Maria Sharapova

bianchimoon

Ben6899 wrote:

bianchimoon wrote:

Just while we're on the subject, asthma inhalers? Certain cyclists have TUE's for these, surely something that opens the airways will benefit/give an advantage over people who don't use them. I accept there will be degrees of asthma and some people are in dire need of them to live a normal life, but as a third of team sky riders suffered from exercise induced asthma as well as 70% of the british swimming team. Does anyone here suffer from exercise induced asthma to throw more light on the subject

I do. What would you like to know?

How effective are the inhalers i.e. if you did the same route /climbs etc and forgot to use inhaler, what performance difference would it make and before you were diagnosed was it obvious to you something wasn't right or was it under certain conditions high pollen count etc?

finchy

Stevo 666 wrote:

I still would.

Careful now, if she's been on performance enhancers for the last 10 years she might break you.

tangled_metal

bianchimoon wrote:

How effective are the inhalers i.e. if you did the same route /climbs etc and forgot to use inhaler, what performance difference would it make and before you were diagnosed was it obvious to you something wasn't right or was it under certain conditions high pollen count etc?

I got diagnosed with asthma that was related to exercise. The gp didn't specifically say it was that exact term but said it in a longer way. It was after a spell last autumn where I was coughing and finding breathing a bit harder for about 20-25 minutes after exercise. The gp gave me a prescription of Ventolin for those occasions and also bad attacks at night too but that's general allergy related (dust mite faeces).

Now the night attacks became worse but the cycle commute ones were steady but now gone. The Ventolin worked reasonably quickly for the night attacks but I took it along with anti-histamines so probably both.took affect at the same time.

When I took Ventolin 15 minutes before cycling to work or home I found a noticeable effect. My coughing fits were always after getting to work, won minutes after stopping and lasting about 25 minutes. The dose worked very well on stopping the coughing and helping my breathing during cycling. In fact it was a big effect.

In my case I always doubted the diagnosis and believe long term my regular dosing of anti-histamines has had a greater affect. Not least because I've not needed the inhaler since November. I suspect it was an allergic reaction to something that was about end of last summer to November. There was a noticeable step change/improvement when a neighbour cut down an overgrown buddleia, but that did not stop my symptoms completely.

One last thing, the Ventolin did not turn me into a fast cyclist. It just made the ride easier, not that noticeably faster but easier. Plus I feel i recovered quicker afterwards and lost that lethargy on the 4th commute home which was a usually the time I felt like I needed a break to recover. It felt more like things felt about 4 years ago when I was a lot more fit than now.

Obviously these are my experience only. Others will have a different experience of this. Plus I'm not convinced mine is truly asthma. I feel that the drug Ventolin will have a positive effect on all whether asthmatic or not, hence my positive effect. I suspect the cycling related condition (coughing after exercise) was exercise induced broncho-spasm not asthma. The night condition I had where I struggled to breathe was asthma related to allergic reaction I think because a few years earlier I had a spell of getting Urticaria at night only which is also allergic reaction related. Basically I get a bad reaction to allergens at night.

Ben6899

bianchimoon wrote:

Ben6899 wrote:

bianchimoon wrote:

Just while we're on the subject, asthma inhalers? Certain cyclists have TUE's for these, surely something that opens the airways will benefit/give an advantage over people who don't use them. I accept there will be degrees of asthma and some people are in dire need of them to live a normal life, but as a third of team sky riders suffered from exercise induced asthma as well as 70% of the british swimming team. Does anyone here suffer from exercise induced asthma to throw more light on the subject

I do. What would you like to know?

How effective are the inhalers i.e. if you did the same route /climbs etc and forgot to use inhaler, what performance difference would it make and before you were diagnosed was it obvious to you something wasn't right or was it under certain conditions high pollen count etc?

I only get it in dry, cold weather. I guess those conditions irritate my bronchiols(sp) like pollen does in others.

So I don't use an inhaler; in those conditions I just go easier. That obviously wouldn't be an option if I was being paid to race.

bianchimoon

thank you both, very useful information indeed

mercia_man

bianchimoon wrote:

Just while we're on the subject, asthma inhalers? Certain cyclists have TUE's for these, surely something that opens the airways will benefit/give an advantage over people who don't use them. I accept there will be degrees of asthma and some people are in dire need of them to live a normal life, but as a third of team sky riders suffered from exercise induced asthma as well as 70% of the british swimming team. Does anyone here suffer from exercise induced asthma to throw more light on the subject

I'm a fell and road runner, doing 20-25 races a year, and I suffer from exercise induced asthma.

