Symptoms of exercise induced asthma? - Asthma Message Board

kel555 · 12-22-2007, 03:16 PM

I wasn't getting any responses from the thread I posted on before so I created my own. Sorry, I'm still new to this site and don't know exactly how it's suppose to work.
I am a competitive high school athlete doing cross-country running, cross-country skiing, and track during the school year. But however I have been having trouble at the end of my races in high school. When I was in middle school I would just get physically exhausted at the end of race even though I was in good shape. In high school the distance and intensity increased and so did the problems. I seem to start out the season fine but when we start intervals and speed I start to realize problems. I usually seem to have problems when it gets cold too.
My freshmen year I would get dizzy, narrow vision, and feel like my legs were numb and heavy. I would be in the front and then the next second I would drop 10 or more spots without really an explanation. I have been told that I am wheezing and having shortness of breath but I am really out of it and don't notice anything. It feels like its not me when it happens. That year when these symptoms got bad I would usually pee my pants at the end of the race. Which I believe is normal in female athletes. Right?
My parents and coaches didn't really consider much of my problems during races. They thought it was dehydration even though I was drinking a lot of water. This past year, my sophomore year, it seemed to get worse. I had trained hard during the summer and only noticed problems going up hills but thought that everyone had the same problem. The season started out fine but by the third race I could feel a change. I got this feeling like something was stuck in my throat when I ran. The second to last race of the season I had peed my pants before the two mile mark in a 3.1 mile race and after that I got dizzy, narrowed vision, my legs felt heavy, and it felt like I started to gasp for breath. The last race of the season was the worst. I was in the lead and then again 2 miles in I had the same stuff except I had peed and soiled my pants. People said my face got white and my eyes looked like they were rolling back. I was so focused still on the race that I didn't notice my breathing but people said I was wheezing.
Afterwards my parents took my in to 5 doctors and we got a range of answers. I got a thyroid and iron test that both came back negative. I got tested for exercise induced asthma which came back positive so I was given an inhaler which doesn't seem to be working. The doctors have thought I could possibly have a vocal cord dysfunction, or have exercise induced asthma and hyperventilation. Although one doctor said that was impossible to have exercise induced asthma and hyperventilation. I have been trying singulair with my inhaler and its too early to tell if its working. Does anyone know what could be causing some of these problems? Is it all related to exercise induced asthma or is it something else?

Titchou · 12-22-2007, 09:39 PM

How are you medicating before exercise? You said you had an inhaler but it didn;t work. What is the inhaler? And how do you use it (#puffs, how long before cardio, etc)?

kel555 · 12-23-2007, 10:09 AM

I use two puffs of albuertol 15 minutes before I work out and now I have been taking singulair each day. I don't really see a result yet but I have just started with singulair on monday this week. Is it too early to see a result?

Titchou · 12-23-2007, 05:06 PM

You might try waiting 20 minutes...I had to do that to get optimum effects. And Singulair can take a month or more to show any inpact. I quit after two months as it was doing nothing for me.

gcsjr · 12-24-2007, 04:40 AM

As I recall it took several days (5-7) before noticed a difference when I started taking Singulair - it has been great for me, my asthma is nearly totally controlled by the singulair and I rarely have to use my inhalers (and I've been on it for 7 years with no real side effects).

I agree that you should try using your inhaler a little earlier before you run as well.

Also, there have been several olympic medalists who were well known for having asthma, you might check around to see if you can find any information on how they managed their asthma - I remember that when I was first diagnosed I bought a book that one of them had written specifically about managing exercised induced asthma but that was about 15 years ago and I couldn't find it on Amazon this morning.