I was diagnosed with Asthma just last year. I will be doing some of my first races this year so want to build some strength especially on climbs. Any advice on how i do this without causing an attack if i push too hard?

What triggers your attacks?

I too have recently been diagnosed with asthma. Steroid inhalers twice a day and a couple of blasts of Ventolin before a ride keeps it at bay though.

I too have recently been diagnosed with asthma. Steroid inhalers twice a day and a couple of blasts of Ventolin before a ride keeps it at bay though.

Me too, my asthma seems to be triggered by animal fur / hair so don't struggle whilst riding, for me exercise actually seems to help – ??

I was diagnosed in 2007 after a bout of whooping cough. I literally couldn't do anything without coughing my arse off. I tried ventolin and some brown inhaler but they just made me cough a lot. I then paid a couple of hundred quid for a private consultatation at the Nuffield clinic. The chest specialist reccomended seretide inhaler, which is a reliever and preventative in one, and since then its been controlled.

I don't tend to get symptoms when training, but rather if i don't! That is, hard exercise seems to open my passages up, but if I have long period of inactivity I start to get very wheezy.

Due to this, I have no problem pushing hard, but always carry a ventolin with me, just in case, to give instant relief if I get bad. Perhaps you could save the really hard efforts for when you're riding with friends who understand your condition and can help if you need them to?

I've only actually had one attack but very close to having at least 2 since. Slowing my riding and therefore breathing stops it before its starts. I use a turbohaler called Symbicort its a 2 in one thing too. I am ok when relaxed but get very chesty in bad weather and cough alot. I want to really push myself to clear the climbs and can usually do it but find it hard to control my breathing and its gets so frustrating and embarrasing as its so loud 😳 then my chest aches so affects my riding after a big push 🙁

If you really have to push yourself to clear the climbs, it may simply be that you aren't actually that fit. What kind of results do you get on the peak flow and lung capacity fronts?

Like above i seem to suffer more the LESS exercise i do. I also have to make sure i take the steroid as prescribed especially when its damp and cold.

It really depends on how bad your asthma is and the serverity of attacks and control methods really vary from person to person so you should be prepared to do some experimenting with whatever inhalers you've been prescribed.

I take Beclamethasone (brown inhaler) twice a day but at a lower rate than my doctor originally recommended (one puff instead of two) as it seems to work very well at the lower dosage. For me the issues happen if I stop using it for a few days or so. Also just be aware that you can build a kind of resistance (well, it will lessen the effect) to Salbutamol or similar relievers if you take them a lot (ie every day) when you really dont need to.If you dont need to use it then dont as it wont help, it only is to open you airways up if you are actually wheezing/struggling to breathe.

Pilates-style breating excercises work well (as does Pilates generally) Do some good aerobic excercise regularly, carry a ventolin at all times , be aware that damp weather or dusty surrounding can affect your lungs and dont be put off if you're wheezing at the top of climbs.

Unless its really bad dont let it stop you getting out: strong lungs and calm, controlled breathing are a very good aid to getting through a bad attack.

Err thanks for that phoenix…my peak flow was deemed 'normal' for someone of my age (28) and the docs thought i had a virus 2 years ago as it cleared up last spring and was back to riding to my 'normal' standard. I only suffer in the winter months and im hoping that will be same for this year too, no signs of it clearing up yet though.

I'm not a doctor but I was diagnosed with asthma 25 years ago.
Sounds to me like you may need a more effective steroid preventer?
I suffered with asthma all through school and my teens because I wasn't told to take my preventer correctly. Like muddy@rseguy, I've found that taking my preventer (Becotide) regularly made an astonishing difference. I used to use my Ventolin all the time, because I wasn't taking my preventer regularly. Since I've been taking my preventer every night I've had to use my Ventolin only 7 or 8 times in 5 years.

Have you been allergy tested? If you are allergic to something you are exposed to regularly your histamine levels could be elevated, making your asthma worse. When I had blood allergy tests (and did an exclusion diet) I discovered I was allergic to cows milk, amongst other more obvious things like cats and dogs. I since found that a lot of the medications I was taking (the old style powdered Ventolin and Becotide, all antihistamine and most other drugs in tablet form…) contained cows milk so they were prolonging the agony!

It may be worth having another chat with your doctor. Does your doctor even know you're a cyclist, who's thinking of racing?

An inhaler called Seretide has been quite simply a revelation since I started using it three or four years ago; so much so that I don't have any Ventolin inhalers left – they all went out of date and I threw them away. Had been on Becotide and, when needed, Ventolin but the Seretide does the job of both.

Can also recommend getting a spacer device for the inhaler.

