Hi,

I went to the docs with breathing problems related to my asthma and the specialist last month told me what he thought was up but I needed to see someone else to try and fix it. That appointment is in October so looks like it won’t get any better till new year time. I am not moaning about the NHS as they are doing all they can.

When this started it was just a bit annoying everyday and was slowing my riding and running down. Now it has got to the point where I have tried running and riding and I can’t get any speed going and it is just a struggle.

Because of this I have gone from exercising 4 times a week to nothing and I have had enough. It is driving me mad. Has anyone dealt with anything similar or does anyone have any ideas how I can get motivated to get back out.

Depends if your asthma breathing related problem is exacerbated by exercise I suppose…..it’s a bad time of the year coming up for me I’m very allergic to mould spores so riding in wet woodland makes me wheeze like nothing else….but I have also been trying to sort out diabetic tablet and statin related muscle weakness which at times has been debilitating. I work on the basis of push as hard as I can when I can, listen to what my body is saying and when I really can’t exercise or feel too under the weather just give it a miss and do something else instead.
I dare say the medical professionals on here won’t give any advice unless they have an idea of the docs suggested prognoses of your issue.

Have you put on a fair bit of weight lately? I ask as I put on 5 stone a couple of years back and it made my breathing and asthma absolutely hellish – was always getting chest infections despite being pretty fit. I lost that 5 stone, got back to my fighting weight and the issues went away.

Looks like I have hypersensitivity pneumonitis but they haven’t worked out what I am allergic too. I also have bronchiectasis. I have found in the past the the exercise helps a bit.

I went from 100kg to 75 a few years ago which helped loads but have only gone up to 80 in the last few months.

I take it you’re on an antihistamine a day? My only suggestion is try and persevere, I know last week in Suffolk they were saying mould spore levels were high but to be honest it had no effect on me….mainly because where I was there was no leaf mould I could see 😆
Once you’ve had the tests done to see what allergen is aggravating you most of of course allergens you’ll be able to adapt and overcome/ avoid and ride different areas hopefully.
Midlands air quality is notoriously crap as the doctor always said I could go live somewhere with plenty of clean air ie West Coast of Scotland…….

I had childhood asthma and many many allergies (still have the allergies), on a bad day it can be a nightmare trying to exercise.

I have a routine that pretty much has things sorted now, get up and take an antihistamine, take a pre-emptive puff of a blue (ventolin) inhaler before exercise, keep said inhaler with me during exercise although i rarely have to use it during exercise….bizarrely what happens is that i stop exercising and the chest tightness sets in afterwards?!

Know your patterns.
Mountain biking rarely makes things bad, i consider it low impact but i rode at Swinley a few weeks ago during the hot, dry spell and the dusty trails made breathing a nightmare….didnt have my inhaler with me either.
Road riding out into the country lanes and past fields of crops, cut straw, hay etc etc will set me off.
High impact exercise like squash or kickbxing will definitely set it off.

Its not all bad, it vanishes over the winter meaning most of it is likely allergy related….as an extreme measure last year i ordered some Clenbuterol to try, this can be legitimately prescribed for asthma if things are severe but has a bad press from TdF riders abusing said substance….as a bronchodilator it worked very well but it had some jittery stimulant side effects, something to consider.

Do the give you a prescription for a new house? LOL
I have hayfever but was only told to take my antihistamine if my hayfever acts up. Will taking them all the time help?

[Watches with interest/]

Just got back from the Dr’s about an hour ago, about a tight chest, difficulty breathing, light-headedness and pounding heart from walking up stairs of all things.
I can ride but just easy spinning, there’s no power there, no energy as normal. Any kind of hill just kills me, been a few weeks now 🙁

Dr gave me a Ventolin inhaler to try and I’m going for some blood tests and have another appointment in just over a week.

oblique – Member

I have hayfever but was only told to take my antihistamine if my hayfever acts up. Will taking them all the time help?

Standard medical advice is to only use meds when needed….but trial and error on my part has me taking an antihistamine every morning from about April through to October…seems to work for me anyway.

Thanks Deviant, I will see if they help with my breathing.

I have to have an antihistamine every day of the year as I have multiple allergies, ie house dust mite etc etc.. As for stuff making wheezing worse, hot to cold cold to hot so walking into hot house having exercised or other way round brings mine on as well as at the moment laying down at night…..had really good allergic wheezing to a blood pressure tablet with swollen tongue etc as there was also an I reaction between it and a diabetic tablet they increased my dose of!!!
And never go out exercising without your inhaler and ideally a phone and some ID! Makes it easier should medics need to attend.

This might or might not be of relevance, can you swim properly ?
Face in water and up to breath in every 3rd stroke and out after another 3. I’m just asking as a Doctor I know advises swimming for asthma sufferers as it helps control breathing.

Of course you prob know this, also alcohol.
What is your intake and could this be linked. Again only asking as I have some knowledge of a disorder called A1AT and also the obvious one do you smoke and or work in an environment with forced air.

Most of the kinda normal stuff has been ruled out. Drink maybe a unit a week, never smoked, work in an office with a circulating air con unit.
I could swim when I last tried 15 years ago but would be awkward now with the opening times of my local pools.

I guess I will have to wait to find out the cause of the bad breathing.

Do any of you find it kinda pointless when you do go out but cant put any effort in? Have you worked out ways to make it interesting anyway?

I’m an asthmatic (no regular treatment, just a blue puffer for emergencies) and have been suffering in this ‘wonderful’ dry summer we’ve had. Anything above 25 degrees and I struggle to get all the oxygen in that I need. The only allergy I have (that I know of) is hayfever but that’s only bad at the beginning of the summer, usually fine after June. In the winter I am much faster and fitter as I can actually get the oxygen I need into my lungs!!

I cope by not pushing myself hard in the summer, endure the climbs and enjoy the views on the flats. I still hit descents hard so it’s not all cruising around! Come the autumn and I can ride pretty much flat-out for hours once the temps are below 20 degrees regularly. Cool moist conditions suit me perfectly. I’m looking into trying a bit of DH for the summer months as I’ve found I can enjoy uplift days without any problems.

I may look into the mould spores that Suggsey mentions too, I do suffer more after a rainy spell when in woods.