asthma and exercise

I have a hard time doing any active workout because my asthma gets so bad. I take a puff of the inhaler before I start. I take advair, singulair and allegra daily.

Anyone else with this problem?

the art girl

I used to until I got rid of my cats.  I still miss them, but I no longer need my singulair.  Just take it slow and do low impact.  You just need to get your heart rate up.  Just move and don't kill yourself over exercise.

Has your doctor showed you how to do breathing exercises?  I went through a course of cardio/pulmonary therapy (for something other than asthma) and most of the class was about learning how to breathe before we even started exercising.  There were many asthma suffers in the group and they did fine.

Me too!  My allergies are triggered primarily by pollen, and it's just floating down in waves this time of year.  I'm trying to exercise indoors mostly, and it seems I'm constantly using my inhaler. It's miserable, but at least I know it will pass once the pollen settles down. Do you know of anything in particular that triggers your asthma/allergies?

I have asthma, too. Had it my whole life unfortunately. I never let it slow me down. When I was younger, I would take breathing treatments 3 times a day on one of those pulmno-aide respirators. Now, I have a Maxair Autohaler (which I heard has been discontinued) and an Albuterol inhalor. 10-15 minutes before I do any physical activity, I take a couple of puffs on my inhalor and I am good for the next 2-3 hours. You mention you take a puff on your inhalor before you start; is it not helping? Do you still get full on "asthma attacks" after you use your inhalor? You should mention to your PCP or specialist that you are still having problems even after you use your inhalor. They have medications and treatments out there that should make it a lot easier for you to live with asthma and still exercise regularly. Hang in there, keep us updated!

Exercise induced asthma is a common problem.  It is triggered by the rapid influx of cool air during exercise in people who have a tendency to have spasm in their airways.  Although more common in people who have other triggers (cats, perfume, etc), it can occur in isolation, i.e. be the only asthma a person experiences.

      You didn't mention which inhaler you use before exercise.  I'm assuming it is your short acting rescue inhaler, e.g. albuterol.  Using this inhaler before exercise should help (although you may need to repeat it at some point during exercise).  It is important to combine it with medications targeted at giving you all day control, e.g. inhaled steroid such as Advair.  Don't forget the long acting inhalers can't be used as rescue medications or immediately before exercise to prevent asthma exacerbation.  It is good advice to discuss it specifically with your physician.  We often assume a patient has better asthma control than they actually do.