Asthma sufferers

apple eater

I have it and have done since i was about two years old. I know there are people with varying degrees of the disease and so there is no definitive "how to".

Mine is brought on by physical exertion, cold weather air and high humidity. I use a salbutamol inhaler when needed.

Today was a struggle for me up at bike park wales so my riding is now coming to an end for the next 4 - 6 months possibly. As this is only my second year of riding it is quite deflating in terms of enjoyment and commitment.

How do others with the disease manage and any tips on prolonging the riding season?

scarbs85

It sounds like you're more severe than me. I often find sucking in lung-fulls of cold air at this time of year can trigger it, so I tend to have a go on the inhaler before I leave the house. Take it with you, if you feel you need another dose then stop and give yourself time to recover before carrying on. I tend to find it's the first rides in the cold which set me off, and as I adjust to it and winter sets in my asthma doesn't play up so much. It would be a shame to have to abandon riding all winter, but only you know how bad your asthma is and if it's manageable or not.

stubs

Ask your doctor to give you a purple inhaler with a volumiser. Takes about 2 weeks to kick in but hopefully you should feel the benefit pretty soon, its a preventer I hardly ever touch my blue inhaler these days.

schlepcycling

stubs wrote:

Ask your doctor to give you a purple inhaler with a volumiser. Takes about 2 weeks to kick in but hopefully you should feel the benefit pretty soon, its a preventer I hardly ever touch my blue inhaler these days.

+1
I'm a purple(seretide) inhaler user, 2 puffs twice a day and I haven't used my blue inhaler in years in fact I've had to throw a couple away as they went out of date.

cyco2

I used the blue one for some time and found that using it when I needed it wasn't as effective as using it 30 minutes before a ride. I think that was because using it when my lungs were wide open allowed the inhalant to get much further in to them. I'm trying out the brown twice daily one now but do find at high breathing rates I occasionally need the blue one.

gubber12345

have a word with your doctor and see if its possible for you to go on symbicort,2 inhalations in the morning and 2 at night and after a couple of weeks you will really feel the difference.

this is what I have along with my blue one(salbutamol) and never have any problems now and I used to be pretty bad.

as for the cold air buy yourself a ballyclava instead of a skull cap for the cold nights and wear it up over your mouth,it warms up the air going into your lungs thus avoiding the cold air shock which your lungs don't like.thats what I have and rode a lot in the cold nights/mornings last yr and no problems when I did that.

had a thread on this before check this out lots of good advice

viewtopic.php?f=40013&t=12905257

Mikey23

Plus one for a visit to the asthma nurse...

I found the cold air a little problematical when I first started about 2 years ago but rarely think about it now. I do one puff of salbutamol each time I go out but I'm sure that there are far more sophisticated preventative treatments around now. Would be a pity if you had to give up on the whole winter. What did you do last year if you don't mind me asking?

Jon1984

I agree with going to the asthma nurse for advise. I was in the same boat, went to see her and I was given a 'turbo-haler' which is blue, brown and purple in one.

Now I use this before I go out and its rare that I will need to use it during.

matt@theforce

I'm on the brown preventer inhaler morning and night and have had a multitude of coloured inhalers/tablets & used volumisers through my past.

Don't stop riding, keep yourself going. I too suffer when its cold & damp (my lungs feel like their burning sometimes) but as I commute to work at 5am I've adapted my riding style/clothing to help compensate.

Over the past 3years (since I started cycling & excersising) I've visited the Asthma Clinic every 6 months for a review/chat and at last weeks appointment was told "see you in 1years time, unless you have any problems". I finaly feel like I'm getting it under control, my Peak Flow hasn't been this good for alot of years & I've never felt better (still marginally overweight). For me a good Peak Flow day is around 560-570 whereas it used to be in the 400's a few years ago.

Visiting the Asthma Clinic is a must, talk over how you feel & what your triggers are, you must also talk about the sports you participate in, this will help the Clinic advising you on the best form of treatment.

I do still carry my blue reliver but have only used it a couple of times this year (used during a sportive in August when passing rapeseed fields which are a major trigger for me).

Mikey23

That's interesting, my peak flow is around 400 and has been for yonks. Increasing it would be a real result

poah

I basically suffer the same way as you. if I'm doing short burts I don't bother taking my salbutamol unless I need it. If I'm going to put the power down in some way I'll take a puff before I go. I used to be fit in my younger years but now it affects me more. I'm generally ok if I'm not stupid and stay within a safe pace. training will help though

apple eater wrote:

I have it and have done since i was about two years old. I know there are people with varying degrees of the disease and so there is no definitive "how to".

Mine is brought on by physical exertion, cold weather air and high humidity. I use a salbutamol inhaler when needed.

Today was a struggle for me up at bike park wales so my riding is now coming to an end for the next 4 - 6 months possibly. As this is only my second year of riding it is quite deflating in terms of enjoyment and commitment.

How do others with the disease manage and any tips on prolonging the riding season?

Angus Young

To echo the above, if you're not already on it then get yourself on a 'preventer'. I use the brown one, Clenil Modulite (which used to be called Becotide), two puffs morning, two puffs night and that almost completely relieves my asthma. It's only if I'm really cranking it out in very cold weather that I might need to resort to my blue inhaler (Ventolin) and, as mentioned above, it's better to take that about 20 minutes before you ride. With the brown inhaler, though, most days I can get away without the blue.

ollie51

Please just go and see your local 'asthma nurse' and get his or her professional opinion. There's suggestions of a lot of different drugs on here, some of which can be quite damaging to certain individuals (e.g. Serotide can produced some pretty bad reactions), but I am sure you'll find something that works for you.

As for dealing with asthma in the winter, keeping warm is king, and warming up before you ride gradually is also pretty important, I always add a gilet to my neck and chest warm. You just have to be careful, I've taken the decision not race Oct-Feb because that has pretty much only ever lead to an asthma attack of hypothermia in the past! I take the time instead to get some solid training in.

Srmtor

Pretty much what others have said already, I always have a couple of puffs of me blue inhaler before I set out and if I feel my chest tightening when out I'll pull up and have a quick blast and walk for a bit until things have calmed down.. But your best bet is to go see your doctor, they'll be able to advise you better!