I’ve not paid much attention to it recently (apx 2-3 months) thinking its psychological, or writing it off as over training a bit or cold weather, but i’d noticed get out of breath earlier on intense biking / activity and a stitch on left side running quite a often.

Did a free health check at work and they recorded a marked low-score in lung capacity using one of those blow-into-machine’s – apx 72% of what it should be for my age…

Given i’ve been pretty fit roady/mtb and runner for the past 6 years (12+hours a week training) and i have no coughs, flem etc. should i be heading to the GP?

Anyone been down this path?

Could have developed a asthma?

Yes get it checked out.

Thyroid condition can cause this, speaking from experience anyway.

It’s far, far, far more likely that you’re just not very good at using a peak flow meter, and it also points out the essential pit-falls of getting ‘medical’ tests done without decent back up.

You might have something wrong, but given your history, I’d be putting my money on a crappy test.

Did a free health check at work and they recorded a marked low-score in lung capacity using one of those blow-into-machine’s – apx 72% of what it should be for my age…

Unless you have a baseline for comparison then this isn’t that useful a measure. You might just have smaller lungs than most people.

I agree with the above that it could be anything or nothing, and the test does’t really tell you much, but (before giving up milk) I had issues with lung capacity related to intolerance to milk and having bloated insides, so there is literally anything that might cause it, and many of them are nothing to worry about.

ahs it always been like that though (capacity?) I consider myself to be pretty fit, and have been for quite a while. Some time ago, I underwent sports testing at local university (they get results, I get tested) and while most everything was OK (BMI, body fat < 4% !!), the lung capacity (not flow) was nothing special (5-6 litres maybe) but the VOMax score was shocking – which was a puzzle..

thanks for the info guys, if it was just the test on its own i’d brush it off, but as i said in the original start of the post, there has been this nagging feeling about something not quite right….

i’ll sleep on it 😀

Ask for a blood test for anaemia, got anaemia and now short of breath quite often.

Also the dr will probably send you for chest x ray

You learn what your capacity is and need o slow down or pant like an old man running for a bus.

well, just looked up anemia – and i also match a few of those symptoms too, (pale skin, yellow, breathless, and tired – more than usual).
EDIT: and leg cramps – calf’s in particular this winter for some reason.
oooo perhaps not SOME REASON anymore…

Get it investigated by a GP to be on the safe side, but as others have said it’s a pretty dodgy test. Also I’m not even sure blowing a poor score means that much. Apparently my score is horrific compared to average, yet for both running and road cycling I can achieve a decent club level standard without too much bother.

ressurectifyyyy – just had dr’s appt. always happy when the Dr is wearing outdoor jersey and walking trousers, because it meant i didnt get the usual “if your out of breath running, stop running – and take some anti-inflams for a week”
urine tests all clear,
blood tests sent away
nurse appt for a spirography thingy test to do with lungs – im sure its not that pen and plastic circle thing we had as a kid ……… 😉

initial diagnosis, glandular fever – with possible longer than normal recovery , hopefully not P.V.Fatigue issues.

see what the bloods bring back next week.

I’m assuming you mean spirometry not spirography 😉 It’s basically blowing hard into a tube to measure peak flow, total volume etc.

resssurectify

so blood tests all clear,
last week went for my spirometery thing – a summary of what happened with the nurse.
n:”you look fit and healthy why are you here!!!”
“ummmm doctor sent me because of issue with my lungs”
n:”he didnt say anything about it on your notes”
“shortness of breath, sometimes significant during exercise, certainly not what i am used to”
n:”perhaps your not as fit as you think you are…”
“errr no i think i know what i am and know what i was before”
n:”ok blow into this 3 times with regular breaths………….no no no try and match the breaths each time, no, not like that, 3 of the same, keep going 3 more, your not doing it right 3 OF THE SAME…”
“i am trying to keep it the same i dont seem to be able”
n:”ok forget that, now blow 1 as hard and as long as you can …ok your good”
“that gray area on the output is that the normal range…”
n:”yes and theres your breath”
“thats only just in it”
n:”thats fine”
“should i expect more than that given i run 4 times a week and cycle 3 times”
n:”your in normal range, try one more”
“so exactly the same”
n:”yes i think your fine so we’ll not do any more tests, thanks now”
“thats it”
n:”yes i’ll put on your fine, we dont need to do the other test”
i leave for the door
n:”oh by the way , any history of asthma in the family”
“yes, mother, sister, grand mother”
n:”there you go then, see your doctor again if you need to, bye”

Just to throw in an extra chunk of random information in – I started getting a bit short of breath a couple of years ago. Noticed that I was getting a bit breathy when walking briskly, or (eventually) even talking fast. Ended up going to the GP thinking it was asthma (some years I get it a bit), to get some new inhalers. She smelled a rat and sent me for a chest x-ray. They had a quick look at the x-ray, and told me to stay put while they got a wheelchair. I had a pretty big spontaneous primary pneumothorax (collapsed lung). They sucked out 1.5 litres of air from my chest that afternoon. Basically had a slow puncture that I didn’t know about. Think I’d been walking around for about 3 weeks since it popped. Ultimately ended up having surgery for it, but hey – I can breathe now.