OldsCOOL

How many of us here experience this? I've posted on this a few years back in a thread about having a dry, annoying throat tickle. When I'm breathing hard, it is likely to develop an asthma episode. A few days back in doing a strava'd hillclimb I've not been on in a few years, my lungs were burning on the Cat 4 top section. This is when I discovered my lungs would no longer tolerate albuterol inhalant. Early this morning and a trip to the ER, I now have a non-albuterol inhaler and a steroid to help (temporary). In a few days I will test the new inhaler. Ride on.

FullGas

if the new inhaler doesn't work well, ask your specialist if you're a candidate for Advair.

stuff worked miracles for my chronic asthma.

10 Wheels

We all have some kind of problem

OldsCOOL

That's what my wife uses now. She has chronic, allergy triggered asthma.

berner

My asthma specialist has me on Symbicort. It costs a fortune but works so well I don't need much of it. Most often I need a puff before club rides but for riding around town, don't need it much.

1989Pre 

This was my initial symptom of adrenal fatigue. Through over-training (running), I had depleted my adrenals, consequently negatively affecting my respiratory efficiency. Immediately after my first marathon, I began running out of air around mile 7 on my tempo runs, usually going uphill. I would try to hyper-inflate my lungs, by holding my breath, but it made no difference. I tried an inhaler. Still no difference. Then, the constant chills set in.., and the sweating upon slight exertion (reaching for a book).
My body couldn't develop enough heat to keep the fluids in my body thin enough to circulate well. It took me 22 months of complete lifestyle change to climb out of it. From what I hear, I am one of the relative few to recover from adrenal depletion ("fatigue").
I am not saying that you have an endocrine imbalance, brought on by the "fight-or-flight response". If you think you may, I recommend either Hair Mineral Analysis test, or 24-Hour Diurnal Cortisol Saliva Test.
Two supplements that helped me the most are 1.) Phytocort by Allergy Research (mainly Reishi mushroom) and 2.) CordySeng by Health Concerns (cordyceps with ginseng).
The adrenals and lungs are intimately tied. The reason steroid inhalers are sometimes prescribed for various types of asthma is because they contain cortico-steroids. In other words, they are designed to temporarily and locally replace some of the cortisol (anti-inflammatory adrenal hormone) that the patient may be low on.

OldsCOOL

I recall your struggles with this. Hopefully I'll be ok. Time will tell. My courses will still have hills though I will stay off that last one that fried my legs. Today is the first day with the atrovent and it's like night and day difference.

eja_ bottecchia

I've dealt with asthma since I was a wee lad (I am 60 now).


I use a rescue inhaler in case of an attack.


But for long-term relief, Advair keeps me symptom free.


Good luck.

Rick@OCRR

I suffer from exercise induced and cold induced asthma but Advair (as long as I remember to use it) works well for me.


Rick / OCRR

canklecat

I've had stress/exercise induced asthma for years -- usually it hits about 10-15 minutes into vigorous exercise. Helps if I use my inhaler up to an hour before a ride. Albuteral inhalers aren't really rescue inhalers and need time to be effective, so if I wait until I need it I've waited too long. But I don't like to use it every day so I often wind up waiting until the asthma attack strikes before pulling over to use the inhaler and waiting about five minutes to catch my breath.

John E

Curiosity question -- why does asthma seem to be so prevalent now, compared to, say, 50 years ago?

Biker395 

Damn, that is a good question. Why are so MANY things more prevalent than they appeared to be 50 years ago? It seems just about every person I know has some kind of affliction that wasn't known or certainly not talked about when I was a kid. The peanut allergy is an excellent example. No doubt, its real ... but where the heck did that come from?

1. Social media, the Internet, drug company commercials making people more aware of them?
2. People more willing to talk about their health problems?
3. People living longer, so more people are getting diseases (I had a doc tell me that is why diabetes is so prevalent)?
4. Exposure to chemicals or other irritants?
5. Not enough exposure to antigens, thus causing our immune systems to attack ourselves (also a docs opinion)?
6. Other?

I'd love to know!

