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Exercise induced asthma

ecampecamp
in General Training Discussions
Are there any doctor in the haus?
Recently maybe a week or two. Ive been having chest tightness and short of breathe during my run. Its been really hot here up north. 30C + not sure how much that is in fahrenheit but everytime its alsoaffecting me. Last week i also been hearing a wheeze when i try to fully blow out my lungs. As a nurse by profession i have access to O2 saturation and my O2 is at 98%-100%. The symptons subsides after a work out. Also last night during swim i had the same problem and couldnt really last 400m in the pool. I googled all the symtoms and it came out as exercise induced asthma......

Ive never had this before. Anyone here have the experience? What made it better? Icant get all my work outs in. Im seeing my doctor on friday. If u have any tips or tricks would love to hear them!

Comments

  • John WithrowJohn Withrow
    I used to have it and had to carry an albutrrol inhaler for all workouts. Mine just "appeared" my senior yr of college after an illness and I had it for more than 10+ yrs after. Before I got it, I thought people with those symptoms were just "out of shape"... But I was a 20yr old Division I, All-American wrestler arguably in the best shape of just about anyone in the country... I had to hit the puffer 2x before every match and had it on the sidelines. I hit it before practice and had it with me at all times. 10+ yrs later when I started triathlon, I still had it. I would carry my puffer in a run belt around my waste at all times.

    If this just started happening, there is a chance you currently just have a deep chest cold that only gets irritated with exertion. So you might want to go to a doctor to have some bloodwork done, or consider a dose of antibiotics. Hopefully, it will just go away in a few weeks time. But if not, hitting that puffer a couple times before each workout and having it with you during just in case will likely alleviate most of the minor symptoms if it really is Exercised Induced Asthma.

    Mine just went away after a couple of yrs of intense endurance training. It still flairs up every once in a while, but usually only in extremely cold temps if I try to do VO2 work. Now if I just walk for a few minutes and really concentrate on relaxing my lungs, I can get it to go away on my own with no puffer. I think it may have only happened 2-3 times in the whole past yr and not at all since February. It is a horrible feeling though, like your windpipe is closed. It is DIFFERENT than just being exhausted after a hard set. It really feels like your windpipe has collapsed in and is constricting. Like you can barely get any air in. Mine also didn't always flare up when I had a high heart rate, could be the most random times, sometimes from stress or excitement, or even in a dusty environment. And if I would hit that albuterol puffer, it would be better almost immediately.

    Good luck and keep us posted.
  • trisumaitrisumai
    Ask and you shall receive ;-)
    Strange and possibly unlucky timing for it to develop now during your IM training but EIB/asthma can hit at any age. I am not sure that you have enough info to diagnose EIB. Typical EIB symptoms will manifest after 6-8 minutes and peak in 10-15 minutes with resolution after 60 minutes.
    Ever have asthma, eczema as a kid? Family history?
    Have you an any allergy issues recently? ie watery eyes, dry cough (worse in supine), ear congestion
    Recent upper respiratory tract infections/bronchitis?
    Is the wheezing definitely coming from you lungs rather than your neck? Forceful expiration can result in stridor which can be misinterpreted as wheezing (even by medical professionals)
    For normal peeps, a Beta agonist (albuterol) empirically is good enough but for highly trained athletes (which you are), you should get PFTs. If there is not airway narrowing as evidenced by a normal FEV1/FVC > 80% (there are some different criteria that I use) then you should request exercise spirometry to definitively rule out EIB.
  • kimmydctkimmydct
    Here are a couple of related threads that may help:

    http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/10871/Default.aspx#10871

    http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/10634/Default.aspx

    http://members.endurancenation.us/Forums/tabid/57/aft/9832/Default.aspx#122538
  • ecampecamp
    Hey guys

    I got a doctors appointment the day I posted the question.

    She said my lungs were clear and all vital signs are in good range.  My ECG (or EKG?) showed normal rythym.  She doesnt know what it is yet and she didnt want to diagnose anything but the same day I got my x-ray done and based on what I could see it looked good.  I also have a stress test this coming friday.  I guess I have to run on the threadmill....  At the same time she forwarded me for a respirology consult.  She said "everything looks normal".  She probably just wants to check the whole nine yards!  Hopefuly nothing serious!  I biked today to get my new FTP and it was ridicoulously hot! 30C and feels like 43C! not sure whats that like in fahrenheit but its hot!!! and I had no trouble with my breathing.  So everything is looking good!
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