Steroid inhailer before every ride, followed by another blast about 10min into ride. I've also got rid of carpets for wood flooring – much easier to keep dust under control – and hoover the bed/duvet/pillows every couple of weeks. I was also using a brown preventer inhailer (rather than the brown one) but I've found with increased riding I don't need it any more.

Thank you everyone for your help. I have tried a few things throughout the past 2 years to control it and this latest steroid inhaler i have is the best for me so far.

My doctor is aware of my biking needs as this was the first thing i highlighted on my first visit. He knew i was concerned about steroid inhalers as a performance enhancer so tried others first with no improvement, so steroid it is.

Muddy – I'll look into pilates not sure if this is something i can stick to but may be worth a try.

I cant see this happening yet but hope that maybe one day i will actually pose some threat on my competitors! 🙂

Jellybaby you don't mention whether or not you are taking Ventolin (salbutamol – short acting bronchodilator) before you exercise as well as taking your combination Symbicort turbohaler twice a day.

Symbicort and Seretide are pretty similar in that both contain a steroid (preventer) and long acting bronchodilator (protector).

Even taking these combination inhalers I would recommend taking ventolin before exercise. They say 10 mins before but I would recommend a longer 20 mins or so. It reaches it peak effectiveness after about an hour.

The long acting bronchodilators in seretide and symbicort take nearer to an hour or more before they act. Long acting bronchodilators can be used for exercise induced asthma but the recommendation is to take them 2 hours before which it not always that practical.

Also what is all this with inhaled steroids as a performance enhancer. Even high dosages of inhaled steroids are tiny amounts and even then have very little systemic effects in adults, or have you noticed your balls shrinking 😆

had asthma for 30 years, triggered with animal fur. My parents went on to buy 5 dogs, a budgie and 2 hamsters whilst i lived with them ( there's a hint to move out in there somewhere), and also had 9 puppies from 1 of our bitches at 1 point. I was still at school but shortly moved out due to work reasons (i stayed in SCotland whilst they moved job to Oxford).

Anyway, i never feel it bothers me at all anymore, still gets triggered when i go meet them but i can control it alot more and better. Use an inhaler once maybe twice a year now and my biking never suffers from it. I've had a few bad attacks but again can control it to an extent where i had 1 for 2 days before going to see doctors, arrived at A&E, told them i needed a nebulizer, stayed on that for 45 mins then went home

I'm on daily doses of Beclometasone now; used to be on all sorts of preventers and relievers but after a nasty bout a couple of years back they finally put me on something that works properly. It's so good I couldn't honestly say where my Ventolin is right now (OK, i have a spare in the bathroom cabinet and I think one in the c/bak)

As well as medication, one thing i definitely notice is that at the start of rides it is all too easy to go too fast too soon. Particularly then in damp or very cold weather I am convinced the action of sucking all that into the deeper lung recesses almost creates a shock reaction and at best I'm running anaerobically as my mates happily chat their way up the first climb, and at worst I can get very wheezy / coughing fits very quickly.

Hence I start off very gently to allow 10-15 minutes to get everything opened up gently after which i have no issue (apart from being fat / slow / old)

GJP – You seem to know alot about this. In November for a few weeks i was taking my Symbicort 2 puffs twice a day everyday (biking or not). My asthma cleared up and apart from side effects of loosing my voice and getting the shakes i was fine for a time. I saw the doctor as required in December and he recommended i decrease the dose as my chest was clear and said that i should only use it when i feel i need to i.e when symptoms show and before each ride. Symbicort lasts all day so i take it before i leave the house and during a ride if i get breathless. He said there was no need for ventolin as symbicort acts as the reliever and for a while this worked. Its only now im working harder on the bike im feeling worse i think i may start experimenting with extra doses again until i get the balance right.
– Also yes my balls have shrunk…no wait i never had any – im a girl 😆

Theotherjonv – I hear what you say about starting off slow and when out with friends i can try this but its just not an option when racing. I dont want to miss out on chances to compete just because i have asthma and i dont want it to rule what i do.

Also worth noting Your diet, some additives in food and drink are triggers. Some wines and lagesr are bad.
Asthmatic all my life, 55yrs as is son & daughter.

Like radoggair I too had dogs at home, worked on a farm and lots of other stuff I cannot do now. Reckon I built up an immunity then that has definately worn off, can`t even touch a dog or be near hay without starting to wheeze.

GJP has it to a T. Used to have to have a puff or 2 before a game of squash, 20-30mins before seemed to work best otherwise game was over before any difference noted.

I second avoiding dairy, worth a try but harder than you think.

