RUNNING WITH ASTHMA

OdettiSpaghetti

Hiya,

Is there anyone out there who is training for triathlons / marathons with asthma?

I have quite a hectic race schedule planned but the ole asthma is really a problem. Some days you just feel like you are drowning. Open water swimming is a nightmare ... I can feel the pressure on my lungs thru the wetsuit. Pool swimming is a doddle. :rolleyes:

Any suggestions?

colblimp

OdettiSpaghetti wrote: »

Hiya,

Is there anyone out there who is training for triathlons / marathons with asthma?

I have quite a hectic race schedule planned but the ole asthma is really a problem. Some days you just feel like you are drowning. Open water swimming is a nightmare ... I can feel the pressure on my lungs thru the wetsuit. Pool swimming is a doddle. :rolleyes:

Any suggestions?

Don't swim in open water! :D;)

Krusty_Clown

I've suffered since I was three, but recently visited an asthma specialist/nurse, who put me on correct doses and dosage frequency, and I have never looked back since. I still take the medication, I just don't suffer any more.

The Rook

Have asthma and will be running Barcelona Marathon on Sunday ... not as severe as many others have it admittedly, but I just take a few puffs of my ventolin inhaler before I head out and I'm fine!

robinph

I've had asthma since I was knee high to a grasshopper but I've been changed around on the various preventative inhalers several times to varying degrees of usefulness. Can't realy offer much help on what to do other than keep the inhaler on you, apart from when swimming probably, and I found that in itself was a calming effect as I knew it was there if needed during a run.

I'm very rarely using any of my asthma meds these days though, the best medication for me is living in Ireland. Once I go to certain parts of the UK though it gets worse within minutes of me getting off the plane during the summer months.



Edit: Was told by a consultant for diabetes recently that he thought having asthma and diabetes wasn't possible due to <blah blah not a clue what he said next blah blah>.

I am a freak of nature.

colblimp

robinph wrote: »

I am a freak of nature.

Maybe, but if you weren't, you wouldn't be able to run so fast!

interested

OdettiSpaghetti wrote: »

Hiya,

Is there anyone out there who is training for triathlons / marathons with asthma?

I have quite a hectic race schedule planned but the ole asthma is really a problem. Some days you just feel like you are drowning. Open water swimming is a nightmare ... I can feel the pressure on my lungs thru the wetsuit. Pool swimming is a doddle. :rolleyes:

Any suggestions?

Ive had asthma since I was a kid, like other responders. It was the reason my folks were encouraged to get me to swimming lessons. Certain times of the year are worse for me than others with asthma - its to do with changes in air temperatures I reckon but maybe the use of central heating (Im guessing).

re: open water swimming
if your new to this with a new wetsuit I know how this might feel. My only suggestion is that the more you swim the easier it'll get. When you get into the water at first, take your time, float, lie back and schull or float and slow down your breathing - in other words get yourself comfortable.

Ive obviously no idea about how bad your asthma is but hopefully you can get used to the sea and enjoy open water swimming as much as you do other sports. Always, beats the hell out of a crowded swimming pool imho

OdettiSpaghetti

Thank you for your replies and advice. Will give all suggestions a go. Have done 3 marathons and cycled competitively in SA - its just I seem to have an awful time in cold moist weather. :eek:

Another thing! Do you all feel very tired and have a sore tight chest? Swimming does help as it clears my chest a bit, running seems to 'knock' the mucus out and make breathing easier - its just sometimes I feel like my legs have outrun my lungs and Im fighting to feed oxygen to my body.

BTW I have adult onset asthma and see a very good respiratory specialist at Bon Secours Dublin. He was amazed at my level of activity (as suggested by a pulmonologist in SA). At first he adjusted my meds and didnt want me to train during this period, but once I was up and running he gave me the go-ahead to train again.

Moycullen1

As you have probably already been told as an asthma sufferer you are probably more susceptible to Upper Respiratory Tract Infections than most people. I have asthma all my life and got fed up last year with all the chest infections I was getting just before running marathons. A pharmacist friend of mine had been telling me for some time that there were new really successful treatments and ways of controlling asthma so I went to see a respiratory consultant in the Bons Secours in Galway who turned out to be excellent. He put me on Symbicort along with the Ventolin I've been taking all my life. I find it really good particularly in stopping a head cold going down in to my chest. I too had this persistent tightness in my chest which could last for months on end. It was weird cause there was no significant mucus present but it felt like someone was sitting on my chest permanently. I too find it useful to take a couple of puffs of the ventolin a few minutes before I start running. On a couple of marathons I got tight chested when it got really hot suddenly which can sometimes happen when you come out of a tunnel and no amount of ventolin will help. I'm hoping the symicort will stop this happening. Anyway the message for other asthma sufferers who haven't seen a specialist in years is to do so asap cause the modern treatments can make a huge difference in relation to the amount of oxygen you can get into your system.

Pisco Sour

I've been an astmatic since I was 3. But I've outgrown it over the last 8 years or so. I still carry my inhaler everywhere I go, and occasionally will take a puff of ventolin if I feel I need it, but for the most part I've outgrown it.

Thankfully my astma was never exercise-induced anyway. I was more affected by dog and cat hairs, and dust mites, rather than running around after a football!

I carry my inhaler with me every time I run! Its not a heavy load to carry in my pocket and it provides great peace of mind.