Medications

Emmadragon

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So, over in a thread on arthritis in shoulders, there was a link to the banned substances checklist.
I'm a type 1 diabetic, have been for 40+ years, so as a matter of curiosity, I thought I'd see whether insulin was a banned substance. It turns out it is in fact totally prohibited, I suspect primarily because it's an injected substance. So, my question is, what happens if I enter a competition where these things are checked? It's not injected in a doctor's surgery or medical facility, because, then I'd have to be there 4 times a day! How does it work? Cos, you know, without insulin I will, actually literally, be dead!
I apologise for the number of exclamation marks, I got a bit carried away typing this.
 

Rik

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Therapeutic Use Exemption. TUE. I don't recall the details of how you apply or the hoops you have to jump through... Someone on here should know.
 

Emmadragon

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Ah, got it. Thanks, Rik. I found the form, doesn't look like I need to worry about it just yet.
I am a bit baffled by how anyone thinks that insulin use will improve sporting performance for a non-diabetic though; it's frankly more likely to kill you or put you in severe medical difficulty, at the very least.
 

Timid Toad

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Ironman
It can be used to mask other substances, and yes it's unbelievably dangerous, so it shows you the risks drug cheats are prepared to take.
 

Rik

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Recall that the whole anti-doping thing in sport was kicked off, not because of performance enhancement, but because cyclists were dying in their attempts to medicate their way to better results...
 

little-else

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Absolutely correct Rik, Tommy simpson being the classic case. The list of performance enhancng drugs expands as the ability to detect such things develops but you also get very strange anomalies as a lot of the drugs they test for dotn show up so they look for metabolytes of the drug instead and then use the ratio of that to what they consider the norm.
the problem occurs because the people tested as being normal are not athletes but a random selection of couch potatoes and that causes problems as they wont be typically comparable to people who exert themselves in any way and give rise to false positives of the metabolyte due to the athlete's body processing things differently to the average slob.
let is take the most recent scandal involving testosterone doping ( allegedly). The normal range for a man is 12-24 units. I have a brain tumour that affects my endocrine system and so produce much less and need to take drugs to restore the level back to something like normal.
World Athletics have determined that for people like Castor Semenya a testosterone level of less than 6 makes them female even if they have testes so if I stop taking my medicine my levels will fall to around 2 and my progesterone levels will rise to around 3500 compared to a level of less than 10 for a normal bloke and 35 for a woman who is not pregnant. This female hormone is secreted by women who are lactating and also commonly causes post natal depression so theoretically I can compete as a woman and not have to shave my beard off but will feel dreadfully sad about it.
now that might allow me to claim a few more county records for clout but I would prefer to live a bit longer however the treatment is theoretically banned without a doctors note to compete rather than just my word
Now other banned substances include mars bars, alcohol ( this is an odd one as the anti-doping testers give you beer to make to pee when dehydrated) ginseng, cannabis ( have you ever seen anyone's performance enhanced by being stoned?) and 3000 other compounds but also naturally high levels of compounds as mentioned already.
So yes, the TUE applies and you would be surprised how many athletes have hay fever and asthma or even potential heart problems that give them a TUE for certain drugs at doses the average Joe would never get from their doctor.

The drink drive levels were set in a similar way, pour vodka down the gullet of 100 people and choose the level at which the majority of them start to make bad mistakes then do not revisit the methodology for the next 60 years.
 

Timid Toad

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I used to routinely carry a TUE for my asthma meds and it's no big deal to obtain. Despite my asthma drugs actually giving me the shakes and palpitations. Eventually the DRO was updated and I no longer need one. However, it's worth being aware that when I was competing seriously, things like taurine were on the list - it's in Red Bull. So everyone should be aware of their obligations and responsibilities.

That said, top end competitors are regularly and routinely checked in and out of competition over a period of years which gives a profile of what is normal for them so it's easier to spot changes and variations. Us mugs they aren't so worried about and I've never been asked to provide a sample at *any* tournament in the UK. I guess it's just too expensive.
 

Corax67

Well-known member
One of the great things about longbow is not only is drug and alcohol testing never mentioned on competition application forms but at most events we start the day with a sherry or two supplied by the hosts :)

I’ve been going through TUE applications for one of our juniors who has a host of complex medical conditions requiring a mind boggling array of meds but the system is very straightforward so no dramas.

Because of the immense length of the list, it is incredibly easy to ingest a prohibited substance without realising a seemingly innocuous off-the-shelf medication or food supplement might contain one.


Karl
 
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