Oh no not my diet! i love my food too much to start cutting things out :cry:…last resort but i'll think about it, its worth a try if its my health at stake!

i have had asthma all my life, and the only way i have found to truely keep it under control is my steroid inhaler, two puffs, twice a day. I rarely need my ventolin.

if your steroid inhaler is not affective you may need to have the dosage increased.

General helathy living will help, although I am not perfect so just common sense stuff really.

the cold weather is what gets me alot of the time, so if i go out in the cold, i will normally take a couple of puffs of ventolin before a ride.

but consistency with the becotide or whatever you have been given is the key, and i have had it all my life!

Vet changed my treatment last year to Singulair tablets, **** brill. Best treatment I've ever had for my pollen induced asthma. Once they kick in no probs riding at all, ditched the inhallers.
I shall be starting em again next month.

jellybaby

You can race, you just need an effective warmup timed to finish shortly before race start time. Once warmed up i can stop and change punctures, chat at gates, etc. and not need to completely start again from scratch. But if I have a longer break, for lunch for example then I need another warmup.

Hence why I struggle at 24 hr races where you can't fit in a warmup before every lap. Mayhem 2 yrs ago killed me, from the start through the campsite and then straight up the Kenda climb, no chance to ease into that!

Seritide 1 puff * twice daily has kept me at bay for the last five or so years. As soon as I stop using it for a few days I'm back on the blue. I get effected by strong smells, nail varnish or anything like that. Does anyone else using seritide have problems with weight gain? I'm on a heavy weight loss plan at the moment but can't seem to shift body fat.

Theotherjonv – thanks, a warm up is something i will definately try on race days 🙂

Quote from a fantastic comedy series from several years ago called "Nighty-night".

Hair salon owner to employee who is having an asthma attack at work:
"You know what I say about asthma, take a deep breath and get over it!"

Priceless!

(By the way, this in no way is intended to constitute a professional medical opinion for what can be a life-threatening condition in extremis).

carbon337 – Member
Seritide 1 puff * twice daily has kept me at bay for the last five or so years. As soon as I stop using it for a few days I'm back on the blue. I get effected by strong smells, nail varnish or anything like that. Does anyone else using seritide have problems with weight gain? I'm on a heavy weight loss plan at the moment but can't seem to shift body fat.

I have also been using Seretide for the last 5 years – don't believe it has any bearing on my weight. Oral steroids will result in weight gain if used over a long period (i.e weeks or months rather than a course for a few days).

Jellybaby – I am not a GP so do not take what I have written below as gospel etc and I would suggest that you see your GP again.

Symbicort and Seretide are similar medications, both combine two drugs a corticosteroid to reduce inflamation in the airways and a long acting but slow onset bronchodilator that helps keep the airways relaxed which helps prevent brochoconstriction (reversible narrowing of the airway) say during exercise.

They are both intended for long term regular use to maximise their benefit. Studies have shown that maximal benefits are only realised after use of approaching a year! But in practice it seems more like a few weeks. You will/should notice the effects of the bronchodilator if you just take it when you need it (e.g before exercise) but you will not get any benefit from the steroid. This is consistent with your GP saying just use it before exercise.

However, if you feel your Asthma is not sufficiently controlled then this suggests you need to be taking an inhaled steroid on a regular basis – but you should go back to your GP and ask for their advice . What he/she did in December makes sense. He/she – probably hit you with a strong dose to clear things up and suggested you cut down to see what happened. That said, Asthma is generally a chronic condition.

Re the side effects -the sore throat/croaky voice and shakes should/will resolve themselves in time. When I started on Seretide I felt I was losing my voice and it lasted longer than I expected (given my experiences of other meds) but it did clear up. The shakes should also go away in time – although if they have lasted a few weeks then it is worth discussing this with your GP, it is nothing to worry about, it is a common side effective of the long acting bronchdilator. I think I have read Symbicort is worse that Seretide in this respect but can't be 100% sure about this.

So, you need to go back to your GP and discuss how you feel you are getting on only taking Symbicort topically (as needed) so they can decide the best course of action.

As i said in my earlier post, if you are using the Symbicort before riding to prevent EIA (Exercise Induced Asthma) then you need to be taking it about 1 hour before. BTW the long acting bronchodilator in Symbicort is faster acting than that in Seretide, so an hour should be OK.

FWIW I take two puff of ventolin before exercise, since most of my riding is in the morning, then this is on top of my two puff of Seretide and I am still alive!

Trust this help. Oh and go and see your GP 😆

Ive had asthma all my life and found that the more exercise I do then the less the asthma affects me, I now carry a ventolin inhaler now and then but rarely need it, stress is the biggest cause of tightness and I do take a while to get over a cold. Only been to hospital once with one attack when the ventolin ran out, but meditation can help.