Exercising with asthma

joe_wojniak

The doctor's pretty sure I have asthma- more tests are needed, but if you're managing asthma and exercising I'd like to hear what works for you.

positivepowers

All my life I have had exercise-induced asthma. When I began walking, then later running and lifting, I used my inhaler before any exercise (still do). I progress very slowly, only increasing time/weight/speed when the current measurement becomes too easy. I took years to begin running, and years to lift what I now can lift. I've never had an issue. If you want to tract your oxygen saturation level, small machines that clip onto your finger, called a pulse ox (for pulse oximetry) are not expensive and very reliable.

In a nutshell, that's the key. Use the medication(s) as directed by your physician and be patient when increasing activity. You can do it, just not quickly.

kathy0224

I have exercise induced asthma. For it, I take a daily (Flovent), and take my rescue inhaler about 10-15 minutes before exercise (albuterol).

Therealobi1

I see This lady regular at my gym and she has asthma. I see her in the circuit type classes and abs classes. I noticed she carries two different coloured inhalers. Sometimes she stops to use them during the classes. Other times I noticed she modifies exercises to suit.

LKArgh

Get a diagnosis, manage your asthma, wait a few weeks, if it still bothers you, get back to your pulmonologist and ask for a different plan. Asthma should not cause distress when properly managed. And unless you are seeing a pulmonologist, you are wasting your time when it comes to asthma management.

yirara

aggelikik wrote: »

Get a diagnosis, manage your asthma, wait a few weeks, if it still bothers you, get back to your pulmonologist and ask for a different plan. Asthma should not cause distress when properly managed. And unless you are seeing a pulmonologist, you are wasting your time when it comes to asthma management.

This one above!
And see if you are able to do cardio when you have medication that works for you. It really helps to make your lungs stronger.

Robo_mooh

I also have exercise induced asthma, though quite mild. General day to day life I don't even think about it.

I really struggle with running, my lungs hate me for it - even with a puff of my inhaler 10ish mins before I start.

I've recently gotten a bicycle and it doesn't have that strain on my lungs that running did - I'm enjoying it much more. I haven't had to use my inhaler so far - but again, my asthma is mild.

Simply, find an exercise that works for you!

pomegranatecloud

I've had asthma my whole life, and it's never kept me from exercising. I take medication as needed.

solska

Reduce all kinds of inflammation causing foods in your diet such as cheese. And ecaluptyus oil during showers is helpful. My inhaler makes me dizzy...

Sarc_Warrior

Asthmatic here. I find lifting weights help with asthma.

joe_wojniak

Thanks for sharing! A lot of what you've said reinforces my own experiences. I do find that I progress very slowly, but that running and lifting weights have helped.

Can_Do_Gal

I have mild asthma that previously was only triggered by a couple allergens. I hadn't taken anything for it for years. After I started working out, I complained to my PCP about coughing up tons of gunk when I exercise & also feeling like I couldn't breathe as well as I should. He had me try my rescue inhaler (albuterol), but when I was using it every time, he put me on the lowest dose of Advair.

It's really awesome. I had been on it before when I was first diagnosed but stopped when I stopped working in the environment with the worst allergen. I can breathe better in regular life now, too. It had snuck up on me - I didn't realize how much I'm affected.

STEVE142142

As someone who suffered from seriou asthma for years I know what you're going through. Finally saw a respiratory specialist he put me on a combination of Advair Albuterol and a couple other medications probably was on that program for about five years.

I was very fortunate that the asthma was somehow "cured". Really don't have any issues with it at this point. My recommendation is that you talk to your respiratory doctor let him know what's going on and work out a program that'll help you incorporate your exercise into it.

sunnybeaches105

solska wrote: »

Reduce all kinds of inflammation causing foods in your diet such as cheese. And ecaluptyus oil during showers is helpful. My inhaler makes me dizzy...

Inflammation causing foods? Eucalyptus for asthma? Stay away from the woo. I've heard this garbage from chiropractors attempting to treat asthma. They're simply not qualified. I truly wish we could prosecute them criminally.

