I have EIA - CVA. (Exercise Induced Asthma - specifically, Cough Variant Asthma).

Easy rides are no problem for me - except that they go against my nature, and I like to push. Yesterday, I did hill repeats. No problem while I was riding, but after I'd put the bike in the car, I had a coughing fit and damn near passed out from it.

The good news: It doesn't affect me while I'm riding.
The bad news: It's getting worse.

Does anyone here have a similar problem? And if so, what (if any) solutions have worked for you? I'm on Advair, and use Ventolin on demand. They used to help, but recently, they have been less effective.



Don't give me that "ask your doctor" BS I've done that, and am under the care of a pulmonologist. I'm simply asking BF people about their experiences.

do you have concomitant allergies?
my asthma acts up the least when my allergies are under control and i use my bronchodilator at least several minutes before i start riding, not when it hits.

Ive had asthma all my life. I used to have to use this archaic looking machine when I was little everyday, it was bad.

So no I cycle and do century rides and more regularly. At first asthma was an issue and I used albutural (sp?) (which is the same as your ventolin) which is basically a fast acting lung-tube opener so I can suck down more air.

However, upon asking my doc about it he got me on a preventative called,Flovent HFA. It comes in a yellow/orange puffer container. I use it once in the morning and once at night.

Since using Flovent, I no longer need to use albutural. In fact, for the last couple of months I have really slacked off on even the preventative, Flovent.

Before getting onto Flovent, my asthma, like you, was getting worse and my instant puffer reliever albutural seemed to be having less and less of an effect.

Maybe you can try a preventative like I do? Worked for me! I don't even carry albutural puffer anymore. Less weight

I was diagnosed with EIA in 2005, but I suspected something was wrong for years before that. In 2004, my symptoms got significantly worse, and I really struggled on the Great Southern 1200K Randonnee in Australia. So when I returned to Canada, I went to the Dr ... then to a Heart & Lung specialist ... and then onto a pair of inhalers.

I'm on a Ventilin type of inhaler for quick emergency use, and on Serevent for long-acting use.

Ask your Dr and Heart & Lung specialist about a long-acting inhaler. It made such a difference for me.

Things improved for a few years there, and I hardly used my inhalers ... and then as soon as the first hints of spring arrived last October, I started really struggling again. I've been using my inhalers regularly for months now. They say it has been a bad spring/summer/autumn for asthma sufferers. Hopefully things will ease up again as winter comes on.

I had EIA as. Kid, but grew out of it in my mid teens. It then returned a couple of years ago in my late 30's. Only really on harder efforts and also coincident with pollen allergies (new for me). Now I use Advair and an antihistamine in the spring when my allergies flair up. I rarely feel as though I have asthma - it doesn't impinge on any of my activities at this time, in recreational riding or in races.

I have Cold and Exercise induced asthma, and also allergies to cats (we have one, I found out about my allergies after we got it). I find that keeping the house very clean and changing furnace filters often helps keep my asthma attacks down. I also take a shot of Ventolin right before workouts in the cold, and take it with me for warm weather rides just in case symptoms start to creep up, then I take a quick shot and it holds it off.

My asthma has gotten worse over the past few years until this year where it seems to be getting better. Also, if your albuterol inhaler expires, it exponentially loses it's effectiveness.

I've had allergy induced asthma and exercise induced asthma since I was young. Just keep the albuterol handy in case. I don't get bad attacks, but enough to get shortness of breath/tightness. Enough to freak me out though.

Another asthmatic here. Suffered with it as a boy but then seemed to outgrow it. In my mid 50's I began to see some signs of it under heavy exertion playing tennis. In my mid 60's it came on much stronger but it was moderated with Albuterol. Eventually, that inhaler became almost totally ineffective. At that time I went to an allergy specialist, and after a series of tests, I've now been using Symbicort. This stuff is very expensive but also very effective and do not need much of it. Colder weather increases symptoms but during the summer months I don't need the Symbicort at all.

I'm able to ride the bike at lower speeds with no sign of asthma. As soon as I do a hard effort such as sustained higher speeds or climbing, I run out of O2 very quickly. I have no complaints. At 73 y.o. I have no other illness and generally have good energy. Despite asthma, I ride 3000 miles annually, including colder months, and ride a bit faster and farther each year.

