, if you haven't caught on I'm not good at keeping the stories brief...
but:
1. Obviously I know alot of you cheer parents personally, and I know you are all amazing parents. but I just want to emphasize, if something doesnt seem right, it probably isn't. give it the attention it deserves. it's best to catch things early. I know unfortunately in this sport there's a lot of wanting to push push push, and alot of athletes, including myself, that like to hide things. don't let it happen. You're a parent, of course you know your kid best, so just make sure to always keep an eye out for even the small things. not that i'm sure ya'll don't already (and, i dont want you to think I am saying my mom didn't, she did, and it just happened to be right in time.)
2. Side effects/risk factors on things are listed for a reason. even things that seem good, have the potential to be bad. prime example, oral contraceptives is a responsible thing to do, but carrying risks like that kind of put it in the lose lose catagory. or even things like vitamins. i know the "thing" at school this year was girls taking biotin to make their hair and nails grow. even too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, don't take it with a grain of salt.
okay, i think that's all i really wanted to get off my chest... when you stay cooped up in a hospital bed for a week, you tend to get a mild case of word vomit. even though ya'll should feel special, i didn't really want people to know... but then mom kicked in and made me realize this one would be a little hard to keep a secret.
stay healthy fellow fierceboarders

peace, love, and happy cheering

showstopper

 

[fullpass]

Hi showstopper,
You're not alone. I have a friend with a clotting disorder and oral contraceptives absolutely make this worse so just beware!
Thanks for bringing up this issue!

 

[INeverStopCheering]

In general there is a larger issue to be discussed here. We live in a sport where we are taught not to stop for anything. We take pride on smiling through the pain. Parents let their kids tumble long before they've been cleared. Cold? No biggie. Broken hand? Work around it. I've seen kids compete with everything from strep throat, to a broken arm, to a recently repaired torn ACL. This year one of my tinys threw up at competition. This kid is teenie, I mean really small, and she was really sick. And some people actually asked if she couldn't just make it through 2:30 to compete? I'm not saying that every little sniffle or stubbed toe should put you out, but what are we teaching our kids? To ignore their health because cheerleading is more important? Kids, if something is wrong with your health, go see a doctor. It's better to sit out one comp then have health problems for the rest of your life. Parents, don't turn a blind eye. If your kid is injured or sick, make them see a doctor. Don't let them brush off symptoms or injuries that you think are serious. I understand this is a team sport, and sometimes there are extenuating circumstances (i.e. smiling through the flu at Worlds) but your health is more important than any trophy, banner, or jacket will ever be

 

[boney1]

ShowStopper, thanks for sharing. Praying for you to have a speedy recovery.

 

[notimeforthat]

In general there is a larger issue to be discussed here. We live in a sport where we are taught not to stop for anything. We take pride on smiling through the pain. Parents let their kids tumble long before they've been cleared. Cold? No biggie. Broken hand? Work around it. I've seen kids compete with everything from strep throat, to a broken arm, to a recently repaired torn ACL. This year one of my tinys threw up at competition. This kid is teenie, I mean really small, and she was really sick. And some people actually asked if she couldn't just make it through 2:30 to compete? I'm not saying that every little sniffle or stubbed toe should put you out, but what are we teaching our kids? To ignore their health because cheerleading is more important? Kids, if something is wrong with your health, go see a doctor. It's better to sit out one comp then have health problems for the rest of your life. Parents, don't turn a blind eye. If your kid is injured or sick, make them see a doctor. Don't let them brush off symptoms or injuries that you think are serious. I understand this is a team sport, and sometimes there are extenuating circumstances (i.e. smiling through the flu at Worlds) but your health is more important than any trophy, banner, or jacket will ever be

Shimmy to you!! We shouldn't be praising those that compete with broken bones! It's only cheerleading folks! There will be another competition!
Showstopper.... good luck to you and kudos for spreading the word.....I hope maybe some will listen!

 

[SandeRae]

Praying for your speedy recovery as well! I have a little story to share myself. Ive written it somewhere before but saying it again on this thread just seems appropriate. A year ago I was diagnosed with Post Viral Gastroparesis which is a condition where, due to a virus (in my case, the Swine Flu) your digestive system and stomach somewhat stop working. They obviously dont shut down but the nerves in my stomach didnt respond to my body and the food I was putting into it. I kept eating but nothing was digesting. This is obviously not good and my body was so out of whack. I was hospitalized and put on a nasal feeding tube and that was how I ate for a month! It took a good 8 months for my body to become somewhat normal again. There are a lot of foods my body cannot handle anymore (like red meats) and I have to be really careful. My symptoms at the beginning seemed to not be that severe ( just a stomach ache, cramping, throwing up) but after many many doctors visits and a lot of medical help and support I am now a lot better Point of this story is to emphasize was @ShoWStoppeR was saying, stay healthy and listen to your body! If I had not gotten help when I did this could have been much worse. I was out of cheerleading for a good 10 months and, while I was miserable without it, I knew that my health was more important. Im happy to say I am back and cheering now as well! Thanks for spreading the word on keeping cheerleaders healthy and the emphasize the most important rule: Listen to your body when your not feeling 100%!

 

[cheergirlbrey]

Showstopper you sound like an amazing young lady and I hope for your speedy recovery. Sounds like advocacy may be a future career

 

[its4fun05]

hope you recover quickly.... its a very scary thing. I've been there. I had a blood clot a few years ago and was able to actually start cheering again full force with in a year. I was tumbling in 8 months. So don't let it stop you but yes be careful and make sure your healed before you go stunting around. Good luck to ya!