Go to your MD, take your medication and work on cardio. If the medication isn't working then go back to your doctor. If you have allergy tests done then cut out the foods that may trigger asthma but talk to your allergist. There are a variety of treatments these days, and unless your asthma is serious and if properly treated it shouldn't interfere with your life.

alyssa0061

sunnybeaches105 wrote: »

solska wrote: »

Reduce all kinds of inflammation causing foods in your diet such as cheese. And ecaluptyus oil during showers is helpful. My inhaler makes me dizzy...

Inflammation causing foods? Eucalyptus for asthma? Stay away from the woo. I've heard this garbage from chiropractors attempting to treat asthma. They're simply not qualified. I truly wish we could prosecute them criminally.

Go to your MD, take your medication and work on cardio. If the medication isn't working then go back to your doctor. If you have allergy tests done then cut out the foods that may trigger asthma but talk to your allergist. There are a variety of treatments these days, and unless your asthma is serious and if properly treated it shouldn't interfere with your life.

100x yes. I have had multiple chiropractors tell me they could cure the asthma that I born with through seeing them 3 times a week. Having had free access to a chiropractor, I did get adjusted 3 times a week. My asthma is just as bad as ever.

I agree with everything @sunnybeaches105 said.

Listen to the doctor. Take the medicines, every day, without fail. Always. As said, if it's not working, go back. I spent years and years fighting to get to a manageable place with mine. My asthma is very severe and does often interfere with my life even on multiple steroids and other preventative medicines. But it could be so, so much worse. I lived through that as a child before new medical developments allowed me to have some semblance of a normal life.

As for exercise, I found what's comfortable for me. I will never be a runner. Even speed walking is asthma attack inducing. But weights are fine, yoga is great, walking good (though that is weather dependent) and most of all, swimming is phenomenal.

Sarc_Warrior

Get a respirologist. They are the most knowledgeable and have access to the newest treatments and medications.

Witchdoctor58

Pay attention to your triggers. I can't do moderate to intense exercise in the cold, but I can do them indoors without a problem. Reduce dust, fragrance and chemical exposure. Manage stress which can trigger some people. Be careful of some foods like cow dairy or sugar, because they can set you off, and so can acid reflux. These are all triggers for me,and I do best when I avoid them. Antiinflammatory diets are not woo woo, and the chemical cascades that trigger asthma in some people (leukotrienes in particular) are well documented. Food allergies are real as well. It may be trial and error to figure what gets you going, but when you do, life will be a lot easier for you.

PhilP0wer

I run a couple of hepa filters in my home and then hit my inhaler before cardio. Works for me unless I spend too much time around my smoker friends - that puts me in a world of hurt lung capacity wise.

gymjunkie0204

I was diagnosed with sports asthma. I was put on Singulair pill (2 hrs before exercise) and an albuterol inhaler (as needed). I recently lost over 100 lbs and I could've had the asthma my whole life but because I was so over weight I never noticed it. Now that I'm much smaller I notice it, more so when I run when it's warm/hot, sometimes I can't breathe when I lift weights but it depends on how hot the room is. I can breathe much better in colder air.

Sarc_Warrior

I don't do so well in the heat either.

belimawr

I had typed a lengthy post, and stupid MFP app lost it. Hopefully it won't happen again, because that was painful typing on a phone.

My two cents, well, two words: do it. Get into the exercise thing. You will not regret it. If you want to read more, go on.

As far as how? First, check with your doctor as others have said. I will admit I hadn't, but that is very sound advice.

I say push yourself, but know your limits. If you feel that your health is in danger, cut it down. You can always increase exercise later. You don't want to put yourself in a bad position by pushing yourself too far, too fast. Firstly, you put yourself in danger. Second, you may get discouraged, and stop altogether.

sunnybeaches105 wrote: »

solska wrote: »

Reduce all kinds of inflammation causing foods in your diet such as cheese. And ecaluptyus oil during showers is helpful. My inhaler makes me dizzy...

Inflammation causing foods? Eucalyptus for asthma? Stay away from the woo. I've heard this garbage from chiropractors attempting to treat asthma. They're simply not qualified. I truly wish we could prosecute them criminally.

I agree with @sunnybeaches as well. Ignore the bull plop. I enjoy dairy and don't use the herbal stuff. Again, when I hurt my back a chiropractor recommended this stuff.

Want motivation? I ain't talking bull crud motivation. Serious motivation. Read on.

