Exercised Induced Asthma

I saw my doc today about my knee and asked about my breathing problems. It hasn't gone away and I figured I'd be in good enough shape by now to not feel like I'm dying.

He gave me a script for an inhaler to see how it worked and I took it for a test ride. The difference is unbelievable. I made it 6 miles without dying for air the entire time. The couple of times I had to stop to catch my breath took a few seconds and I was on my way again. No nausea, dizziness or feeling like if I stop I'll never get going again. I even made it with the cross winds and semi trucks. I was able to drink water normally and that made a huge difference.

This was the best ride ever. I don't think I was faster but I was able to concentrate on having fun and decided to work on cadence and relaxing.

I knew I didn't have enough energy to make it more than 6 miles and it was a test run to see if the inhaler even worked.

Wish I had done this last summer. Get checked out if you are having breathing problems. I'm hoping this will help me to enjoy this summer so much more.

That's great. That's a pretty scary thing to have go undiagnosed. Hope you're on the road to feeling lots better.

I have it too, the difference once I got treated was nothing short of amazing.

Glad you got it figured out.

Alexis - welcome to the EIA club :cool:

The ability to breathe is such a nice thing. There's a difference between being out of shape and out of air.

It took me and my doc 3 years (or rather 3 riding seasons) to get my meds adjusted right so I could ride and beathe at the same time.

I was just diagnosed with Mild Obstructive Lung Defect and Exercise Induced Asthma. The doc just switched my inhaler from one I was supposed to use 4x a day to one I use right before and during a ride. Everyone around me can hear me wheeze on a ride :) I just thought I couldn't keep up. It will be interesting to see if the inhaler works. I haven't tried it for a ride yet.

Ivory,

I hope it works. I've been able to ride more miles during a trip and more frequently. I am loving every minute of it. My confidence has tripled and part of me would love to..gasp..RACE at some point. I'd never even considered it before.

Woo Hoo! 20 miles today! The last 6 nearly killed me with the headwinds but I made it home. No breathing problems or exhaustion. Glad I brought an extra energy bar as I needed that second wind.

I'll take the next the couple of days off to give my legs a rest.

I also discovered that my seat post slowly lowers as I ride. I had to keep adjusting it and trying to make the screw tighter. I'll talk to my LBS and get that fixed.

I also need a real pair of shoes. I don't want clipless shoes, so I'll have to do some looking around. Something light and possibly open for my bunions. By the time I got home, my toes were throbbing and numb.

I think I found the tires I want as my LBS owner let me borrow his set. They are Bontrager XR1 29ers.

It's been a great day.

I'm so glad you guys are talking about this, I need a benchmark. I've been trying both albuterol and atrovent for a year -- bicycling, snowshoeing, xcountry skiing, swimming, heck, just walking around the open space here near Boulder, and I am huffing and puffing the moment we go uphill, the moment the weather turns cold. When you use your inhalers do your lungs feel like they open up? 'cause mine don't, and I'm not sure what they're supposed to feel like with the inhalers. I get tons of aerobic exercise, but it keeps getting harder and slower.

I had to really talk my internist into testing me for this, so wondering how you all were tested. I was sick a dog at the time, went in for that, so at the same time his nurse had me breathe deeply and steadily into a measuring gizmo for a couple minutes. Then gave me the inhaler, lather, rinse, repeat, and lo it was better, that was it.

So just wondering if you could give me something to compare to. Thanks!

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Originally Posted by CommuterChick

I'm so glad you guys are talking about this, I need a benchmark. I've been trying both albuterol and atrovent for a year -- bicycling, snowshoeing, xcountry skiing, swimming, heck, just walking around the open space here near Boulder, and I am huffing and puffing the moment we go uphill, the moment the weather turns cold. When you use your inhalers do your lungs feel like they open up? 'cause mine don't, and I'm not sure what they're supposed to feel like with the inhalers. I get tons of aerobic exercise, but it keeps getting harder and slower.

I had to really talk my internist into testing me for this, so wondering how you all were tested. I was sick a dog at the time, went in for that, so at the same time his nurse had me breathe deeply and steadily into a measuring gizmo for a couple minutes. Then gave me the inhaler, lather, rinse, repeat, and lo it was better, that was it.

So just wondering if you could give me something to compare to. Thanks!

