Asthma and Exercise

I've had asthma since I was 10. Around the same time, I started on a swim team and was on various teams until I graduated high school. Swimming helped keep things under control since that's probably the best sport you can do for breathing control.

Now, I'm 25 and working to lose weight that I've had on me my whole life (despite swimming). A lot of times my chest/throat will get pretty tight when working out, even though I use my inhaler beforehand. I feel like it holds me back a bit, because my body feels like it wants to push harder, but my breathing won't let me.

I've mostly cut out dairy from my diet as well because that worsens the problem. I want so badly to keep increasing how hard I work out, but I always feel like I'm not getting enough air. To give you an idea of how it feels; imagine taking a breath in, but your throat is the width of a straw--never feels like much air is getting to your lungs!

Anybody else struggle with this? Or have any advice for how to overcome it?

Replies

  • Have you tried intervals (run a minute, walk a minute, repeat...)? My doctor recommends interval training to strengthen my lungs since I'm recovering from a bad flare up. I've been doing that as a way to get my cardio and I can usually breathe pretty well and I had really nasty asthma. The weight loss will help too... I found that since I've lost weight my breathing is AWESOME compared to before. If that fails, you may need to talk to your doc about a maintenance medication.
  • azalea617
    azalea617 Posts: 109 Member
    I do use intervals when I run on the treadmill; usually wind up running for 5-6 minutes before I need to slow down (which to me, is super impressive, because I've never been the running type!). I mostly use the elliptical and vary my pace so I can catch my breath.

    I'm actually on maintenance medication already (Advair, and Singulair, but the latter isn't primarily for asthma). I think the biggest problem left is that I have a lot of pets and am exposed to pet hair/dander and litter dust. I'm hoping that when I lose more weight, it will maybe balance out. We started using an air purifier at night and that has worked wonders; I can actually breathe when I wake up in the morning! Thinking about putting an air purifier by the litter box too...hm.

    I hope I can look forward to awesome breathing too! :)
  • M_lifts
    M_lifts Posts: 2,218 Member
    I do use intervals when I run on the treadmill; usually wind up running for 5-6 minutes before I need to slow down (which to me, is super impressive, because I've never been the running type!). I mostly use the elliptical and vary my pace so I can catch my breath.

    I'm actually on maintenance medication already (Advair, and Singulair, but the latter isn't primarily for asthma). I think the biggest problem left is that I have a lot of pets and am exposed to pet hair/dander and litter dust. I'm hoping that when I lose more weight, it will maybe balance out. We started using an air purifier at night and that has worked wonders; I can actually breathe when I wake up in the morning! Thinking about putting an air purifier by the litter box too...hm.

    I hope I can look forward to awesome breathing too! :)

    sounds like you are on the right meds already. Are you taking your reliever inhaler with a spacer device? I would recommend getting one, as everyone whose inhaler technique I check has an awful technique for a metered dose inhaler without a spacer device. In addition you actually get more deposition in the lungs with a spacer, without it, the majority of the medication gets deposited into your mouth/tongue.

    Avair and singulair are pretty good meds, so if you take them properly you should be symptom free. However, I would suggest taking your relieve medication 30-60 minutes before a workout. I did the couch to 5k programme to ease me into running ( I have mild asthma, plus I specialise in respiratory disease). good luck, feel free to pm me if you ahve any more questions.
  • I get what the Dr's call 'exercise-induced asthma'. A few minutes into my workout's, I start to feel the shortness of breath you mention. What works for me is to slow down a bit to reduce the intensity, make sure I can breath okay, then gradually build back up.

    Working out in cold weather can bring on an attack as well.

    Be careful with this, asthma attacks can be deadly.
  • azalea617
    azalea617 Posts: 109 Member
    Thanks for your replies.

    @mariababe81--I will have to look into a spacer; I always feel like only about half of my dose goes into my lungs because I can't take that deep of a breath to begin with! I do need to work on taking it sooner though; it usually winds up being only about 15 minutes before I work out. Nice to have a specialist to respond to me!

