Asthma

Yes, when I was younger there was no effective treatment so I hated 'PE' and always had 'a note' or hung around the edge of the pitch trying to avoid the ball.
Nowadays the medication is so good I'm sure your Asthma will be brought under control, try to use that to get fit then you can experiment with backing off the medication.
My routine to get fit was to use the steroid sprays to the letter of the prescription then two puffs of ventolin one minute apart ten minutes before my run.
Keep at it and good luck.

Good thread, and some great info.

A couple of things to remember - as stated earlier the blue (salbutamol, ventolin) inhalers are purely "first aid" not definitive treatment. If you have asthma (and it can be very difficult to work out exactly what is or isn't asthma - and there is argument amongst doctors about this sometimes) then ultimately it is a problem that responds in most cases to steroids. Using inhaled steroids lowers the overall dose absorbed by the body and reduces the unpleasant steroid side effects that some with, for instance, prednisolone tablets. Otherwise we'd all be on them :eek:

Monteleukast (singulair) is a fairly 'clean' drug and whilst side effects can occur they are unusual and rarely serious; it may be worth another try - especially in exercise or aspirin/NSAID sensitive asthma, or if you also have nasal polyps. Having said that it isn't often that beneficial either - but some people do find it very good indeed. So overall I'd give it a try, and if it doesn't work after a reasonable trial period (say a month) then stop the prescription.

To whomever mentioned the cost of the inhalers - money saved doesn't usually go to the GP so overall cost is not often a factor in the UK on a case by case basis, but overall it's better for the NHS if we can keep well on cheap drugs not expensive ones - so might as well start at the cheap end and work up. All steroid inhalers work best with regular prolonged use, not just a "when I remember / when I need" basis although of course the latter is very common (and if so you might be better off with something like Symbicort although there is much argument about that as well :eek: )

You can have quite perky airway inflammation and not much in the way of symptoms and vice versa. I have exercise induced wheeze - as noted by a friend who is an asthma postgrad researcher - but when challenged in the lab on a bicycle breathing absolutely dry air or increasing levels of salty humid air I get symptoms but no drop in my peak flow. But I do feel better with salbutamol. Probably I suspect I have some mild vocal cord dysfunction

If anyone can come up with a good definition of asthma I'd be happy to hear it :D

HTH

Ben B

Ben B

Very Interesting what you say about the Allergy to NSAID's, Ashtma and Nasal Polyps. I have all three and this is what is known as the Asthma Triangle or something

I first had a severe case of Nasal Polyps removed about two years ago and the doctor said it was the worst case he had seen. They grew back very quickly and within another year I had (the worst case the doctor had ever seen) removed again. He could not believe how quickly they had grown back and with such vengence. I'm currently clear and have been for 3 months since my last op. But my sense of smell and taste has gone again, so I suspect they are probably coming back.

Anybody know what they are and why they appear, Im told they are not harmful.

When I use NSAID's my nose starts running and my breathing goes bad. So I try to avoid them.

My asthma is currently quite bad but thats just the time of year.

Montelakaust gave me very bad nightmares I mean horrensous and freaked me out, so I stopped taking them. My peak flows shot through the rough though.

Cheers
Jamie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NotOnUrHelly

Ben B

Very Interesting what you say about the Allergy to NSAID's, Ashtma and Nasal Polyps. I have all three and this is what is known as the Asthma Triangle or something

I first had a severe case of Nasal Polyps removed about two years ago and the doctor said it was the worst case he had seen. They grew back very quickly and within another year I had (the worst case the doctor had ever seen) removed again. He could not believe how quickly they had grown back and with such vengence. I'm currently clear and have been for 3 months since my last op. But my sense of smell and taste has gone again, so I suspect they are probably coming back.

Anybody know what they are and why they appear, Im told they are not harmful.

When I use NSAID's my nose starts running and my breathing goes bad. So I try to avoid them.

My asthma is currently quite bad but thats just the time of year.

Montelakaust gave me very bad nightmares I mean horrensous and freaked me out, so I stopped taking them. My peak flows shot through the rough though.