I have always had bad asthma. Even walking on a hot, humid, nasty NYC day would cause me to wheeze. I was overusing my inhaler by far. Two puffs an hour at times, and that is way more than recommended by prescription.

When I would get out of work, my train at the subway station 2 blocks away left within 8 minutes of me leaving work. And yes, I needed those 8 minutes. I could run, but running not even half that distance would leave me feeling like I was going to die. I would get on the train and feel as if I was going to pass out.

After losing some of my weight, I had been shifted to night hours. Most of the weight lost by this point was walking and stationary bike.

The air was a little better at night, and I felt better breathing. No wheezing when walking. Out of the blue, I just started running one night, just to try it out. To my surprise, my legs held up, and even better, I was wheezing but not feeling like I wanted to die.

So, I looked into the many starting running programs online, and started trying out one of the C2K programs. These programs ease you into running. I kept with it, and week by week, felt better. I could run without wheezing too heavily.

That was two years ago.

I kept up with it. I still have an inhaler, but let me tell you: I have not used it in over a year. Whereas I was using two puffs an hour, I have not used one.

True, this is not the case for everyone, but if everyone with asthma were to post in here rather than the threads about how their waist or dress sizes went down, I bet you'd see that the effort put into exercise is well worth it, you just have to get through the initial discomfort.

MyFreakingNameIsScott

As someone with athletically induced asthma, I can relate. I also have allergies and right now when I work out after a two day break, my eyes look like I've been on a two day bender. I do want to add a caveat along with what others have said. Folks have said to pay attention to your medications and pay attention to what works and what doesn't. I will also add, stand up for yourself!

NOT that this necessarily pertains to you specifically, but here is a story about "asthma," I've dealt with. I had an athlete who kept stepping out of drills due to asthma. I told her she needs to visit her doc and discuss figuring out something that works because she wasn't able to really do much outside of the first 30 minutes. She makes an appt. Doc says, keep going and if it persists come back in a couple of weeks. Less than a week later, she tells me her feet are numb and she's seeing black spots in her vision. I tell her, "Well, that's not normal. Grab your water and sit." Now I'm on pins and needles and keep checking with her. I didn't move more than 10 feet from her for the rest of practice. I continue to explain to her that this seems a bit bigger than asthma and she really needs to make another appt. and get to the bottom of this. After a host of "ist's" and a host of test including one in which she passed out almost immediately, they realized she had a major issue with her sternum and it was collapsing inwards (she had a few other previously unknown issues as well). It was quite severe (2 inches from her spine at one point). The grand irony in all of this....Asthma was not only NOT her issue, they found she never had asthma! So....moral, make sure if things are'nt going quite right, stand up for yourself and insist they run other tests. I don't know what her original doc did but it was when she was really young. Much to my mothers disappointment, I'm no doctor so I can't even tell you the name of the sternum issue but apparently it's not un-heard of. A couple of months later, she had a bar inserted into her chest to pop things back to normal.

AutumnFalls89

I'm a newly diagnosed asthmatic. I've always been active, but after a bad bout of bronchitis I got asthma and was inactive for months. It's a big struggle to get back into shape. I also have a good quality air purifier and I find that it makes a big difference! The other thing that has helped is yoga. I find that the focus on breathing is really good for breath/lung control.

As far as the don't drink milk thing... well there can be some truth to it. Milk does cause an increase of mucus and mucus, especially if you have post-nasal drip, can worsen asthma. But, that really will depend on the individual.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

I have asthma and was on meds(still am) and I was getting worse or so I though several years ago. I was on all the meds I could take. I was short of breath,wheezing,etc. they did all kinds of tests and did a heart ultrasound. they found a valve defect I have(had) whats called MVP/MVR(mitral valve prolapse/regurgitation. since I have started working out my breathing has improved and I was even able to get off some asthma meds. They say with my condition it cannot reverse itself(often needing surgery) but the last few tests I have had,including ultrasound and cant find the defect now. its always best to have things ruled out.

joe_wojniak

I've completed a number of medical exams now- this has ruled out asthma, allergies, structural heart defects, and arrhythmias (I hope I spelled that right!). The last recommended test that I don't have results for is a sleep study to find out if I have sleep apnea.