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Asthma and running
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Some good stuff there for me to consider...excuse my ignorance but what is Becotide?
Serevent is longacting ventolin
seretide is ventolin and steroid together
sound like you need a preventer trin
Miles makes smiles.
Progression
Miles makes smiles.
Progression
did they put you on warfarin
Miles makes smiles.
Progression
Not listed even in the American version of the BNF
I got a prescription filled yesterday that I've been holding on to since February for Montelukast tablets. Thought I'd take a risk and try them, see if it makes any difference. From what I understand (which isn't much at this stage) they do a similar job to a preventer, as in stops the narrowing of the airways and inflammation in the lungs.
Don't like the look of some of the side effects tho, but hopefully they are rare.
I think coming to terms with having asthma is almost the hardest thing about it! It has taken me a bit of time, and I'm not sure that I am completely ok about it yet.
The depressing things that I found lately were getting realy my number for the Britannic 10k and having to draw a big black X through my number to indicate my "condition" and having to fill in a form in which I had to declare my "hidden disability"!!
And I'm not even that bad with it! Oh well, I suppose it all makes sense in the long run, as first aiders need to know these things.
Mind you, I am sure that you will get through this finem especially as you have the determination to compete in "serious" events!
All the best
Marion
I haven't come across the big black X thing yet tho, that can't be very nice at all.
Take care
Lots of info on here Jon
I tried to tell myself that Radcliffe has asthma so it cant hold you back too much, but it does worry me that it may stop me from training and racing so well.
Should be getting a preventer inhaler before long
Basically you have to learn for it not to stop you from doing anything. Yes there will be occassions when your sruggling and you need to have time off exercise, but once the asthma is settled you can start up again. All my family have found that exercise helps relieve the asthma better than any of the inhalers etc.... (yes still use them but I find when your fit you use them less).
It used to really bother me at school when other kids who had asthma would use it as an excuse not to take part in all games lessons! (granted the odd lesson I would struggle with asthma and not be able to take part, but I loved games and hated missing it). How the hell did those kids expect the condition to improve when they were getting no exercise.
My advice to anyone who has just been diagnosed with asthma is: Take your time, don't do too much if your suffering and get used to the fact that you have asthma. Also find something that works for you and makes you feel better. But once everything is settled don't let it stop you from doing anything, you can do anything that you could do before, why let the fact that you have to carry an inhaler stop anythiing!!
Good luck all
I've only joined this site today. I'm hoping to start running, but feel rather nervous because, in addition to being 50 and overweight, I also have asthma, which I first developed 12 years ago.
I use Ventolin and also have Becotide. However, I only use the Becotide when I know I am heading for a cold and during smoggy or sultry weather. I know this is not the ideal way to use it, however, it irritates my throat dreadfully (using a spacer made no difference), and I just cannot cope with that discomfort on a permanent basis. I have mentioned this several times, but have never been offered anything else.
The other problem is that my asthma is very unpredictable. There are days when I don't need Ventolin at all, and other days when I take it numerous times, and no obvious and consistent trigger factors.
So in all, I'm wondering whether I should try running at all. On the other hand, I know that it is so easy to make excuses in order to avoid doing new and frightening things....
Paula manages her asthma. Other people manage theirs. What am I doing wrong?
Any tips from people who have been there and done it would be gratefully received."
I posted the above yesterday, then found this thread. I'm still busy reading it, and thanks to all of you it's just dawned on me that my preventer isn't doing it's job as well as I'd like.
I carry ventolin with me whenever I'm running. I've found I don't need it in the gym; preventative puffs work when training out of doors and when walking, but it's racing that is the problem.
This leads me to ask what is different about racing? Is it that I try harder and don't pay as much attention to warning signs?
I asked the asthma consultant about this and he said he thought it was unlikely that stress or emotion could trigger spasms in my case, and gave me a long explanation about different airflow/temperatures/humidity etc.
I have noticed that if I really work hard to control the panic feelings and try to breathe steadily I do get more air into my lungs, so I would expect the reverse to be true as well.
Mind you, it really doesn't help to be told to breathe deeply when that is exactly what I'm trying to do :-) Maybe I need a card to hold up to tell people how to help.
Read your other thread, and I've had a quick glance at the rest of this one. What I would say, having had asthma as a kid - way before the advent of ventolin inhalers - is that there's more to managing asthma than inhalers. I remember having a very strict regime of exercises to develop my lungs and to help me cope with attacks by regulating my breathing. The exercises seemed to consist of training me to use my diaphragm to inhale rather than my ribcage. This also had the effect of giving me a better exhaltion. I don't know whether these exercises are still used or what they're called but I'm sure they helped. I still carry an inhaler with me, but I rarely use it.
An interesting side effect of the exercises was that I was eventually able to breathe quite easily without apparently moving my chest. Whenever there was a requirement for a corpse in a school production they always sent for me !!
When I had a brief excursion into running many years ago I followed Brendan Foster's advice, "Concentrate on breathing out, the breathing in will take care of itself" That lead to a lot of coughing, but much stronger breathing.
One of the reasons why my doctor found it hard to make the diagnosis of asthma last year was that he used a peak flow meter, which came out above average for a healthy woman my age, even when my peak flow had dropped by over 25%. His, quite reasonable, approach was that I shouldn't do the thing that was causing the problem (running), and he is very wary of prescribing any drugs, so didn't want to start preventers.
Luckily the chest specialist is a runner and was able to recognise the problem and suggest a coping strategy. I think it's a good time to review that now.
If you think about it, if you have a weakness in a particular area (say your back) you'll do exercises to strengthen that area. So if your problem is your lungs, then perhaps you need to work on them. I think GP's often throw an inhaler at the problem without looking at it holistically. That's not their fault, they don't have the time to to a lifestyle profile of every patient. Like you I have a very high peak flow.
I remember that my mum always used to insist that I did my exercises as a kid. Half an hour a day after school before I got my tea or went out to play. I think that the discipline paid off.
I would guess your mum was pretty keen on keeping you alive, so she made you follow a disciplined route to asthma management.
I spoke to the specialist about exercises as someone had already suggested them (and singing lessons for the same reason). He didn't think they would have any effect on the allergic element of my asthma, and suspected that the trigger for EIA was temperature/humidity change of air being breathed in.
I think it's unlikely to do any harm, and if it helps me to cope with a restricted airway then it might be useful.
The other one I remember was more a visulisation exercise consisting of lying on my back and trying to breath as quietly and shallowly as possible. Mum used to put a book on my chest with an old threepence piece balanced on its edge on it. If I could go for a minute without the threepence falling over I got to keep it. In those days she earned about £5 a week as a secretary - so 3d was quite a lot of money !!