I developed asthma from smoking years ago. when I stopped smoking and started getting a good dose of physical exercise it all cleared up. weird that eh?

Not really, people suffer from asthma at lots of different levels. I used to smoke and have sports induced asthma (but don’t need to medicate). My mate has never smoked a cigarette, is very fit but has horrendous asthma which can prevent him sleeping at night and he always has his inhaler on him.

Yours was probably very mild but the smoking exacerbated it

And a genuine question, if terbutaline ‘only’ works for asthmatics, why is it on the banned list?

I think it’s considered a potential masking agent. Potential only mind – not sure there is any proof it works. That’s certainly one of the asthma drugs, I think it was this one but can’t find anything specific.

A right balls up if it went down like it is being described. And one that means he might have a couple of years watching homes under the hammer irrespective of whose fault it was.

It might be on the banned list as it has a benefit for some sports and not other. Thinking a bit of the the Alain Baxter case were whatever was in the US version of the vics inhaler was on the banned list was absolutely no benefit to a salom skier.
As Scotroutes said I notice if I have done a sprint session in cold weather, with a cough and a bit of “restriction” afterwards. Given that the training session a pro athlete does there must be a greater chance of seeing the symptoms than the general population.

And a genuine question, if terbutaline ‘only’ works for asthmatics, why is it on the banned list?

Think it’s treated as a controlled substance as opposed to ‘banned’. The TUE’s are supposed enable control so that someone who would benefit doesn’t abuse it. There’s a rough total number of times an inhaler can be used in a time period which is born out by the amount found in the bloodstream.

Has anyone ever seen a pro athlete* using an inhaler?

I’m no where near pro but have been diagnosed with asthma from before I was 10 and I often need to take drugs at the start of exercise, however, I have only once in many years of racing got asthma during a race. I’ve actually raised this with my Dr and they didn’t know why this may be the case either, the only thought we had is whether increased levels of adrenaline might have a part to play. I must one day get around to doing more research.

I have mild asthma, manifests in a cough that won’t shift after a cold, and also general tightness when i exercise hard in cold weather (although if I start gently, that’s less of an issue)

When I was younger it was quite a bit more severe – particularly living in the country in harvest season, dry air and clouds of wheat dust and the like would often see me struggling for proper breath, which is when it was actually diagnosed, on a French exchage visit living for a week on a farm in the Alsace.

I still routinely use it before starting exercise – although not sure it does anything when conditions are good. I’m also thinking about doing the club open TT season, which technically is subject to anti-doping controls (although if the drug testers are turning up to a local TT even then I do wonder if they’re targeting the right people)

How do i get a TUE? Or is a note from my mum saying I’ve had it since 14 likely to suffice (or a prescription from the GP)?

More asthma here. Found out this year. Never noticed it before this winter. I ride a fair bit, but always for fun, and (as I now know) even when I’m going for it, I’m not really going that hard.

When I did some cx racing this winter, I pushed it harder and longer than I ever do on the odd hill riding for myself. Constriction of airways, and a cough which took about a week to go away. Every race.

So, as others have said, I can see how high aerobic demands are going to show more asthma than sitting on the sofa.

Given that the training session a pro athlete does there must be a greater chance of seeing the symptoms than the general population.

Agreed, a fair proportion of the general population could have exercise induced asthma and never know it….

What proportion of the general population would have to suffer from this ailment before it was considered “normal”?

It’s a condition that exists & is well know, however it is surprising how many pro cyclists suffer from it….

I suspect its because until you push your lungs you don’t find out if they are slightly broken. My Asthma doesn’t bother me until the climb after Buzzard’s Nest at Glentress, everything before that is below the altitude that sets it off. So 99.999% of people never see me with an inhaler.

99.999% of people never see me with an inhaler.

7,400 people have seen you with an inhaler? You must get around a lot.

Of course asthma exist and is brought on for some with physical exercise BUT there does seem to be a large amount of pro cyclist suffer from it and therefore medicate for it.

Re. the number of riders with Asthma, INRNG posted on Twitter the number TUEs with specifics for Terbutaline, certainly seems that there may have been a problem historically but much less so now.

Higher earlier rates might have been related to its use as a masking agent for something that can now be tested in a different fashion
.

Sudden lowering was probably due to Salbutamol not requiring a TUE from 2010

http://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/36169275
And not suspended

I’m another one with exercise induced asthma – pretty mild, but I know it makes a big difference to me if I forget to use my inhaler before I go out for a ride or a run.

Got my riding mates to compare peak flow. I’m usually around the 450 mark, but up to 520 after a couple of puffs. My two shortarse friends were 650 and 700, whilst the one who is almost as tall as me recorded 850. That should give you an idea of how difficult it is for me to take a big lungful of air, and how much energy I use when breathing hard. Short sharp hills kill me, but the rest of the time I’m fine.

Should we allow medical science to correct this ?

It’s all a question of where you draw the line – is it the same as correcting eyesight, or resetting a broken bone ? Female tennis players have had breast reductions.

Who would have thought a Yates could fail a dope test? At least it is a nice drug rather than one of those nasty injecty ones

What concerns me is the headlines will be “UK cyclist fails drug test” when it should be “has an adverse analytical finding”.

Strikes me as a can o worms if you can use Terbutaline if you fill out a form but not if you dont. Of course the form needs you to prove you have a medical condition that requires it. But blimey, where do you draw the line when it comes to medications to treat an ongoing known condition and a performance enhancing drug.

It’s probably been said but some things are banned which have no effect on performance because they can hide the presence of things that do.

And this is sport at the highest level, what the hell are you doing there if you won’t do anything at all that is legal! Don’t answer that with the what about your health concerns because if that was your priority you wouldn’t train that hard anyway. I don’t believe that in any sport the level of training to reach the very top is conducive to the best possible long term health.

But blimey, where do you draw the line when it comes to medications to treat an ongoing known condition and a performance enhancing drug.

Years back, when Chris Boardman was a pro, he was on the verge of getting dispensation to take testosterone as he had unnaturally low levels of the stuff.

Then the Festina scandal broke and the UCI said “non”.

I developed asthma from smoking years ago. when I stopped smoking and started getting a good dose of physical exercise it all cleared up. weird that eh?

On the flip side my asthma vanished in my teenage years when I started smoking.

It came back in my early 30’s once I’d given up and started riding bikes again.

What concerns me is the headlines will be “UK cyclist fails drug test” when it should be “has an adverse analytical finding”.

It was the daily mail that broke the news, so what do you expect.
And OGE are angry with BC, who they reckon must have leaked it. I suppose it might have come from someone with an axe to grind against BC, that would be a fairly long list !

Interesting stuff from the guardian

<Sports doctors consulted by the Guardian confirmed that its performance-enhancing benefits are negligible even when inhaled on multiple occasions. It appears that one reason it is banned is to prevent abuse given some of the side-effects, while another is that there is less research around it compared to Salbutamol, a comparative substance sold under the trademark Ventolin which was recently taken off the anti-doping register. The Guardian was informed by one team doctor that to prevent slip-ups of the type that has embroiled Yates, he advises his riders against Terbutaline.

The UCI guidance on registering a TUE for terbutaline state that an athlete must provide lung function test results, detailed medical history and clinical review and further tests. The WADA guidelines state there must also be “justification from the prescribing physician as to why permitted alternatives cannot be used.>

So getting a TUE is not a foregone conclusion, and not getting one is more than just an administrative mistake. Feel sorry for Yates, his team is at fault, but think he is going to pay the price. If only he’d gone to Sky – they are much better at dealing with this sort of thing !