FWIW, I had asthma as a child, and I had it bad. I was hospitalized several times. Dust was the trigger. But I haven't even thought about asthma in decades. I don't need medication, nor do I need to carry an inhaler.

OldsCOOL

Ok, 3 days in with the steroid inhaler and new rescue inhaler and all is well. I will be weaning off the both of them tomorrow and resume intensity levels on Thursday with a watchful eye.

berner

A very good question I've been pondering myself. There could be a number of related reasons such as polluted air as well as other reasons. During summer months the news programs sometimes report that on certain days some people will suffer respiratory difficulty. I know that when I wash my car, on the following day there will be a film of something that comes off on my hands. Whatever it is, it also gets into lungs.

canklecat

I doubt asthma is more prevalent. It's correctly diagnosed and treated more often now. In ye olden dayes of yore folks with breathing difficulties and the like were relegated to the ranks of the puny housebound shut-ins. Nobody talked about them. They wrote poetry and long introspective novels about tea cakes and memories.

Nowadays, access to OTC allergy meds makes it easier and more affordable for us to get outside and enjoy life. But we're always going to face challenges so we whine about it more. Once you get a taste of enjoyable outdoor activity you want more, but the respiratory challenges will always be a limitation.

Biker395 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-are-asthma-rates-soaring/

canklecat

Interesting but inconclusive, as the article says.

Research would need to at least speculate on such factors as probable death rates that are influenced by changes in health care.

For example, are people who are prone to respiratory problems now living longer, but not necessarily healthier, lives? This may contribute to increases in reported asthma, among people who might have died younger in previous eras.

OldsCOOL

I can think of several factors for an increase in cases reported. Considering there may be more riders than ever before what with MTBs and roadies more prevalent. Riders sample allergens from many and various communities in their rides and at high volumes. Cars have air cleaners, we have lungs. Check your car's air cleaner element for an illustrative example.

Not to bother our OCD members here or anything....

locolobo13 

The last time I had exercise induced asthma it was from climbing too steep a hill at higher altitude (4500ft+). The climb forced me to breathe too hard. Fortunately it was mild, more of a wheezy, itching, tickling at the back of the throat. A few days of not exercising saw it go away.

For me the lesson was don't irritate the lining of the lungs by over doing it. Easier to say sometimes. I carry an inhaler around too. Haven't used it in years.

OldsCOOL

That's the key, dont push into that burning or "dry patch" feeling.

Biker395 

Yea, that was my point (in my earlier post) too. It sure seems like I hear about more maladies than I remember as a kid, but that could be for a variety of reasons.

canklecat

I needed six hits off the albuteral inhaler a couple of days ago, and four today. But the main problem with these inhalers is the active ingredient is in powder form. If the airway is constricted, the powder gets stuck in the mucous membranes before it reaches the constriction. So I usually need to inhale a time or two, wait 10-15 minutes and repeat.

I miss the old rescue inhalers but apparently you can't get 'em anymore without special dispensation from the gummint.

mr_bill

It's not the gummint. It's the governments - EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.

The Montreal Protocols is a *UNIVERSAL* *TREATY*.

The "essential uses" exception applied to CFC use in Metered-Dose-Inhalers, but since HFA has shown to be safe and effective replacement for CFC in this application, the "essential uses" exception ended in 2008.

The phase out of CFC Inhalers took place worldwide, it began in the US in 2012, with the exemption for the last two CFC Metered-Dose-Inhalers for asthma ending in 2013.

Drug companies patented the "new" HFA inhalers.

In Canada and the UK, a month's supply of an albuterol HFA Metered-Dose-Inhalers cost about $2.00 US.
In the US we lost all the generics so a month's supply of an albuterol HFA Metered-Dose-Inhaler costs $50.00 US.

-mr. bill

OldsCOOL

A week following the albuterol reaction all is well. Tonight I cranked out a seasons best on a personal time trial. On the 5.5mi "flats" (not really) I cranked 17-21mph, sustained. Turning up on the hill section was in good form, not having to granny but only a small section. The hilly 5mi was feeling like the fastest I have have ever done. Good ride and very encouraging.

No rescue inhaler needed.

Insidious C. 

That's great news! Asthma sucks.