currand

I go to the allergist a few weeks back because I had an allergic reaction to something (yes, I know, I'm a genius). During my initial work up he gives me a breathing test that measures lung volume and other interesting facts I never wanted to know.

He then has me use an inhaler and then repeat the test 5 minutes later. My lung volume shoots up 1 liter. 25%. My first test (un "assisted") had me at 103% of predicted volume based on my age/size. My post inhaler test had me at 120% or so. I've never noticed that I had problems breathing (occasional shortness of breath when my allergies flared up but no wheezing or anything).

Here's my question. I've never noticed I had an issue while training. But now I have this magic device that gives me another liter of oxygen. I think technically I don't have asthma because I'm not at the magic 80% of predicted volume. But obviously I do because my volume changes 25% (from 5L to 6.5L) with albuterol.

Should I get a TUE and pack my bags for the Tour next year or just keep the inhaler for when and if I actually need it?

Grumpy McTrumpy

Ø Beta-2 agonists: Advair*, albuterol*, bambuterol, bitolterol, Brethaire*,
Combivent*, fenoterol, Foradil*, formoterol*, metaproterenol, orciprenaline,
pirbuterol, Proventil*, reproterol, salbutamol*, salmeterol*, Serevent*,
terbutaline*, Ventolin*, Xopenex*
NOTE: * Allowed by inhaler or nebulizer only if an Abbreviated TUE is on file
with USADA or International Federation (IF), as appropriate. A salbutamol
(albuterol) level greater than 1000 ng/ml is prohibited even with an Abbreviated
TUE.

Creakyknees

OP - that's why ( my opinion) you see many pro's with "therapeutic use exemptions" or TUE's.

but as to whether it really makes a difference... I dunno... suppose it doesn't hurt, but there are other physiological limiters besides lung volume.

crispy010

It might not be cheating, but it sure as hell is lame. What kind of loser thinks about doping for an amateur race?

daytonian

they are everywhere at amateur races

dgasmd

Not going to make a lick of difference in your performance. Just because you have a higher volume of air coming in and out of your lungs doesn't mean you have an increased ability to use it. Think of it as having a larger tank of gas in a race that will only use 1/3 of a regular size tank anyway. Without a bigger engine to make use of the extra fuel, you got nothing.

umd

Pretty sure that it is the VO2 part of VO2max... so for any effort that is VO2max limited, sure, it's going to help.

ericm979

Have you ever noticed any symptoms? I had asthma for a while, but I'd only have problems when I was riding pretty hard, and it was cold and wet out. Endurance paced rides wouldn't trigger symptoms, I had to be close to threshold. But then it could get pretty bad... I had other racers ask me if I was ok.

From what I remember the doc telling me during the test, if you show improved function with the albuterol, you have asthma. Healthy people don't show any change. Even though the test was done in a warm room so I didn't get any wheezing, the lung machine showed an increase in volume moved with the albuterol.

The symptoms seem to have pretty much gone away on their own, so I stopped taking the meds.

uspspro

VO2 in VO2 max is volume per unit time...

I would venture to say the capacity could be a limiting factor, but in most athletes, it's likely elsewhere (heart, etc..).

dgasmd

That refers to the max you can consume = utilize of what is supplied, which is far more than your VO2 max.

Kagnos

A lot of inhalers have some form of steroid to help you breath. However, a lot of inhalers are for the general populous, as well as a form of relief and also emergency method, so you can typically find an inhaler without that steroid which opens up the lungs and esophagus.

In short, yes it is doping.

ridethecliche

I'd do it.

Hands down.

In fact, I sometimes take Asthalin before a race. I've had prescriptions for years, but that's because of injuries/septum surgeries.

currand

OK, my fault for assuming people would get the sarcasm. The serious question is, does anyone else have the same issue and use an inhaler for training or racing? I do see quite a few people use them at the line or shortly before but have rarely thought anything of it.

The allergist explained it to me like this. SInce I'm an "athlete" (his words not mine) he would expect to see a higher than predicted score. So my 120% was normal. The 103% was not. And since albuterol had an effect, I have asthma. I don't think lung volume has anything to do with my limiter. There just aren't enough races where an aerobic performance would give me benefit beyond being fresher at the end.

I appreciate the other comments.

Grumpy McTrumpy

just out of curiosity: what is your age/size?

gsteinb

42 7 cut

currand

35, 5'10", 188.

patentcad

At last, a Road Nazi who's actually fatter than me.

Grumpy McTrumpy

mine is supposed to be 3.7 liters, but fluctuates between 4.75 and 5+. I think the 30 odd years of brass instrument playing has something to do with it. I wonder what effect albuterol would have (if any).

Personally, I have found that deeper breathing does tend to make the legs hurt a bit less in VO2max efforts (and sometimes in LT efforts). At the moment, it requires a concerted effort to relax the breathing apparatus during hard cycling. Maybe someday it will become second nature.

I experimented with some different breathing rhythms and techniques during a TT last month. I did find one combination that made my power go up for a while (at the same perceived effort) but it required too much of my focus to keep it going for more than a few miles.

YMCA

NyQuil is doping.
I'm a doper.
This thread is dopey.

tombailey

Was this the first time you've done the blow test? According to my doctor when I had the test done recently - most people get "better" at it with practice. Your second result is usually better than your first result. So they should test a few times per scenario (no inhaler/inhaler etc).

patentcad

In 1990 I discovered I could actually drink 30+ beers given an eight ball of the right blow. Now that's what I call a blow test.

datlas 

Based on my rudimentary understanding of physiology, V02 max is a function of 3 variables: Oxygenation in the lungs, Cardiac Output, and Hematocrit/Hemoglobin. For the majority of us, we are limited by our cardiac output...increasing our hemaglobin might help a bit (ie blood doping or altitude training)....but most of us have such redundancy in our lungs that increasing our airflow/ventilation will not make a difference.

Bottom line: using the inhaler may make you "feel" better/faster, but unless you have true airway disease you will not improve your performance.

Val23708

Right. If I'm near my VO2 max, I'm doing effort way beyond my anaerobic threshold.

pjcampbell

My Dr. wanted to see what would happen if he gave me albuterol and it didn't do anything.