    @skillingsrobe--Oh, I know all about the joys of cold weather. The wind can knock the air right out of me sometimes. I know to either wear a scarf over my mouth or pull my shirt/coat up to protect me so I'm breathing warm air...that usually helps prevent an attack.
  • Julicat6
    Julicat6 Posts: 231 Member
    Agree with MariaBabe.. a spacer is a wonderful tool. I am a Respiratory therapist and have mild asthma myself. Even I get a better dose using a spacer. I don't know if you drink coffee or hot tea, but both have some broncho-dilatory effect. I can definitely go longer if I've had a cup of hot tea or coffee, about 20 minutes before and your inhaler at least 30 minutes before for the full effectiveness. I didn't see a daily anti-histamine in your maintenance meds, seeing as you have pets and are known to be allergic, you should ask your MD about one, it would reduce your problems related to dander. I don't know if you let the animals in your room and bed( I do Mine:smile: ) if you do also put a purifier in your bedroom.
  • I get what the Dr's call 'exercise-induced asthma'. A few minutes into my workout's, I start to feel the shortness of breath you mention. What works for me is to slow down a bit to reduce the intensity, make sure I can breath okay, then gradually build back up.

    Working out in cold weather can bring on an attack as well.

    Be careful with this, asthma attacks can be deadly.

    I have exercise induced asthma as well. I haven't really had a flare up in a few years aside from just stress or anxiety bringing it on. I'm terrified of working out because I my airway constricts and hurts so bad. Today I am trying CrossFit and I've never been so nervous about anything in my whole life. I keep an inhaler with me all the time for the "just in case" moments and you better believe I will have one with me today. I've always shyed away from workouts that make me very uncomfortable with my breathing. I have a feeling this will be one.
    I haven't taken a maintence inhaler in a very long time. I may have to sit out most of it but I'm willing to give it a shot.
    Everytime I do get uncomfortable I just take a break, walk around and get my breathing under control. If you feel uncomfortable with something, maybe it is too intense right now for you, but you can always work up to it. It just takes time.
  • dukeninja
    dukeninja Posts: 50 Member
    If you're not already, you should be taking your steroidal (preventer) everyday, it may have even been prescribed for more than once daily. The other one (salbutamol and such like) should theoretically then only be taken when you have an attack. I've found that gradually increasing the intensity/speed of whatever activity I'm doing helps reduce the number of attacks. Hope this helps.
  • TheConsciousFoody
    TheConsciousFoody Posts: 607 Member
    Once my Dr prescribed me my Qvar inhaler I've been able to workout without feeling like my lungs my burst!
  • laserhen
    laserhen Posts: 7 Member
    I have this problem too. Some days it's worse than other days. I use Advair and Albuterol, but I am not always consistent with my Advair and this does affect things. I've noticed that when I'm consistent with my Advair and use my Albuterol about half an hour before I exercise that I have good results. I have three cats and I am allergic to them, and I keep my living space as spotless as possible. If I go too long without changing filters or vaccuuming my asthma flares up in general, and particularly when exercising. Also I live in the Phoenix metro area so while I don't have much cold air to contend with, we do have a lot of dusty and stagnant air here. I don't tend to notice it too much, but on the occasion it rains my breathing feels much better for a few days before it craps out again.

    I hate that feeling, like you're sucking air through a straw with someone sitting on your chest. I used to smoke too and that certainly didn't help matters. I started working out regularly (crossfit usually four times per week) in September, and I went from having to use my emergency inhaler multiple times per workout to using it much less. Typically I use it once per workout on average. So sometimes twice, but sometimes not at all. I think that sticking with the workouts, in addition to being more consistent with cleaning, taking fish oil supplements, avoiding smokers and polluted air in general (I quit last June) has finally led me to a point where, in most workouts, my body fails before my lungs do, and I'm satisfyingly out of breath as opposed to asthmatic sucking air. The biggest challenge for me regarding asthma is running... I can run 800 meters now without stopping, I could barely shuffle half that just a few months ago :) But regardless of whether it's 200 meters or 800 meters, I have to be careful with my speed because if I run too fast my asthma kicks in and ruins the rest of the workout. I do honestly feel that the best thing I have done for my cardio system is crossfit, and doing it regularly. I know that exercise and weightloss alone won't cure my asthma, but it's helping significantly.