I used to get allergic reaction asthma and hay fever as a child and teenager, sparked by things like house dust and playing in haystacks. Those full-blown attacks were awful - I can remember sitting up in bed fighting for every breath virtually all night. Ventolin inhalers did a great job in controlling and easing those attacks. Thankfully, I haven't had such an attack since I was 19 but I do occasionally get slightly wheezy from house dust while colds almost invariably go onto my chest.

I still use Ventolin as an adult (I'm now 63), mainly for preventative purposes before a race. I occasionally see other runners doing the same. The main problem for me is fell racing in winter. The start of a race is often a brutal climb which works my lungs far harder than cycling. If it is cold and I have not warmed up enough, my airways constrict, I have pain in my chest and throat and it is hard to get the air to and from my lungs. After a race I might be coughing and a bit wheezy for a couple of days afterwards, and I'll use Ventolin to get back to normal. Two puffs of Ventolin beforehand dilates the airways and I can breathe more easily during the early part of a race. I will also wear a buff round my neck for the start of a race until I am warmed up. I don't really have any problems in summer or when road running or cycling. It seems to be sudden intensely hard efforts in cold weather which close up my airways. So Ventolin does enhance my performance in winter fell races - without it I not be able to run uphill so quickly without wheezing and it would take my breathing longer to recover after a race. Long uphills are my strongpoint as a fell runner and my climbing has helped me win several age category regional championships.

I doubt whether a couple of puffs of Ventolin would enhance the performance of someone who doesn't suffer from asthma. Its purpose is to prevent or alleviate problems caused by the airways constricting.

bianchimoon

Mercia Man wrote:

bianchimoon wrote:

Just while we're on the subject, asthma inhalers? Certain cyclists have TUE's for these, surely something that opens the airways will benefit/give an advantage over people who don't use them. I accept there will be degrees of asthma and some people are in dire need of them to live a normal life, but as a third of team sky riders suffered from exercise induced asthma as well as 70% of the british swimming team. Does anyone here suffer from exercise induced asthma to throw more light on the subject

I'm a fell and road runner, doing 20-25 races a year, and I suffer from exercise induced asthma.

I used to get allergic reaction asthma and hay fever as a child and teenager, sparked by things like house dust and playing in haystacks. Those full-blown attacks were awful - I can remember sitting up in bed fighting for every breath virtually all night. Ventolin inhalers did a great job in controlling and easing those attacks. Thankfully, I haven't had such an attack since I was 19 but I do occasionally get slightly wheezy from house dust while colds almost invariably go onto my chest.

I still use Ventolin as an adult (I'm now 63), mainly for preventative purposes before a race. I occasionally see other runners doing the same. The main problem for me is fell racing in winter. The start of a race is often a brutal climb which works my lungs far harder than cycling. If it is cold and I have not warmed up enough, my airways constrict, I have pain in my chest and throat and it is hard to get the air to and from my lungs. After a race I might be coughing and a bit wheezy for a couple of days afterwards, and I'll use Ventolin to get back to normal. Two puffs of Ventolin beforehand dilates the airways and I can breathe more easily during the early part of a race. I will also wear a buff round my neck for the start of a race until I am warmed up. I don't really have any problems in summer or when road running or cycling. It seems to be sudden intensely hard efforts in cold weather which close up my airways. So Ventolin does enhance my performance in winter fell races - without it I not be able to run uphill so quickly without wheezing and it would take my breathing longer to recover after a race. Long uphills are my strongpoint as a fell runner and my climbing has helped me win several age category regional championships.

I doubt whether a couple of puffs of Ventolin would enhance the performance of someone who doesn't suffer from asthma. Its purpose is to prevent or alleviate problems caused by the airways constricting.

again, great information always helps to have as much knowledge as possible to differentiate between serious asthma and a wheezy chest through hay fever, I suspect antihistamines will help my mild hay fever during early summer - thanks

tangled_metal

You will know when allergies are serious enough to cause asthma. IME bad allergic response causing asthma gives a tightness to the chest that is not at all like a normal allergic react. The first time it happened It was after a big spring clean late in the day. Dust hadn't settled when I went to sleep so I had.a bad night.

It happened a few more times and my coughing after exercise got worse so I went to gp. The next attack at night I took the Ventolin without anti-histamines and felt better quicker. Now I take both with a bad allergic asthma attack. Exercise induced asthma for me has only happened late summer t through Autumn. Mind you I'm only in my first year of experiencing it.

homers_double

Can I just give a quick +potato to Mercia Man for running fell races at 63!

I couldn't do that now:(

mercia_man

homers double wrote:

Can I just give a quick +potato to Mercia Man for running fell races at 63!