Cheers
Jamie

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Sorry J - didn't answer your question.

I wasn't sleeping well at all and yes had weird dreams so stopped taking them but still wasn't sleeping well and having weird dreams!!!
So - I don't know to be honest.
I've not taken the singulair since before Christmas now - keep forgetting to be honest but that's no suprise.
Felt a bit rubbish the last few days so am going to start back on them tonight so I'll make a note to be aware if my sleeping (or lack of) pattern changes any.

Roll on spring.....every year this is the same it's a miserable time for most asthma sufferers :(

Well i am abit fed up with the appointment system, the date i see the Asthma nurse is 22nd January, i did ask her rather flippantly she means this year and not next!

So i have to wait 10 days before i can get any medicine for this horrible breathlessness!

Although it did go to 300 last night which i was very pleased about.

Hi NirvanaBliss: Sorry to hear you are not perking up much. If you don't get much joy with your GP you could ask to be referred to Wythenshawe - the asthma unit there has an international reputation (for being good I should add :D). Hopefully it can all be sorted locally though.

NotOnUrHelly: there is also something called zarfilukast, which is similar but not identical to monteleukast, and some people find easier to take - if the latter worked for you but had unacceptable side effects you could ask to try the other one. It may be no better but at least you will have tried and found out...

Cheers

B

Thank you Ben, i shall wait for the 22nd, then if no joy ask to be referred, not sure if they will send me to Wythenshare being its south, as i am in the north, but will see how it goes on the 22nd.

Hope your having a better time with it, the weather today i noticed was a tad warmer.

And Emmi, i have bad hayfever too, and like you i prefer hayfever to this.

You are entitled to request treatment from anyone - wherever you request you can be sent to, as a rule of thumb. There are a few exceptions but basically if you ask you can go pretty much anywhere.

I lived just outside Warrington but when I needed an arthroscopy I just asked my GP to refer me to the sports specialists down at Gobowen (Oswestry), and I had my surgery done by Simon Roberts - who is one of the best in the country. It's a bit crazy, but once in a blue moon the governmental obsession about "choice" in healthcare is useful, and if you pay your taxes and support the NHS...

HTH

Ben B

Thank you Ben, yes i pay my taxes and also support the NHS... x

I know i'm joining this debate rather late but recent events have propelled me into it.

I have a chest infection, which is straightforward enough, but that's four inside a year. It's the only thing that's ever wrong with me, never any breathing probs or anything else between these infections, which generally knock me for six for a couple of days and take about a week to get over completely.

The first of the four was a year ago when i was in barcelona. I didn;t get antib's until i got home by which time i was desperate. None of the three since have been as bad as that (prob cos i got some antib's earlier?), but they are still nasty for short periods and come with some feverishness and immense, if shortlived, fatigue.

I discussed this with my gp who has sent me for a chest x ray which is on tuesday. I;ve also been given an inhaler (blue one, ventolin). This is a whole new world to me and i'm a bit worried.

I'm kicking myself because i didn;t ask the doc why he was sending me for a chest x ray - what does he think it'll find? my general health is really good and i've been training well of late. I started a new job last week which was a big leap for me and i was nervous and stressed and perhaps that explains this particular incidence....

I;m rambling, but i wondered whether anyone else had been sent for an x ray in similar circumstances and what happened?

Thanks

ST

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Swiss Toni

I know i'm joining this debate rather late but recent events have propelled me into it.

I have a chest infection, which is straightforward enough, but that's four inside a year. It's the only thing that's ever wrong with me, never any breathing probs or anything else between these infections, which generally knock me for six for a couple of days and take about a week to get over completely.

The first of the four was a year ago when i was in barcelona. I didn;t get antib's until i got home by which time i was desperate. None of the three since have been as bad as that (prob cos i got some antib's earlier?), but they are still nasty for short periods and come with some feverishness and immense, if shortlived, fatigue.