    Interesting note - I went to a party this weekend and was around a lot of people smoking. I didn't smoke anything myself but I was certainly exposed to it secondhand for some long-ish periods of time. I went in for my workout yesterday, and after running the standard 400 meter warmup I was toast for the rest of the workout. My asthma was so bad I could barely load my barbell for squats. I had to move really slow and focus on recovery and not push myself too hard. It was really frustrating, it almost felt like my first day all over again. I did recover by the end of the workout but only because I only pushed as hard as I could without risking a trip to the ER, and my performance was much lower. The only thing that I could think about that changed from last Friday to Monday was being around so much smoke this weekend. Hopefully today will go better.
  • laserhen
    laserhen Posts: 7 Member
    Today I am trying CrossFit and I've never been so nervous about anything in my whole life.

    You will love it! It will be awesome. It's like gym class but for adults, way more hardcore and you can actually hurt yourself :D But that is of course part of the fun (though do try to be careful). The coaches will help you scale the workouts, so don't worry. You do your best, no more, no less, and you get better every time you go. As odd as it might sound, going to crossfit is the highlight of my day. Like I actually get excited about it and look forward to it and I feel sad on my rest days or if I have to miss it for some other reason.
  • Today I am trying CrossFit and I've never been so nervous about anything in my whole life.

    You will love it! It will be awesome. It's like gym class but for adults, way more hardcore and you can actually hurt yourself :D But that is of course part of the fun (though do try to be careful). The coaches will help you scale the workouts, so don't worry. You do your best, no more, no less, and you get better every time you go. As odd as it might sound, going to crossfit is the highlight of my day. Like I actually get excited about it and look forward to it and I feel sad on my rest days or if I have to miss it for some other reason.

    I have heard mixed opinions on it but thank you for being supportive! I love to hear positive things and its great to hear from someone with asthma who is doing it as well. Makes me feel so much better about it!
  • khl84
    khl84 Posts: 11 Member
    My asthma is just like yours. Spin works for me. In the beginning, I was having trouble with my asthma but I'd just adjust the workout. Now, it's much better.
  • February of this year, I had an asthma episode that was really bad for a few days then one day i just couldn't take it anymore. I had to go to the hospital, I was there for half of the day i got that vapor thing and some pills to treat my asthma. I couldn't go to the gym for two weeks but i did go it was a mistake. I had an asthma attack during my workout on the day I returned and my future workouts after that, I can remember just sitting down and looking myself at the mirror, watching myself catch my breathe and saying how can i stop this from happening again and not let my asthma control me but me control it.

    So i lost all my strength ,endurance, power , ect pretty much everything that I worked for a few years just completely gone ... I changed my diet i stopped eating all dairy, bread, processed foods and ate more veggies and fruits it did wonders for me these foods are very alkalizing it was hard and slow for me at the start but when i kept at it. I started to feel better and better my asthma symptoms were slowly going away. I stopped using my inhaler after two months because, i hate using that thing. I'd get so weak after taking it, Now I can workout like everyone else, I'm stronger then ever. I have no worries of asthma attacks at all. I'm just a regular guy, It really is all in the mind stop thinking it can prevent you from doing anything and once you do, you can do anything you want to achieve!
  • azalea617
    azalea617 Posts: 109 Member
    Thanks for all of your replies! It helps to know that so many people understand how I feel.

    In regards to some of the comments: we purchased an air purifier for the bedroom about a week ago and it has been a spectacular thing for me. I can breathe much better at night (I used to have coughing fits when I would lie down). Yesterday, I used my inhaler a half hour before I worked out and it made SUCH a difference. I felt a lot more in control of my breathing and did a really good workout. I actually worked hard enough to give myself a heat headache...I sweat VERY little, so it's easy to overheat...my problems never end! :-p

    I do take generic Claritin each night to help with allergies and such, especially since there are usually one or two furry faces in front of mine every morning!

    I have been cutting out dairy as well. I'm already vegetarian and have been working on vegan. I'm also lactose intolerant, so eating dairy is just a bad idea for lots of reasons. It makes me feel sick and it also hinders my breathing. I also had whooping cough when I was 16 and that permanently changed my breathing I believe. I always sound like I'm sick when I cough. :(