Asthma can suck it!

[jordanpattern]

I just had a bad asthma attack on ride home from work. Though I'm fairly new to cycling, I'm in pretty decent shape, and my ride home is pretty much all down hill, so I was surprised. I had to pull over, put my head down, take my inhaler, and wait until I could breathe again before resuming. It was embarrassing and crappy!

Are there any other asthmatics out there who ride? How do you deal with it, particularly on longer rides? Any tips or tricks? I'm going to be seeing a doctor this week, and I'll probably have to suck it up and start paying outrageous prices for Advair or Symbicort again, but if there's anything else I can be doing, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks!

[zoom-zoom]

I didn't like Advair...I had back to back thrush infections for over a year, no matter how much I rinsed and gargled after use. Horrible. My doctor switched me to Qvar and I much prefer it. Price is about the same, but I can use it with a spacer device and have not had any issues with thrush in the year+ that I've been on it. I think it actually works better, too, since it's actually getting into my lungs and not on the back of my throat.

I couldn't do jack without my long-acting meds. Now I only use the rescue inhaler here and there. I'm definitely using it more, now, though...dumb seasonal allergy issues.

[emily_in_nc]

There are a ton of folks with asthma who ride, including me, but many of us are lucky to have mild cases. I haven't had an asthma attack in years, but I do wheeze/cough at night if exposed to allergens. I use albuterol before rides on which I expect a lot of pollen or other air issues, but generally don't need it. I used to use Advair daily as a preventative, but really didn't think it helped much, and it is $$$. Once I found out that it could predispose to osteoporosis, I stopped taking it.

Good luck in sorting out your issues. There should definitely be a way for you to manage your asthma so that you'll be able to ride and not have asthma attacks.

[jordanpattern]

Thanks, guys.

I didn't know that about Advair and osteoperosis. I am a small, tiny-boned person with osteoperosis in my family, so I will be sure to ask my doctor about that. If it comes down to it, I'll choose to breathe over concerns about my bones, but it's good to know that I should be looking for alternatives!

I was hoping that getting active would have helped my asthma, but it appears that it's triggering it instead. Can't win 'em all, I guess.

[Pedal Wench]

There are a ton of folks with asthma who ride, including me, but many of us are lucky to have mild cases. I haven't had an asthma attack in years, but I do wheeze/cough at night if exposed to allergens. I use albuterol before rides on which I expect a lot of pollen or other air issues, but generally don't need it. I used to use Advair daily as a preventative, but really didn't think it helped much, and it is $$$. Once I found out that it could predispose to osteoporosis, I stopped taking it.

Good luck in sorting out your issues. There should definitely be a way for you to manage your asthma so that you'll be able to ride and not have asthma attacks.

Emily, one other thing to consider though - one of my doctors said that studies are finding the people who left their asthma untreated were more prone to emphysema late in life (in their 80's.)

[emily_in_nc]

Emily, one other thing to consider though - one of my doctors said that studies are finding the people who left their asthma untreated were more prone to emphysema late in life (in their 80's.)

Emphysema? Isn't that something only smokers get? Yikes!

In my case, though, my doctor totally agrees with and supports my decision not to use Advair. I went on it only because I asked her if I could try it to see if it helped with my breathing on the hills -- I felt I was struggling more than my bike club peers (this was in my go-fast mega mile days). I haven't had an asthma attack in decades but felt like I wasn't performing as well as my peers in the bike club. However, it didn't help much and did have side effects. Most of the folks posting on this thread have much more severe asthma than mine, which is classified "mild, intermittent".

I only use one rescue inhaler a YEAR; my asthma is that mild. They expire before I can use them up. I also tried Singulair, but it didn't help either and gave me the runs.

[zoom-zoom]

Emily, one other thing to consider though - one of my doctors said that studies are finding the people who left their asthma untreated were more prone to emphysema late in life (in their 80's.)

I think this is true. I know I've been told that untreated or poorly treated asthma actually causes permanent lung damage. A lot of people minimize the severity of asthma (same people who think the flu is just a bad cold, perhaps...flu lands me in urgent care on a nebulizer), but it's serious and scary.

[Pedal Wench]

>>> My doctor switched me to Qvar and I much prefer it. <<<<

I'm on Qvar too. And Foradil on days I'm exercising. With the meds, I'm usually fine, although cold, dry air can cause an attack, or dry air at altitude.

That being said, I don't let it stop me. I'm an endurance rider - don't warm up until 70 miles, and just keep going after that. I also ride all winter since my big race is in February.

Two tricks is to try to warm up for a while, and try to limit how much cold air you're inhaling - I cover my mouth with a buff if it's below 40 degrees until I'm very well warmed up - 20 miles or so. I've also heard that caffeine helps, so a cup of coffee before a ride and most of my drink mixes have caffeine.

[jordanpattern]

I'm on Qvar too. And Foradil on days I'm exercising. With the meds, I'm usually fine, although cold, dry air can cause an attack, or dry air at altitude.

That being said, I don't let it stop me. I'm an endurance rider - don't warm up until 70 miles, and just keep going after that. I also ride all winter since my big race is in February.

Two tricks is to try to warm up for a while, and try to limit how much cold air you're inhaling - I cover my mouth with a buff if it's below 40 degrees until I'm very well warmed up - 20 miles or so. I've also heard that caffeine helps, so a cup of coffee before a ride and most of my drink mixes have caffeine.

It's good to know that if I just stump up for the meds, I will (hopefully) be fine. I suppose that makes it worth it.

Pedal Wench, I live in San Francisco, so neither cold nor altitude is ever a problem for me. I will try to warm up more, though. It seems silly doing a warm up for my 3.5 mile commute, but if it prevents me having to stop, then I'm all for it!

[Tri Girl]

I haven't heard of Qvar. I just had my yearly appt with my allergist. I need to call and ask about that.

I have severe asthma. I would not be able to function without Advair. It has literally given me my life back. It's expensive, but thankfully my insurance covers a great deal of the cost and makes it very affordable for me. I don't know how people without insurance can pay for it.
I have no less than 7 inhalers around the house. One in each of my 3 bike bags, one in my running camelbak, one in my swim bag, one in the car, and one in my purse. I don't need them often, but they have to be nearby in case of emergency.

These seasonal allergies just kill me- even with all the good meds.

I don't have any tips- just wanted you to know you're not alone.
Breathing is kinda important...

[ny biker]

I take Pulmicort. It generally works for me, although some hills still make me need albuterol. Also I need to go slow on steep hills. Otherwise the asthma does not hold me back.

A few months ago my doctor suggested I cut the Pulmicort dosage to see if I could get by taking it only once per day. After a few weeks I started having symptoms. Twenty minutes of shoveling snow made me wheeze, whereas I could literally shovel snow for 5 hours without problems last winter. I'm back up to the previous dosage now.

Also, I took Advair for a couple of years, but my doctor switched me to Pulmicort because it's safer to take a single-ingredient drug if it manages your symptoms effectively.

[FlyingScot]

I've had the worst year ever with my asthma. Finally started on Symbicort twice a day which has helped but have had at least 6 bad attacks this winter. Had one at work last week that scared my coworkers because apparently my face turned purple. It has seriously impaired my riding because on top of it I found out in December that I am pretty anemic too. Really bad combo but certainly explains why I'm having so much trouble riding hills and into the wind. The bad thing is that I can't take iron supplements because they really messed up my GI system, I'm not that fond of red meat and after eating about 8 bags of spinach a week for the last 2 months my Hgb dropped another half a gram! With the weather warming up and cycling season here I'm apprehensive about riding because I don't want to have an attack and I get so pi$$ed at myself for my poor performance.