Exercise Induced Asthma & Allergies

[beccaB]

I was going to search for a thread on this very subject. After a really long ride my lungs burn real bad. They might have always done that, but for some reason I'm just now noticing how after a ride, the feeling continues on for a while. When I was in Colorado in June I rode a lot, and that was hard for me because I am not acclimatized to altitude. However, there was no burning lungs there. just here, in South Central Michigan. What gives?

[indigoiis]

I was having this problem this Spring, and my doc, who tends to loathe prescription anything, asked me to track my diet for a month before she had me have an allergy test. I did, and tracked symptoms, and lo and behold, they were related. Certain foods really triggered bad breathing on long rides.

So she suggested I cut those foods for a month, which I did, and lo and behold, the asthma disappeared.

I also lost ten lbs. in the process and that probably helped my climbing.

Everyone's different but.. I'm glad she didn't just give me an inhaler script and call it a day.

[Cycling Sister]

beccaB, Check with your doctor. I hope you find answers! Not being able to breath is no fun.

indigoiis, That's interesting. So, your triggers was food allergies? What foods did you eliminate?

[beccaB]

Yeah, me too.. I'm curious about which foods you eliminated. I have a feeling dairy and wheat may be some of them. I had an anaphalaxis (sp) episode as a child, and I get winter hives. I have fantastic lungs otherwise, I play a wind instrument. This might be a game changer for me, so I need to get serious about it, and I don't like to take meds either.

[indigoiis]

I stopped eating cereal with milk before rides, and then I cut it out altogether. Starting having dry whole wheat toast, black coffee and grapefruit, maybe an egg, in the a.m. Much better.

But at first I cut out most processed wheat products (my husband was still making baked bread, so I figured since it was homemade I could toast it and eat that, and it didn't seem to affect me.) Cut out all pasta. All white flour products. All desserts for a month. All scones, muffins, danishes, whatever. I cut out all dairy for a month. Didn't even eat yogurt. I basically ate only fruits, veggies, meat, some beans (but not like I ate beans before) and the homemade bread, toasted. Bazinga.

Since clearing up I slowly reintroduced a couple of things like hard cheese and have stayed clear. I did have a bowl of cheerios with milk and immediately felt stomach cramping, congestion, and tiredness. So, I think it's a combination of cow's milk and processed wheat foods.

[beccaB]

I think I'm going to make more of an effort to eliminate all white flour and change what I eat for breakfast. I can probably reduce or nearly eliminate most of the sugary junk food from my diet. Giving up my frosted mini wheats with milk for breakfast is going to be a challenge, but it's worth it if it gets rid of my breathing problem. It could be that there are so many environmental allergens that even making a small dietary change will have a favorable outcome.

[Cycling Sister]

I can see how food allergies can trigger EIA. I don't think my triggers are food related. I don't eat dairy and hardly much processed foods. Stopped eating dairy years ago. My body reacts best to whole wheat breads or rice grain breads. Glad you were able to find out what triggered your EIA!

[indigoiis]

Becca I hear ya. Cheerios for me was the manna of life. I swear, I thought I would die when I looked at that icky grapefruit and toast the first morning. But now I am used to it. I change it up with plain oatmeal (and I do the steel cut so it does take awhile - you have to plan for it) with fresh fruit (cut up while I wait for the freaking oats to do their thing). I think I would rather eat cheerios with milk than any dessert anytime. Oh well. That's one thing that got the 86 and I would guess it is going to be for good.

I think milk was likely the biggest part of it. I did get tested for everything - thyroid, lung x-ray, vitamin deficiencies (I was deficient in D, believe it or not, with all the cheerios and milk I was eating), gluten intolerance (neg), and I was told I was healthy. Like, maybe this was in my head. The last test she held out on was the breathing test they give you in the hospital. She said it was unpleasant and I could cancel it if my breathing got better after cutting out the trigger foods.

So I cancelled it.
So I guess I'll never know for sure whether it was in my head, food induced, or real-live honest-to-god asthma. I don't have an inhaler and so I am not sure what I'll do if I have another scary breathing episode on the bike. I guess I'll just wait and see. It's been a couple of months now.

[ny biker]

What is the unpleasant breathing test?

[Catrin]

What is the unpleasant breathing test?

Her doctor may have another test in mind, but the most unpleasant one they ever gave me was meant to induce a mild asthma attack. If they can then it proves the asthma is there and isn't something else. Not fun.

[indigoiis]

That's the one! Blech!