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It sounds like you need a better form of long term control, rather than just emergency and/or steroids.

My doc finally put me on Singular, and that has made a huge difference.

Thanks, Pax, for the encouragement, it helps. Heard back from the doc today, it seems he agrees with me that the inhalers aren't working, he's scheduled another test, so that's good! Hope to have good news to report before all the snow is gone.

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Originally Posted by CommuterChick

Thanks, Pax, for the encouragement, it helps. Heard back from the doc today, it seems he agrees with me that the inhalers aren't working, he's scheduled another test, so that's good! Hope to have good news to report before all the snow is gone.

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Good luck with this, and hope you can find some relief soon!

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Originally Posted by CommuterChick

I'm so glad you guys are talking about this, I need a benchmark. I've been trying both albuterol and atrovent for a year -- bicycling, snowshoeing, xcountry skiing, swimming, heck, just walking around the open space here near Boulder, and I am huffing and puffing the moment we go uphill, the moment the weather turns cold. When you use your inhalers do your lungs feel like they open up? 'cause mine don't, and I'm not sure what they're supposed to feel like with the inhalers. I get tons of aerobic exercise, but it keeps getting harder and slower.

I had to really talk my internist into testing me for this, so wondering how you all were tested. I was sick a dog at the time, went in for that, so at the same time his nurse had me breathe deeply and steadily into a measuring gizmo for a couple minutes. Then gave me the inhaler, lather, rinse, repeat, and lo it was better, that was it.

So just wondering if you could give me something to compare to. Thanks!

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Cold air can be a trigger for asthmatics, just like allergies or exercise. I wonder in your case, if the high altitude also has any effect on your aerobic endurance? (No idea, just conjecture.)

Anyway, yes, when you take your "rescue" inhaler, you should feel the lungs opening up within a few minutes. You may also have a "maintenance" inhaler that does not do that. If the rescue inhaler isn't working, you need to check with your doctor. Perhaps you need a form of long-term control that can be used in conjunction with your exercise meds.

For me, the combination of a daily leukotriene inhibitor (blocks the histamine reaction) and a rescue inhaler that I take before exercise is something that works for me. In the spring/summer months I also add a maintenance inhaler to my routine because pollen is a major trigger for me. But other things may work for you-- once you figure out what is causing the asthmatic reaction, it will be easier to solve the problem. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by CommuterChick

I'm so glad you guys are talking about this, I need a benchmark. I've been trying both albuterol and atrovent for a year -- bicycling, snowshoeing, xcountry skiing, swimming, heck, just walking around the open space here near Boulder, and I am huffing and puffing the moment we go uphill, the moment the weather turns cold. When you use your inhalers do your lungs feel like they open up? 'cause mine don't, and I'm not sure what they're supposed to feel like with the inhalers. I get tons of aerobic exercise, but it keeps getting harder and slower.

I had to really talk my internist into testing me for this, so wondering how you all were tested. I was sick a dog at the time, went in for that, so at the same time his nurse had me breathe deeply and steadily into a measuring gizmo for a couple minutes. Then gave me the inhaler, lather, rinse, repeat, and lo it was better, that was it.

So just wondering if you could give me something to compare to. Thanks!

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I echo the other poster who said Singulair. I use it when it's cold/wet...for some reason, albuterol doesn't control my exercise-induced asthma from about October - March. And of course, right now, since we're having the worst pollen season ever, I'm sort of afraid to go off of it. When I start sucking on my inhaler 4x/hour for a spin class, I know it's time to start filling the prescription again.

I'm also allergic to life (not kidding, it's never good when the nurse at the allergist walks into the room and goes, "Oh my God!" upon seeing your back to read the skin test,) so some times of the year are harder on me than others.

I remember the first time shortly after starting the maintenance medication to control my asthma that I raced up the stairs at the train station (without getting out of breath) and realized..."ooh, there's so much AIR in the world..." No more having to get off of my bike and lie down on the side of the road!

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Originally Posted by bmccasland

Alexis - welcome to the EIA club :cool:

The ability to breathe is such a nice thing. There's a difference between being out of shape and out of air.

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Are you able to elaborate your thoughts on this as it's something i have been wondering about recently.

