Anyone with Exercise Induced Asthma?

zoey116
zoey116 Posts: 75
edited September 21 in Fitness and Exercise
Ok so my asthma is normally under control. I see a Pulmonary Allergist for allergy shots which help keep things in check so I am currently NOT on any daily medication other than an OTC antihistamine. Recently during drill (mandatory weekly lifeguard training) we did alot of endurance training and I thought I was going to die (ok maybe not litterally) due to my poor breathing. I am going to start swimming more to try to "work up to it" I want to be a better swimmer and be healthier all around. I know my DR is going to tell me to use my inhaler (Proventil) 20 mins before exercise but I HATE doing that b/c it make my legs so shaky that they feel like they are made out of rubber. My question is does anyone else here deal with Exercise Induced Asthma? How do you deal with it? are there better/alternative meds I could ask my DR about? Is it something I can "work up to" (endurance at swimming/exercise) withought the use of meds or am I just making things harder for myself by not using my inhaler?
TIA :)

Replies

  • TheKitsune6
    TheKitsune6 Posts: 5,798 Member
    I have exercise induced asthma but I've been working out of it. I haven't needed to be on regular medication or an inhaler for about a year now. I used to not be able to go on an elliptical for even twenty minutes, now some days I go for 90 minutes no problem. I'm still working on training myself to be about to straight out run. It's a balancing act of knowing your body, boundaries and training.
  • Ahmed20OD
    Ahmed20OD Posts: 13
    I don't have asthma myself. But this summer during a dance program, a friend of mine did have asthma issues. Well, she was able to work around this from what I see in her good performance. Every Mon, Wed, Sat we run 2 miles..and she used to use her medicine on a period of time before we start gettin ready and stretching for the run. She was doing good on the run even though she would have some difficulties, but listening to the instructors, she would never stop during the run. That's the rule for everyone, no stop. You can do better than you can. and I remember she sometimes would have the 2 miles in 17min or so and even better--If I'm not mistaken. which is great with her issue.

    I'm not sure this can help you in a direct way...but I think the major thing that would help you is to TRUST YOU CAN DO BETTER than what we "feel" and "think" we can. And btw, in a run for example, you will not faint if you keep running, but you probably would if you stop because your heart rate is high and you stop suddenly..

    one more thing, dancing require you to breath, and keep breathing...and she was able to handle that...sometimes she would use her medicine before we start the dance class which is a 6 hour class...and no excuses she handled that perfectly!!

    I hope this help you in a way or another :)
  • AnnaPixie
    AnnaPixie Posts: 7,439 Member
    I think you need another inhaler. Never heard of such a reaction in your legs?? That's weird! Perhaps you are allergic to that one?

    I live in the UK so I doubt inhalers are the same, but I take salbutamol or ventilin is the brand name. I dont have any side effects, just a great feeling of my air ways opening up :bigsmile: I thought that was the only purpose of an inhaler; to help you breathe again?

    Yep, definitely talk to the Dr!! I dont think you should be messing with asthma. An asthma attack can kill you, you know? But we are all different with differing degrees of airway constriction. Go back to your Dr. Get your peak flow measured. And get another med. At least one you can take IF it gets really bad. 'Feeling like you're going to die' would scare the hell outa me!! :noway:

    Good luck :flowerforyou:
  • zoey116
    zoey116 Posts: 75
    I used my inhaler (only 1 puff instead of 2) at work(before swimming) friday night and was a little shaky but less so. Today I used it again before swimming and was fine. No shakyness...maybe I just needed to get used to taking it again. I probably hadn't used an inhaler in more than 6 months before the other day.
  • bigred727
    bigred727 Posts: 50
    you can do anything you put your mind to... just dont give up.. keep going...
  • bpayne78
    bpayne78 Posts: 249 Member
    I used my inhaler (only 1 puff instead of 2) at work(before swimming) friday night and was a little shaky but less so. Today I used it again before swimming and was fine. No shakyness...maybe I just needed to get used to taking it again. I probably hadn't used an inhaler in more than 6 months before the other day.

    I have reactive airway asthma and it's the albuterol in your inhaler that makes you "shaky".....it's a side effect of that medication. Once you start using it on a regular basis again that should subside or go away. I usually go long stretches of not using my inhaler so I always get the shakes but I deal with it because that means I'm NOT having to take it very often.
  • fit2sit
    fit2sit Posts: 82 Member
    My doc started me on the albuterol, whenever I needed it. And since I sometimes forget it at home and generally did not like using it all the time I asked him if there were anything longer acting. So he put me on formoterol (Foradil) and mometasone (Asmanex). I take those two twice a day and the albuterol whenever I need it which went from 10-15x a day down to 2-3. I always use the albuterol about 15 minutes before I exercise.

    I can't run longer than 10-12 minutes before I start to have an attack, so what I've been doing is a walk/jog hybrid. 1 min walk, 1 min jog, 30 sec walk, 30 sec jog, rinse repeat. I allows me to be able to go for 30+ minutes, but I'm not up to 45 quite yet. Do you mainly have to do swimming or were you interested in doing other aerobic activities? I keep hearing to walk and swim, but I don't live near a pool, and walking is too slow for me.

    I'm trying to see if my weight is a problem with my breathing, and if losing the weight will do anything to help. Perhaps I can just get my lungs used to longer runs if I baby step it. People without asthma have no idea how good they have it.
  • megamom
    megamom Posts: 920 Member
    I use singulair at night which is a pill and then before I ride, my biggest asthma trigger, I use my pro-air inhaler. If I don't use it before I start I will end up having an attack at about the 15 mile mark and would much rather avoid that. Since I have been doing that I haven't had a severe attack. It took me awhile to find a combo that worked for me so good luck.
  • zoey116
    zoey116 Posts: 75
    I want to get into running but for right now I only swim for excersise. I am trying to work as many hours as possible while going to school so I don't have much time for working out. I work as a lifeguard and swimming instructor so its easy to swim while at work (and on the clock :wink: ) Everyweek we (lifeguards) have to do 1 1/2 hours of training(we call it drill) that ALWAYS starts off with us swimming 300 yards and I ALWAYS struggle to finish ( I can swim all day if given the chance to catch my breath but I don't really get that chance at drill) and I ALWAYS finish way last! :sad: So I want to improve my swimming not only to help lose weight but also to be better at my job. Anyways last night I took 2 puffs off my inhaler before drill and when we were practicing CPR I nearly passed out 2x when I got up from kneeling.:sad: I have an appt with my dr on monday.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    I ran track & cross county thru high school & college with asthma. I would use my inhaler before I ran and that nearly always helped. What I also had to force my self to do was relax my breathing. My coach work on it a ton with me. I would start gasping deep breaths rather than keeping a nice even brearthing. Eventually I outgrew all my exercise induced asthma, the only thing that hits me now is a bad allergy season or a cold.
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