Hey all,

I've had asthma for roughly 6 years now. I've battled weight my whole life, but recently with me being 18 when people tell me things, they tend to stink in my head and mean a little more to me.

A lot of people have been telling me that I really over weight. I weight about 205 lbs. I've talked to some close friends and they gave me advice to run. If I wanted to loose my weight I should run.

Last week, I went to a walk in clinic because my asthma was waking me from a dead sleep because I couldn't breathe. I was taking my normal puffer (the one they tell you to use "as needed") I believe called Salbutamol. I was taking it up to 5 times a day (two puffs, 5 times a day!). Even if I took it, and I sneezed -- because I still haven't been tested for allergies, I would be totally out of breath again. Just before I went in, I started taking Allegra and it WAS helping!

Anyway, I went in, explained to him what was up and he gave me a new puffer called Advair. Two puffs, twice a day. I would see an improvement the next time I used it and by two weeks you'll feel great. I'll tell ya, it's been 1 week, and honestly, I forgot I had asthma! I could run across the road up the stairs and still feel great!

So tonight, I ate a chocolate bar at work and my boss grabbed my "love handles" and said you should eat that.. you’re fat.

And recently this new puffer has given me a lot more energy as well, so I decided to go for a jog.

I stretched, etc and did one lap. I felt ok. I went for a second, and not even a 1/4 way through I felt it. My legs wanted to run, my mind kept telling me to go, but my lungs basically told me to screw my self. I don't think I've ever had an asthma attack, but by jeeze, I think that might have been it. I felt like I almost died. I could barely walk home.. my head felt like it was spinning.. and I only did two bloody laps!! I tried to take my Salbutamol to get my breath back, but it did nothing. When I got home I just got my own breath back by taking it easy for 30 minutes.

What the hell is up? How can people with asthma exercise? I pumped my self up, and I was ready to go. My mind is finally ready to tell my asthma to f-off and help me loose this weight... what can I do? What can I use to help me out?

Does anyone have any advice?

Hey all,

I've had asthma for roughly 6 years now. I've battled weight my whole life, but recently with me being 18 when people tell me things, they tend to stink in my head and mean a little more to me.

A lot of people have been telling me that I really over weight. I weight about 205 lbs. I've talked to some close friends and they gave me advice to run. If I wanted to loose my weight I should run.

Last week, I went to a walk in clinic because my asthma was waking me from a dead sleep because I couldn't breathe. I was taking my normal puffer (the one they tell you to use "as needed") I believe called Salbutamol. I was taking it up to 5 times a day (two puffs, 5 times a day!). Even if I took it, and I sneezed -- because I still haven't been tested for allergies, I would be totally out of breath again. Just before I went in, I started taking Allegra and it WAS helping!

Anyway, I went in, explained to him what was up and he gave me a new puffer called Advair. Two puffs, twice a day. I would see an improvement the next time I used it and by two weeks you'll feel great. I'll tell ya, it's been 1 week, and honestly, I forgot I had asthma! I could run across the road up the stairs and still feel great!

So tonight, I ate a chocolate bar at work and my boss grabbed my "love handles" and said you should eat that.. you’re fat.

And recently this new puffer has given me a lot more energy as well, so I decided to go for a jog.

I stretched, etc and did one lap. I felt ok. I went for a second, and not even a 1/4 way through I felt it. My legs wanted to run, my mind kept telling me to go, but my lungs basically told me to screw my self. I don't think I've ever had an asthma attack, but by jeeze, I think that might have been it. I felt like I almost died. I could barely walk home.. my head felt like it was spinning.. and I only did two bloody laps!! I tried to take my Salbutamol to get my breath back, but it did nothing. When I got home I just got my own breath back by taking it easy for 30 minutes.

What the hell is up? How can people with asthma exercise? I pumped my self up, and I was ready to go. My mind is finally ready to tell my asthma to f-off and help me loose this weight... what can I do? What can I use to help me out?

Does anyone have any advice?

First off, maybe you should start off walking. Secondly, running outside could increase the risk for a potential attack since pollen and allergens in the outside air could be a trigger for an attack, plus they say to cover your mouth with a scarf or something if it's cold. Sometimes, I EVEN get out of breath from running and I don't have asthma....aren't you just starting your regimine? I just read about asthma.
Maybe try walking first.

I agree, firstly, work into it slowly. You have to make sure to pace yourself. Do a little more each day. You'll get to the point you want to get to. :) Secondly, have you tried pretreating with your Salbutamol 15-20 minutes before you run? Ditto on the cold air, dust, etc...it makes it worse.

OK, the Advair is a daily thing to keep your asthma in check. The Salbutomal is for when you have an attack OR before you do cardio. So, Use the Advair as prescribed. Use the other 15-20 minutes BEFORE you go walk, jog, whatever. You'll be fine. I use albuterol (I imagine you are in another country besides USA) before I jog and have no trouble....do 2-3 miles 4 times a week. But if I don't use it, I can't get one block down the road. Good luck!

I definitely agree to start out easy. I have asthma and am overweight. I get really frustrated on the treadmill and can only run for 60 seconds! But someone told me that since I am overweight and not in shape yet this isn't unrealistic. So the next time I go to the gym, I'm going to run 1 minute, walk 1 minute, etc. ....until I've gone my 2 miles. Maybe after a week or two I'll be able to run 2 minutes! So don't get discouraged, take it slower and you will see results after you get conditioned.

Thanks folks!

I'm going to try the 20-minute inhale before jogging. I'm also going to try and look for a tred-mel cheap or finance as the weather is getting a bit cool now.

Just another question -- what exactly is an asthma attack? I don't know if I've ever had one, so I want to know what it is and how to handle it if I were to get one while excersizing. When I stopped running, I wasn't gasping for air like I usually would if I were running, it was just hard to breathe.. I wasn't wheezing, it was just different...

If you can't breathe normally or get your breath after a reasonable amount of time ---say, 1 minute after a workout, then that's an attack. You should be doing the inhaler before ANY cardio...run, fast walk, mow the grass, whatever. If it wakes you up during the night, that's an attack. If you have to stop an activity due to lack of breath, that's an attack. If you have to cough to clear your lungs of congestion during one of these episodes, that's an attack. Try one hit and see how it does. Keep us posted...