Quote Originally Posted by Mel.b View Post
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).
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.