As background i weigh approx 230pounds and have lost around 20pounds through cycing. I started cycing in May last year and cycled from May - Aug then nothing until Feb this year when i upgraded to a road bike. I have recently completed several 50mile rides at a speed of between 14 - 15 miles per hr.

However whenever i hit a hill of any decent length or gradient i really have trouble with my breathing. It gets heavier and heavier until i am wheezing as i inhale and it doesn't feel like any air is getting into my lungs. If i stop and rest or make it over the hill my breathing gradually comes under control (until the next hill). I feel my hill climbing ability (what little there is!) is impacted more by my breathing than my legs - i feel i have it in my legs but i just can't breath. So does this sound just like fitness (or lack thereof:o) or something more like exercise induced asthma?

Thanks for the thoughts :)
Mel.b

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Originally Posted by Mel.b

until i am wheezing as i inhale and it doesn't feel like any air is getting into my lungs. If i stop and rest or make it over the hill my breathing gradually comes under control (until the next hill).

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This sounds like EIA to me.

For me, a symptom of mild asthma problems is when I take a deep breath and it feels like my lungs won't expand all the way no matter how much I try. Before I started using daily asthma meds, this would happen to me while I was working out at the gym.

When I'm riding up a steep hill, I will start to wheeze. I can usually control it by slowing my cadence down and riding in the lowest gear. Often the wheezing will go away if I stop to rest at the top of the hill. Nonetheless, I will usually use the albuterol at this point to make sure it doesn't happen again on the next hill.

If I'm going to be riding up steep hills that I know from experience will cause a problem, I will use the albuterol (1 puff) before the ride or at the bottom of the hill.

As far as fitness, there are some hills that I ride fairly often that will make me wheeze in the spring when I haven't been cycling much, but once I'm back in shape I will be able to ride up them without a problem. However some hills are steep enough to make me wheeze no matter what.

BTW without using a daily inhaler (I use Pulmicort) to control the asthma, I would start to wheeze while *walking* up hills.

When I first started having problems with asthma I went to the internist about it. Once the diagnosis was confirmed, I started seeing a specialist -- in my case a pulmonologist, though I have relatives who work with allergists to control their asthma symptoms.

Thanks ny biker. What sort of tests are done to confirm diagnosis? I guess i'm worried that given my weight my gp will laugh at me and put it down to being unfit (well, not laugh at me but you know what i mean!)

For me, the initial diagnosis was based on:

- family history of asthma (lots of it)
- description of symptoms -- I had had a couple of full-on attacks with bad wheezing and inability to breathe
- testing my lung capacity by breathing into a thing whose name I can't remember right now. Basically a plastic cylinder with a thing that moves up when you breathe really hard into it, and how far the thing moves determines normal lung function vs compromised lung function.

If you tell your GP that you are wheezing and unable to breathe in, and he just assumes it's because you're unfit, find another doctor. Being unfit means you have to take lots of deep breaths when you exert yourself. Having asthma means you're unable to take those deep breaths.

And if you're doing 50-mile rides at 14-15 mph, I would say you are actually quite fit in some ways even with any health problems caused by excess weight. I weigh about 142 right now and that's my average speed for a 50-mile ride.

Thanks. I'll be booking an appt with my GP.

Just realised i got the conversion wrong with my speed...it's more like 12-13miles per hour for 50miles (but whats a couple of miles:p)

I was diagnosed in my early 20s. Once I matured, I have it under control. I am currently off all asthma meds. However, When needed I go back to Symbicort. I have noticed that unless I am really feeling tight in my chest, not using inhalers is better. They increase my heart rate too much.
But as I learned practising yoga....you must listen to your body. Some days you are great, some days you need inhalers and thus pace yourself so your heart rate is comfortable. A good heart heart monitor is awesome. I have a garmin edge and it helps me on my cadence and heart rate...and when to work it or to take it easy.
Do not let asthma sideline you!

So i went to the doctors today and he has made a presumptive diagnosis of asthma and i have been given both a preventitive inhaler to have every day and also a reliever to take prior to exercise and during if needed.

He did raise the issue of fitness vs asthma, however what i think swung him today about trying me with the inhalers was that my grandfather died of an asthma attack and the fact that i do 95% of my cycing by myself, so better to be safe than sorry.

I also did a spirometry lung functin test which was in the normal range but he wasn't surprised by that.

I go back in 3 months to review how i have gotten on.