If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
Ads |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
Racing & Asthma
Some good advice in your posts. It should be made clear that albuterol
and such, and chromolyn sodium are very different beasts. I can't describe them pharmacologically, but as a user albuterol is much stronger and in my case had me feeling, just sitting, like my heart was going to come out of my chest. Show stopper. Chromolyn sodium is a very mild powder-spin inhalant rather than a direct one. According to a doc back in the 90s, chromolyn sodium was replaced with Azmacort for most patients with mild need. rm " wrote: I've always had mild asthma (as I now realize) which progressed as I was training more and more seriously (without muchof a training program, just all out most of the time). The mild discomfort in my chest after a big push gradually grew into full-blown uncontrolled asthma after a series of all-out races at high altitude, followed by a hard training summer (inspired by an elite Birkie wave placement), followed by a pneumonia. Currently I can't exercise at all. I am on max doses of steroids, two anti-inflammatory drugs, and bi-weekly antibody injections which cost $500 each, plus, I sleep in a bubble with a continous air filtration - just to be able to breathe. It took me 2 years to accept that I must stop racing, and during these 2 years I still remember winning a race or two. Go on Google Scholar and type in "asthma cross country skiers". You will find that XC skiers are the most prone to development of asthma of all athletes due to breathing dry cold air which penetrates deeply into the lungs and causes permanent inflammation. According to some estimates, 50% of all elite Nordic skiers have some sort of asthma. Their particular form of asthma responds poorly to inhaled steroids, probably, due to the fact that the steroids can't reach deep enough into the airways to alleviate the inflammation. If there is ever a "FAQ" section for this newsgroup, I could write a whole "XC skiers beware" article for it. Bottom line - too much of a good thing is not good for you. I would strongly recommend consulting with a doctor to come up with an exercise program that would allow you to ski with asthma. They usually recommend albuterol and chromolyn sodium before exercise. Put a face mask on the list, too, to warm and humidify air that you breathe. May also have to avoid skiing in very low temperatures (every birkie I've done started at 10F). Obviously, those who are susceptible to allergies etc are likely to develop more serious asthma than others. I've always been sneezing in the spring. There is an excellent book "exercise induced asthma" - do an Amazon search. It's a part of a lung pathology series. Very thorough, although a bit technical, review. Explained many things to me. I am not giving up on the hope to ski again. I am currently building a prototype apparatus for air filtration and conditioning for racing with asthma. |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
Racing & Asthma
On Feb 8, 5:50 am, wrote:
Some good advice in your posts. It should be made clear that albuterol and such, and chromolyn sodium are very different beasts. I can't describe them pharmacologically, but as a user albuterol is much stronger and in my case had me feeling, just sitting, like my heart was going to come out of my chest. Show stopper. Chromolyn sodium is a very mild powder-spin inhalant rather than a direct one. According to a doc back in the 90s, chromolyn sodium was replaced with Azmacort for most patients with mild need. with asthma. Albuterol is a chemical analog of adrenalin. The idea was to keep the broncho-dilating effect of adrenalin, but eliminate the its "wiring" effect. As you point out, it did not work perfectly. Usually the "shaking" induced by albuterol goes away in 10-15 min. Plus, the "shaking" is a good indication that it's doing what it's supposed to do (a positive control). Nobody knows how Chromolyn Sodium works, but it's a very old and safe drug. It works for some people, and some studis show that the best protection is achieved when it's combined with albuterol. |
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Help New to Racing | tpg996 | Alpine Skiing | 2 | October 13th 06 05:55 PM |
Help New to Racing | tpg996 | Alpine Skiing | 1 | October 13th 06 04:58 AM |
racing poles | Laurent Duparchy | Nordic Skiing | 12 | October 22nd 04 12:27 AM |
Racing Question | Micheal Artindale | Nordic Skiing | 6 | September 13th 04 06:07 PM |
ski racing again | Jim Flom | Nordic Skiing | 11 | March 27th 04 05:45 PM |