Grinning from Ear to Ear!

[Kathi]

Two weeks ago I did Ride the Rockies and struggled with my breathing. Actually, I've been having problems breathing all season but it took being at extreme conditions like RTR for me to realize it.

The last day we were in Leadville and I had an asthma attack that landed me in the ER so I didn't finish the tour. When I saw my Dr. on the following Mon. my lung function was 75%. Normal for me is 95%. They put me on Advair 2x per day.

After a week on Advair I rode on Monday and I couldn't believe the difference. I could ride faster and climb without gasping for air. I can now take deep breaths when I get to the top of a hill. Today I did a club ride. I've ridden with this group (12-14 mph range) all season. I just blew them away. I easily rode in the 16-17 mph range. I had a 147 avg heart rate as compared to 130 two weeks ago.

For a long time I accepted "hitting a wall" at certain speeds or on climbs but I didn't realize that wall was because I couldn't get enough air. I feel 20 yrs younger.

Friday I go back to the Dr. to determine better management plan for my asthma.

Being able to breath is such a wonderful thing!

[pooks]

I'm impressed! You've been doing all this mountain cycling without full function of your lungs? You should be ready for the Tour de France, now!

[sarahkonamojo]

Happy for you that you are finding a solution. Sorry the issue had to spoil part of Ride the Rockies for you. Well, you made it to Leadville. That was really the ride.

Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better. Keep churning.

sarah

[emily_in_nc]

Awesome, Kathi! My asthma is milder than yours (no attacks since childhood), but I felt that it was affecting me on the bike when climbing; no matter how hard I trained, I huffed and puffed and seemed to be much more miserable than my peers. I started on Advair, the lowest dose (50/100) a year ago, and the difference is incredible! I can even run now, which I never could do before because my breathing would limit me too much. And I just feel so much better climbing than before starting the Advair. For me it's a real miracle too!

Congrats to you....

Emily

[Kathi]

Sarah, I made it to Leadville by bus! By the time I got to Aspen I knew something was wrong and was afraid to try Independence Pass. Thankfully, I wasn't at Turquoise Lake or on Fremont Pass when it happened.

Emily, what you describe is the way I've been on hills for a long time. I just thought it was normal. I could push my heart rate pretty high but had that huffing and puffing going on. How often do you use the Advair?

When I lived in Cincinnati I used to ride with a group on Tuesday nights. I'd start with the 15 mph group and struggled to keep from getting dropped. The ride started in a river valley so we climbed immediately. If the humidity was high, which it was most of the time, I had a harder time. Once we got to flatter terrain I often out rode them and joined the 16 mph group on the way in. I thought I wasn't strong enough for hills. I didn't realize that all this huffing and puffing was asthma.

Pooks, the climbs here are long but gradual so it's easy to climb slow with a low heart rate which is what I was doing to compensate. However, by doing that you end up with your riding buddies way ahead of you. What I thought was odd is that I was having as hard a time climbing as I did last year when I was still recovering from ACL surgery.

Even though I didn't get to finish RTR the mystery is solved and I'm looking forward to next year.

Kathi

[maillotpois]

Good for you for getting this figured out and under control!!!

I struggled with breathing impairment all last spring - it came on so gradually that I didn't really think much of it. Ultimately I really had a hard time filling my lungs and breathing - especially on climbs. Wheezing and super heavy breathing and just not able to push it. It was VERY discouraging. I thought I was just out of shape or not training hard enough. We initially thought it was asthma, but inhalers really didn't help. I wasn't positive for allergies. Finally, after a hospital stint, it turned out it was many blood clots in both of my lungs!

After 6 months treatment last year, and now that my "issue" is 100% resolved, I feel like I have completely new lungs. I totally get what you're saying - isn't it GREAT to be able to use your lungs??!!

[emily_in_nc]

Emily, what you describe is the way I've been on hills for a long time. I just thought it was normal. I could push my heart rate pretty high but had that huffing and puffing going on. How often do you use the Advair?

Twice a day. I believe that's the standard dosage and that you're not supposed to use it less (or even worse, more), since it's a preventative and not a rescue inhaler. I also have albuterol as a rescue inhaler but use it only VERY rarely now that I'm on Advair. I used to have to use it before every ride/hike, whatever. Now I go through one inhaler per year, if that....

Emily