I discussed this with my gp who has sent me for a chest x ray which is on tuesday. I;ve also been given an inhaler (blue one, ventolin). This is a whole new world to me and i'm a bit worried.

I'm kicking myself because i didn;t ask the doc why he was sending me for a chest x ray - what does he think it'll find? my general health is really good and i've been training well of late. I started a new job last week which was a big leap for me and i was nervous and stressed and perhaps that explains this particular incidence....

I;m rambling, but i wondered whether anyone else had been sent for an x ray in similar circumstances and what happened?

Thanks

ST

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Hello ST (love the blog)

Christmas last year i had to have a xray because i was constantly getting a chest infection, because of the doctors (of which i have since changed) kept fobbing me off, it went from flu, to chest infections to pleurisy, to eventually putting me into hospital with pneumonia, which is possibly why you need an xray, it could be the doctor thinks its bronchitus, which is good that your doctor is being thorough.

Since that lot of sh*te doctors ignored my condition, from it leading to pneumonia, this past year i have had any kind of colds, flus etc, because my immune system is wrecked.

Now i have been told i have glandular fever, which if the septic tonsilus was treated, then i would not have got this far with it.

Don't panic about the xray, its just your doctor doing his/her job properly.

That pic on your blog, is abit scary :eek:

Hope this helps alittle...:rolleyes:

Ps, on one of your pages, about your chest infection and running you have a good quote...

You should use it as a signature

"You can live a hundred years without really living a second if you're not careful "

Hi ST

Hope you are feeling better; sounds like you have had a fairly rough time recently.

Health advice over t'internet is a difficult area, and it's important that you take all advice you get with a large pinch of virtual e-salt. You can't be examined and no tests can be made; all suggestions are based to one extent or another on anecdote or experience. Your health is entirely and peculiarly yours and yours alone, and other peoples experiences may have no relevance at all - or be exactly the same. People will want to be helpful - being human and everything - but nothing beats time and experience for showing how things will go!

However it is fair to say that you are "allowed" to get unwell a few times each year. The usual way of these illnesses often involves feeling dreadful, wracked by ill defined achiness, prone to bursting in to a filmy sweat on walking from one room to another, a desire to sleep and not eat much, and varying degrees of snot / phlegm / sweats / cough / sneezing and other unpleasant secretions. You know the sort of thing better than I do. Generally last 3 days or so and a reasonable recovery time (as in days not weeks).

Most, but not all, of these illnesses are viral rather than bacterial and so will not respond to antibiotics (which can cause side effects of their own). Occasionally you may be unlucky enough to pick up 'flu, as in Influenza rather than the Man Flu, and as mentioned elsewhere by crikey you know it. I had proper flu (Influenza A to be precise) in 2006 and I was in bed for days, flat for a week, and after a fortnight I was allowed back at work. Took 2-3 months for me to start running normal distances (after a month I started doing 1km gentle downhills but even they were horrific to begin with). There's currently "a lot of" Influenza in the UK I believe. Usually happens every few years, as is the case with mycoplasma which is a bacterial infection that causes epidemics of chest infections.

Bear in mind bronchitis, pleurisy, chest infections, flu, pneumonia are all varying degrees in a spectrum of illness and so it's quite difficult to be precise with language eg all the above can be considered 'chest infections' in one sense or another. So someone can say you have pleurisy or another a chest infection and they can both be right. GPs especially get criticised for over prescribing antibiotics but then get pasted for not prescribing antibiotics early enough when needed - a difficult situation to be in - and when to treat with antibiotics can be a bit of a black art.

So in answer to your question the GP is unlikely to find much on your CXR, although if a patch of pneumonia or similar was visible that would be an important finding. I think NirvanaBliss is right, probably being thorough.

As mentioned before, blue salbutamol inhalers are a fairly blunt tool for breathlessness, and make many people feel a bit better even if they don't have asthma (and your illnesses don't sound particularly like asthma, although this is not a professional opinion, just a comment from what you have written).

Anyway, I hope you are feeling better soon and these problems melt away. So many hills, so little time eh.