 

[allstarwannabe]

@ShoWStoppeR , thank you for posting this. one of my best friends went through the exact same thing in the fall of 2009 at the age of 22. she took oral contraceptives to help with her skin & she was told that they were the cause of her blood clots as well. she had to stay on blood thinners for about a year, but she hasn't had any more clots since the initial ones. i do know that she has to be kinda careful about the amount of vitamin k she consumes, as that helps the blood to clot & she also has to see a hematologist every few months to make sure everything is still normal. i'm glad the ER was able to diagnose you and have you on your way to getting better quickly. my friend was sent home by the ER multiple times (they kept telling her it was just a muscle strain) before they finally gave her a CT scan, found the clots, & admitted her to the hospital. just wanted to share this with you...i wanted you to know that you're not the only young person who's had to go through this! take care & i hope you're feeling better soon!

 

[Mamarazzi]

@ShoWStoppeR , praying for your health and continued recovery. Before you pack it in on cheer, make sure you've talked to your doctor and had them give you a definitive answer on whether the clots are genetically linked, or pharmaceutically linked. xoxo

 

[xoxbeastbackspotxox]

Praying for your health and continuing recovery.

 

[Level5Mom]

Thanks for sharing Chrissy. Prayers to you girl... Get better soon sweetie!

 

[ShoWStoppeR]

In general there is a larger issue to be discussed here. We live in a sport where we are taught not to stop for anything. We take pride on smiling through the pain. Parents let their kids tumble long before they've been cleared. Cold? No biggie. Broken hand? Work around it. I've seen kids compete with everything from strep throat, to a broken arm, to a recently repaired torn ACL. This year one of my tinys threw up at competition. This kid is teenie, I mean really small, and she was really sick. And some people actually asked if she couldn't just make it through 2:30 to compete? I'm not saying that every little sniffle or stubbed toe should put you out, but what are we teaching our kids? To ignore their health because cheerleading is more important? Kids, if something is wrong with your health, go see a doctor. It's better to sit out one comp then have health problems for the rest of your life. Parents, don't turn a blind eye. If your kid is injured or sick, make them see a doctor. Don't let them brush off symptoms or injuries that you think are serious. I understand this is a team sport, and sometimes there are extenuating circumstances (i.e. smiling through the flu at Worlds) but your health is more important than any trophy, banner, or jacket will ever be

i think this is the biggest point i wanted to get acrossed. i know as an athlete who used to hide things, lie, pretend it hurt worse than it did, etc, i'm sure paying for it now. and i've been blessed to have not suffered too serious of injuries thus far. i just think now, if for whatever ungodly reason i would go try and cheer, they told me all it takes is a bump and i'm done for. a bump? i'd be done for just walking in the door...
i just wish more athletes would take care to their bodies now. we all joke, oh you're going to feel this one when you're older. it's not so funny when you realize it's true. and that "when you're older" time gap seems to be getting smaller and smaller. i just encourage athletes to put their health first, no matter what the situation.

 

[kristenthegreat]

@ShoWStoppeR , you have brought to attention something MANY young girls are at risk of now, more than ever. Something so small they take for a variety of reasons- from acne to severe PMDD, oral contraceptives have proven dangerous to many a bright, talented young woman, such as my Dad's Girlfriend's Daughter Melanie.

Melanie was a young woman of 20, barely older than some of you on here. She was taking Yaz, a prescription oral contraceptive. One day, she was getting ready to go swimming with her friend Lauren when she began having trouble breathing. As it began to get worse, she called her friend over. When Lauren arrived, she promptly called for an ambulance to bring Melanie to the hospital. However, it quickly became too late to do anything: Melanie had had a pulmonary embolism (caused by the Yaz), and her brain had become starved of oxygen. She died the next day. It was only in the next few weeks that they discovered her and her sisters shouldn't have been taking it in the first place due to some factor in their blood that makes them susceptible to clotting. A test COULD have been performed to find out WAY before anything happened, but no doctor ever suggested it. I beg you all, CHECK with your doctors about your medication's side effects. KNOW your risks, even if your doctor brushes them off. While pills like Yaz/Yasmin/Beyaz are being pulled (for this reason among others), other pills of their type will definitely take their place. ESPECIALLY girls, because so many people take them for reasons OTHER than why they're prescribed (help clears their skin or hormonal reasons), yet one tiny once-a-day pill can be deadly. While you may not have had problems, it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

[MomOf2ThatsMe]

@ShoWStoppeR , you have brought to attention something MANY young girls are at risk of now, more than ever. Something so small they take for a variety of reasons- from acne to severe PMDD, oral contraceptives have proven dangerous to many a bright, talented young woman, such as my Dad's Girlfriend's Daughter Melanie.

Melanie was a young woman of 20, barely older than some of you on here. She was taking Yaz, a prescription oral contraceptive. One day, she was getting ready to go swimming with her friend Lauren when she began having trouble breathing. As it began to get worse, she called her friend over. When Lauren arrived, she promptly called for an ambulance to bring Melanie to the hospital. However, it quickly became too late to do anything: Melanie had had a pulmonary embolism (caused by the Yaz), and her brain had become starved of oxygen. She died the next day. It was only in the next few weeks that they discovered her and her sisters shouldn't have been taking it in the first place due to some factor in their blood that makes them susceptible to clotting. A test COULD have been performed to find out WAY before anything happened, but no doctor ever suggested it. I beg you all, CHECK with your doctors about your medication's side effects. KNOW your risks, even if your doctor brushes them off. While pills like Yaz/Yasmin/Beyaz are being pulled (for this reason among others), other pills of their type will definitely take their place. ESPECIALLY girls, because so many people take them for reasons OTHER than why they're prescribed (help clears their skin or hormonal reasons), yet one tiny once-a-day pill can be deadly. While you may not have had problems, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Yaz is most likely what wrecked my gallbladder. Had it removed 7/8 weeks ago I will never take hormones again.