benefits of salbutamol

thomas16

I'm curious. What benefit would a rider get from taking salbutamol if he wasn't actually suffering from asthma. Would it increase his lung capacity in any form or fashion?

Devlin8

Consider that the drug widens the airways of the lungs. I would guess you would get a slight increase in total lung capacity.

off the back

It has a minor effect in terms of performance improvement but as a masking agent ....... no one fully understands the full extent of how good it is here but the word on the street is that is way it is so common.

dopehead

as an asthma sufferer who occasionally takes salbutamol heres what i've found. If i'm wheezy and take it my airways open up but no more than 'normal'. If i take it pre-race when not needed there is no discernible difference in my breathing capacity. that is not to say that there is no benefit, just that it doesn't suddenly make you think 'wow' i can now breathe much deeper. also, my TT times reflect no benefit from taking it as a performance enhancer

turbo

Salbutamol works by doing two different things at once. As already stated it is a bronchodilator (in simple terms it makes the tubes into your lungs wider), and it is a smooth muscle relaxant. In combination these two things make it easier for you to get air in and out of your lungs. Side effects of the drug are increased heart rate, irregular heart rhythms and occasionally tremors. Medical research has shown that the effects do not last long enough to give an athlete an advantage.

jerry3571

It's a Steroid too. A Spanish well known Pro got booked for 10 times over the normal limit. I read, maybe in this Mag, about a chap who discovered he was Asthmatic only after he gave up being a Pro bike rider. He was on Steriods and this helped his breathing so much that it sorted out his underlying breathing difficulties unknown to him at the time.
Quick question- Why didn't the average speed of the European Peleton drop after the EPO test was brought in?
Cheers Jerome

PRD

jerry3571 wrote:

It's a Steroid too.Cheers Jerome

It isn't a steroid, its a Beta-2 agonist

slojo

When salbutamol is inhaled In normal therapeutic doses it acts as a bronchodilator. It will increase airflow in an asthmatic airway but will have a negligible effect on anyone without the condition.
When it is taken orally in much higher doses it can have an anabolic effect (increasing muscle mass), increase lipolysis (fat burning) and have an effect on blood lactate and potassium (increasing endurance). It also increases metabolism and may help mask the use of other drugs being taken.

Noodley

I think the masking properties are the main issue rather than the medical benefits...or lack thereof.

AndyGates

It'll mask clenbuterol use. Clenbuterol's a beta-2 agonist and stimulant used for weight loss; the stimulant effect is similar to that of ephedrine.

Phil Lighterfuel

I used to be asthmatic....cat allergy and hay fever really, but have not suffered from it for a couple of years. I had a work medical 3 weeks ago and performed a lung function test (peak flow, volume, etc) and score 690 for the peak flow. I'm considering moving jobs and undertook an emplyment medical yesterday....thought I would take a puff of salbutamol about an hour before the same test and see what the difference would be, if any. Peak flow score was 785 - huge improvemnt. The nurse said I was showing off 8)

Hmmmm, now if only I could apply it to my 10TT performance....

byegad

When I'm wheezing and take several inhalations of salbutamol in a day I gain the benefit that day but suffer terrible cramps the next! If this is a common side effect then no athlete in a longer than one day event could benefit, the cramps can be really bad.