Hope this helps - a bit rambling and patronising but not meant that way...

B

Seems like the plot thickens.

Went for the xray and forgot all about it. Felt fine after 2/3 days of what was undoubtadly a chest infection and have been running pretty well since, including a monster day out last sunday with 7000' ascent in it.

Doc called yesterday saying that the lymph nodes in my chest were swollen and he wants me to have a CT scan. He didn;t expect to see what he saw. His view is that there's something there that i've had for a long time and that it's harmless. Or possibly it's sarcoidosis, which is apprently asymptomatic or can result in mild illness - but i'm feeling fine. The doc says that the fact i'm feeling well and that i've never smoked is reassuring and the CT scan will confirm that this is nothing to worry about. He just wants to check it out. He also said that it could be something congenital that i;ve always had.

Doesn't stop me worrying like shit though.

Have checked my peak flow and it's 660/670 so my breathing seems ok (it was 540 when i was poorly at the docs). So i have no remaining symptoms, and running ok, breathing ok and got over the infection really quickly.

Still doesn;t stop me worrying like shit though.

Anyone ever been through anything like this?

ST

UPDATE: Went to snowdonia today and knocked out 6200' ascent and about 10 miles in 4.5 hours. Has made me feel much better. Felt ok all day, and the conditions were very tough (very cold, very strong wind and non stop). A sign of good health i would say!

Cant help with that one Mark, when I was struggling with a few unanswered questions a few years ago. I spoke (through email) to the advice line on the Asthma.org website

http://www.asthma.org.uk/how_we_help...ine/index.html

Now I know yours is not strictly asthma but they may have had some dealing with this kind of stuff.

The response I got was very descriptive and help to answer a few things that where concerning me.

May be worth checking out, hope you get it sorted.

Jamie

Cheers Jamie

Had the CT scan this morning and am now crapping myself waiting for the results.

I'm running well, 2 races last weekend (including a brutal XC race and then the snowy Long Mynd on Sunday) and don't feel remotely ill but jeez, it;s nervy.

The fact that I had 2 chest infections recently (early Dec and early Jan) and the x-rays are showing a swollen lymph gland in my chest shortly after these infections (about a week after the last one) should make it easy to conclude that there is nothing nasty there -esp as I now feel great, but the CT scan was really unnerving and I'm dreading the results which could take a week.

Does anyone know whether CT scans are a fairly routine thing thesedays, or should being asked to go for one be a worrying development? anyone been through anything like this before?

ST

can't advise, but hope all ok ST!

Hi ST

Sounds like you have been busy! Sorry to hear that you're still hanging in mid air.

From the information you have given the CT sounds like the standard next test - this is absolutely a routine step given the chest X-ray appearances. Your GP sounds to be spot on in the list of possibilities (although in any of these cases there is a list of about 30 different conditions that are possible - but most are very unlikely indeed). Because modern CT scanners are so good at looking at both the lungs and the lymph nodes they are very useful tests to help explain the appearances. Depending on the results you may find you are referred on to a specialist to get an opinion on whether any further tests or treatment are needed, so no need to be surprised if this happens - you can take it in your stride I'm sure.

If you do get referred it will probably be to Nick Duffy or Neil McAndrew at the Maelor, both of whom are very bright guys and very sensible. Feel free to PM me if I can help (but equally feel free to ignore me completely as well- whichever is better for you). I used to work at the Maelor albeit some years ago and know something of the medical side of things.

HTH, and hope this gets sorted out quickly - worrying never helps the training!

Cheers

Ben

Asthma is kicking up a stink again, I painted my front room the other night. Breathing has dropped to wheezing and continous headaches night and day . Dont even feel like running at the minute but I reckon when i do try my lungs will not let me.

Asthmatics take care when painting, I feel like s**t

Jamie

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Originally Posted by NotOnUrHelly

Asthma is kicking up a stink again, I painted my front room the other night. Breathing has dropped to wheezing and continous headaches night and day . Dont even feel like running at the minute but I reckon when i do try my lungs will not let me.