I couldn't do that now:(

Thanks for that. Fell races are great fun. It's a friendly informal scene. Strangely enough, the V60 category in my area (Shropshire and Welsh border) is probably the closest fought of all the age groups. Participation reduces considerably for the V65 category, though. I guess this is because age-related performance decline accelerates beyond 60.

tangled_metal

I knew a guy training for the Bob Graham round. He was 67 at the time and succeeded on his second attempt in the same season. I think I heard that he was the oldest to do the full round or the round plus extra hills. Can't remember the full details as it was a good few years back now. His running mate that did it with him was IIRC 65! It's all impressive but endurance events like fell running does seem to favour older people than other sports like football. Often top fell runners achieve their best results 40 or so.

bianchimoon

Tangled Metal wrote:

I knew a guy training for the Bob Graham round. He was 67 at the time and succeeded on his second attempt in the same season. I think I heard that he was the oldest to do the full round or the round plus extra hills. Can't remember the full details as it was a good few years back now. His running mate that did it with him was IIRC 65! It's all impressive but endurance events like fell running does seem to favour older people than other sports like football. Often top fell runners achieve their best results 40 or so.

On a walking programme last week Julia Bradbury was doing a walk in the Lake District and was talking to an oldish guy who held (or holds) the record for the Bob graham round, he's since stopped fell running as it was getting to much and has taken up cycling, he said he gets the same buzz now from cycling as he used to fell running.

FatTed

It seems that a lot of athletes where taking Meldonium. There have been no studies that show it has any benefit at all (for patients) which may be why the FDA have not licensed it. I have no idea, nor can find any article that explains why it should help an athlete.

homers_double

Andy Murray had it right when he said it was shocking how many top flight athletes had an underlying heart condition...

Garry H

bianchimoon wrote:

Tangled Metal wrote:

I knew a guy training for the Bob Graham round. He was 67 at the time and succeeded on his second attempt in the same season. I think I heard that he was the oldest to do the full round or the round plus extra hills. Can't remember the full details as it was a good few years back now. His running mate that did it with him was IIRC 65! It's all impressive but endurance events like fell running does seem to favour older people than other sports like football. Often top fell runners achieve their best results 40 or so.

On a walking programme last week Julia Bradbury was doing a walk in the Lake District and was talking to an oldish guy who held (or holds) the record for the Bob graham round, he's since stopped fell running as it was getting to much and has taken up cycling, he said he gets the same buzz now from cycling as he used to fell running.

Was it Billy Bland?

tangled_metal

Garry H wrote:

bianchimoon wrote:

Tangled Metal wrote:

I knew a guy training for the Bob Graham round. He was 67 at the time and succeeded on his second attempt in the same season. I think I heard that he was the oldest to do the full round or the round plus extra hills. Can't remember the full details as it was a good few years back now. His running mate that did it with him was IIRC 65! It's all impressive but endurance events like fell running does seem to favour older people than other sports like football. Often top fell runners achieve their best results 40 or so.

On a walking programme last week Julia Bradbury was doing a walk in the Lake District and was talking to an oldish guy who held (or holds) the record for the Bob graham round, he's since stopped fell running as it was getting to much and has taken up cycling, he said he gets the same buzz now from cycling as he used to fell running.

Was it Billy Bland?

Sounds right for Garry H's guy but not mine. Bland family is Lakes fell running royalty I think. Quite a few generations preformed well and they have a shop in Kendal that's the best runners shop in Cumbria IMHO. Kind of like the Birkett family in climbing circles. The latest generation has produced one of Britain's best climbers I reckon.

ademort

FWIW it appears that WADA might be having a change of heart as the number of athletes (172) being caught using Meldonium is causing concern. Apparently they are now saying that those athletes who were tested before 1St March and found to have no more than 1 microgram may be given a pardon as this could mean they have taken the drug before the 31St December and not since the 1St January 2016 when the ban came in.Does this mean that Maria is innocent and may get a free pass???

crispybug2

ademort wrote:

Does this mean that Maria is innocent and may get a free pass???

No it doesn't, Sharapova admitted to using after 1st January (which with hindsight looks like a huge mistake!) as I understand it she is trying to get a back dated TUE to beat the ban.

mrfpb

Two year ban:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/36482288

Wunnunda

Lots of time to count her money then...

surrey_commuter

Wunnunda wrote:

Lots of time to count her money then...

Chapeau to the tennis authorities

Moontrane

Wunnunda wrote:

Lots of time to count her money then...

And time for fresh fruit.

ballysmate

Still would.
Or is that being misogynistic?...

Still would.

Rb5_turbo

She is a pro athlete with an army of people looking after her no excuse.

When I raced I had a TUPE exemption for my insulin so if I can fill in the forms and read the banned list I am sure one of her support team could have done.

A shame but her bank balance will survive I am sure, personally I would happily live off her tax returns!