I didn't get to see the doc yet, but people here told me they are pretty sur I have EIA. I'm calling today to see a doc. It doesn't do much yet, my lungs feel a little wierd for about 2 hours after the long rides, but I wouldn't want it to get as bad as yours!

I'm in the same situation. I have EI and cold induced. I never used to ride in the colder months. I started Symbicort recently, and it really seems to be helping. Hopefully when it warms up a bit I'll be able to get off the symbicort and just use albuterol symptomatically.

Singulair once daily and Xopenex before a ride. You should stay away from albuterol with exertive exercise, it's effects on B1 receptors of the heart may cause problems for some. The effect with Xopenex is less severe.

You should get rid of your cat. Really, it will only make things consistently worse for you over time.

It sounds like your asthma is not under control. If your current doctor can't come up with an alternative more effective treatment, try another doctor. You may need to experiment with something other than Advair or perhaps use ventolin before your ride. In any case you'll need your doctor to change your prescriptions.

This is like going to your doctors to get infirmation on adjusting your rear derailleur. LOL

The correct answer is that your preventive meds aren't controlling you adequately and you need an adjustment. There are more options than what you are on. Do you have a peak flow meter to quantify the problem - this would help the doctor. You could try a dose of albuterol prior to your rides. Maybe you need a higher dose of advair. Maybe you need something in addition to the advair. Again, you are not on maximal therapy by any means.

I have the same, I just make sure I have a decent cool down period or else I lose it.

Isn't that the kind of asthma that (allegedly) affects something like 25% of elite cross-country skiers? I recall reading something during the last Winter Olympics that there were tons of people in skiing competition events who were getting doping exemptions because they had to take asthma drugs and they had doctor prescriptions.

There are likely more MDs on the bike forums than there are bike mechanics in the doctors office..

I've had minor asthma my whole life and I do get the CVA on especially hard days and more so when the wind is blowing and getting stuff all up in my lungs. I was on xopenex since my asthma wasn't too bad but the doc said exercising would help. I haven't used my inhaler for almost 1.5 years now and seem to be just fine with a little hay-fever here and there.

Advair, Singulair, & Xopenex here. I was diagnosed about 2 years ago after training and racing with asthma for the 5 years prior. I'd had the symptoms my whole life and just had never exercised hard enough for it to be a problem. Advair was a godsend until the seasons changed and the pollen brought all the symptoms back so my doctor added Singulair. I also recently switched to a Xopenex inhaler from Albuterol. Albuterol made me jittery and my heart rate would spike. Xopenex opens up the lungs without those side effects. The net result with all these meds is I can breathe on the low end of normal for someone my size & age.

From out of left field, but maybe worth a shot: is there a chance you might have acid reflux, which can exacerbate asthma? My wife does. But sleeping on a slight incline, eating right and taking a Nexium-like drug when needed helps an awful lot.

Just thought I'd throw it out there.

Sounds like there's quite a few of us here. I've had Asthma since I was about 18, and probably before that.

Currently on Albuterol and Asmanex Twisthaler. Don't really have breathing issues, but when I ride I notice that my nose really starts to drip, especially after 20 or so miles.

Like the rest of you am Asthmatic and have been since 2 years old. I have been on just about every medicine mentioned an am currently using Flovent, proventil, and flonase. I found that if I use the flonase (nasal inhaler) before rides it helps me keep from coughing, having runny nose, and sneezing. I also take claratin when riding long rides. This usually keeps me from having an asthma attack. Also if you havent tried some of the other meds out there you may want to switch it up to find what works for you; certain med combinations may be a better fit for you than what your currently taking.

I always carry an inhaler with me when I ride. Being able to breath is an intregal part of cycling for me.

You might try talking to your doctor (oops! you said not to say that!) about switching drugs and trying different things. you might also find a doctor that is used to working with athletes - most doctors think you're fine if you can climb a flight of stairs but we know there are more important (and intense) measures.

My doctor put me on Singulair to help my asthma but its delivered a dragon punch to my allergies. we're still going through a process of guessing to figure out whats best for my asthma.

I use Xopenex also and it works quite well.

Albuterol affects B2 receptors and you would have to be really sensitive to B2 agonists to have a negative effect at such a low dose.