Asthmatics take care when painting, I feel like s**t

Jamie

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Sorry to hear this Jamie. Get better soon pal :)

Andrew

Still not right, my chest is rattling and Im breathing like a cat.

I tried swimming friday and was fine, I was then very feverish all nightafterwards. I think this has morpthed into a chest infection. Docs tommorow and no more painting for me.

I was just getting back bloody racing as well.

Swiss Toni? Jamie?

Any news? Any better?

Im back sorted now, last time use £4.99 paint that stuff really wrecked my breathing for about a fortnight.

Im racing tonight at Littleborough and then on Saturday at Moel Famau.

Knee still jipping me a bit but I think it always will, breathing good though touch wood.

Jamie

It's that time of year again....any other puffers starting to suffer? ?

I've been ok all summer and even avoided hayfever :eek: however really struggled on last nights run and am going back to having to take the purple inhaler twice daily to avoid the annual round of steroids :o:(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by emmilou

It's that time of year again....any other puffers starting to suffer? ?

I've been ok all summer and even avoided hayfever :eek: however really struggled on last nights run and am going back to having to take the purple inhaler twice daily to avoid the annual round of steroids :o:(

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seems your asthma is similar to mine ,dont worry about it in summer ,
Did a cross country at weekend found i was a bit wheezy during and had a cough day after, think itss down to the wife having the central heating on then going into normal air that does it for me.
Like you i will start up two times a day on the puple job and hope for best.
Also think its the short faster races that get me than the longer ones ,must be too much of a shock to the lungs..?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by emmilou

It's that time of year again....any other puffers starting to suffer? ?

I've been ok all summer and even avoided hayfever :eek: however really struggled on last nights run and am going back to having to take the purple inhaler twice daily to avoid the annual round of steroids :o:(

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This the second year the same has happened to me. No problems until about three/four weeks ago and am now struggling to go more than a couple of miles (from comfortable 10+ at 8 min pace) on some little hills before I'm gasping for breath. Last year I had the purple inhalor but it didn't really help and I had real problems sleeping. Problem went away around April and I was back to full strength by June. I moved on to symbicort to try to help with the lack of sleep side effects but again this doesn't seem to help. I'm not sure where to go for help as by her own admission the asthma nurse at my gp's "isn't an asthma specialist"

Lost Sheep,

It is that time of year again, it sounds like you had it bad last year going right from now till april.

Hope this bout clears up.

You say you had purple inhalers, i take it you took them morning and night and not as a preventer just before you run.

What cleared it up for me was a tablet called Montelakaust but be very wary of these little buggers. My breathing and peak flows improved no end but after three days. My heart was racing and I had the most vividly horrenduous nightmares and kept waking up thinking someome was in my house. Very wierd s**t but everyone is different.

Hope it gets right

Jamie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NotOnUrHelly

Lost Sheep,

You say you had purple inhalers, i take it you took them morning and night and not as a preventer just before you run.

What cleared it up for me was a tablet called Montelakaust but be very wary of these little buggers. My breathing and peak flows improved no end but after three days. My heart was racing and I had the most vividly horrenduous nightmares and kept waking up thinking someome was in my house. Very wierd s**t but everyone is different.

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Last year I did use the purple inhaler twice a day as a preventer. It helped with breathing generally but not when running. Also, the asthma nurse had recommend I stop running until my peak flows were back to normal (around 650) which took a long time.

I had been surprised by the sudden change last year but it sounds like this is more common than I realised. This time the plan is to run/walk if I need to and to try not to let it bother me if I'm slower over the winter months.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NotOnUrHelly

Lost Sheep,

It is that time of year again, it sounds like you had it bad last year going right from now till april.

Hope this bout clears up.

You say you had purple inhalers, i take it you took them morning and night and not as a preventer just before you run.

What cleared it up for me was a tablet called Montelakaust but be very wary of these little buggers. My breathing and peak flows improved no end but after three days. My heart was racing and I had the most vividly horrenduous nightmares and kept waking up thinking someome was in my house. Very wierd s**t but everyone is different.

Hope it gets right

Jamie

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Exactly - they want to put me back on those buggers but they were horrible. Said I'd go on as a last resort and see how I get on in the next couple of weeks.

currently on the purple one two puffs twice a day Mornibng and night) and the blue as and when I need it - like after a race! I now have soddin man flu so none the wiser as to what it's doing as feel like a heffalump is sat on my chest :(

roll on spring.

the worrying thing is though in all seriousness I need a good winter to get some good base training and long distances in but how the hell am I going to do that feeling like this :(

Come out with me :) I am pretty unfit at mo & just getting back to some real training (til the next injury) Hoping to get some good lakeland days in over autumn / winter but having to stick to a jog/walk affair at mo. Calfs not strong enough to run up the hills & bad knee & ankle = odd wobble jog downhill. Seem to be ok on the flats tho :D:D
Still got fridays off & pretty flexible mid week with enough warning. Seem to have turned into a bit of a fair weather jogger tho :rolleyes:

Sorry if I'm repeating much of what's already been said. All I can do is offer benefit of my experience. I was diagnosed with asthma at age 30 and was pretty hacked off to say the least. However, I've subsequently learnt that good managemet is key and will not prevent me from fell running, mountain biking etc. I use brown steroid inhaler daily and up the dosage if I feel a cold coming on. I find that correct management of brown inhaler has more or less taken away the need to use the blue Ventolin, however, I will always shove this in my back pocket on training runs and in races. I know that steroid tablets can have longer term side effects, I take Prednisolone if I get a bad chest infection and find that they are remarkably effective. I am also well aware that there is a debate about how many courses of steroid tablets one should take annually. I don't take Ventolin before a race, however you quickly realise that you're not alone as an asthmatic as you tend to see many others puffing away before a race begins. I've also tried to practice slow breathing if ever a feel an asthma episode coming on, slowly in through the nose and out through the mouth often alleviates it for me. This obviously won't work for everyone.
I'm now well into my third year of fell running and as yet have not been slowed down by asthma.

Cheers

Smoggy

Thanks for that Smoggy. I went to the doctors in advance of the 'infection' stages of the last 2 years this time around. Hence on the purple as stated. I also carry the blue everywhere as even a laughing fit can set it off :eek: I tend not to bother before a race but have been known to finish races clutching the thing in my hand or signing I'm in desperate need of it!

Last year I had 2 courses of the steroid tablet and really didn't want a third, they made me feel cack then, like NOYH was given the monteluklast tabs but again they made me feel rubbish too....I dread the dark nights and winter as it is but for it to be worsened by being so ill it's not looking good!!

My sister has had asthma since she was a small child and I've witnessed serious attacks which are very frightening. She was telling me however, she has altered her diet to a completely dairy free one. She has noticed a remarkable change, that and she lives by the glorious fjjords of Norway :(

I was wondering if any other sufferers had tried or been recommended this dairy free 'option'???

Quote:

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Originally Posted by emmilou

I was wondering if any other sufferers had tried or been recommended this dairy free 'option'???

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My wife has suggested this in the past. She is a physio (a neuro specialist so does not claim to be a respiratory expert) but has some info from training and colleagues. Apparently dairy foods in the diet can cause thicker mucus on the chest and exacerbate breathing problems. A low dairy diet is recommended for children with cystic fibrosis etc.

In the summer months when things are mostly ok I get lazy and forget to think about diet but now reminded I’ll give it a try.

A big trigger for me is alcohol… Just a couple of drinks can make me need the blue inhaler ... :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lost Sheep

My wife has suggested this in the past. She is a physio (a neuro specialist so does not claim to be a respiratory expert) but has some info from training and colleagues. Apparently dairy foods in the diet can cause thicker mucus on the chest and exacerbate breathing problems. A low dairy diet is recommended for children with cystic fibrosis etc.

In the summer months when things are mostly ok I get lazy and forget to think about diet but now reminded I’ll give it a try.

A big trigger for me is alcohol… Just a couple of drinks can make me need the blue inhaler ... :(

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Me too....I'm considering going tee total. Every time I have a drink now a days there is some side effect or other, it's as well to just not bother.

i read some research from australia saying that there was no proven link between dairy and asthma.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/2004/10/05/5272.aspx
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3030122.stm

There are however a lot of anecdotal tales of people responding well to low/no dairy diets. it could be worth a week or two's trial to see if it makes a difference for you personally. (I tried very briefly but i love cheese - arg).

I've been having a real issue with a mucousy kind of asthma (where if i breathe out in a huff i tend to have a tail end rattly wheeze, and often cough up sticky/lumpy white phlegm, but i don't really wheeze all the time). My doctor recommended going to three puffs of seretide (purple) twice a day. it seems to be improving. so although my lungs are"feeling" the cold air and take a while to warm up i'm hoping to stay infection free this winter!! (one plan towards this for me is to try to take it a bit easier while its cold and the bugs are doing the rounds).

more bad news on boozing:
http://www.theallergysite.co.uk/drink.html

but if you are still having the odd drink might be worth checking out the sulphite content (as these preservatives, use in foods and drinks, can trigger allergic response in some people).

less negative opinion
http://www.aim-digest.com/gateway/pa...les/asthma.htm

I'll have a look at those, that's all very interesting. Thanks :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ratfink

i read some research from australia saying that there was no proven link between dairy and asthma.[/url]

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:confused: Is interesting reading. Must be worth a try as anecdotal info seems positive ....

Does anyone else use Symbicort instead of Seretide? Has anyone tried both and found a preference? And does anyone know of another option for a regular preventer?

.. now for a slow run up a hill .. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lost Sheep

:confused: Is interesting reading. Must be worth a try as anecdotal info seems positive ....

Does anyone else use Symbicort instead of Seretide? Has anyone tried both and found a preference? And does anyone know of another option for a regular preventer?

.. now for a slow run up a hill .. :)

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I think it depends on your doctor and which suppliers they use? I went with the recommendation of Symbicort and came out with Seretide as the doc said they are the same just manufactured/supplied differently :confused:

I was just wondering if anyone can quantify the effect the season of asthma is having on their running?

I was getting a bit frustated as I'm still having to walk up the slightest hills and haven't really done any worthwile training in the last few weeks. After talking to a new asthma nurse I am trying to avoid the tablets, as my peak flow is between 80% and normal when using the preventer (and not exercising), and they are not sure they will help.

Does anyone change their routine, eg other activities with less running over winter until it gets warmer again?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lost Sheep

I was just wondering if anyone can quantify the effect the season of asthma is having on their running?

I was getting a bit frustated as I'm still having to walk up the slightest hills and haven't really done any worthwile training in the last few weeks. After talking to a new asthma nurse I am trying to avoid the tablets, as my peak flow is between 80% and normal when using the preventer (and not exercising), and they are not sure they will help.

Does anyone change their routine, eg other activities with less running over winter until it gets warmer again?

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I've been taking the purple inhaler as I mentioned above and if anything have increased my running not dropped. I find a warm down outside walking about a mile helps no end with the coughing fits as opposed to walking straight into a warm house etc.

I struggled with the breathing a bit on todays race as the wind was cold on the tops and that always has an effect and yes climbing up all does become an issue as trying to breathe gets very painful. I tend to really concentrate on a good even style of breathing and relaxing if that means I slow down a bit then so be it, the idea is get to the top in 1 piece not a coughing fitting wreck!

Hope you get on ok

Emmi, one of the Bowland crew, who was already a vegetarian and an asthma suffer, decided to cut out dairy products and became a full blown vegan about 8 or 9 years ago. His running really went on the up and he is now usually listed in the end of season veterans league tables, as published in the FRM.
As a parallel, does your Other Half not snore louder if he has tucked into the (full fat dairy) cheese and biscuits after an evening meal? Dairy products do affect your breathing! You do not need academic research to confirm/deny the obvious!