Exercise Induced Asthma

At the beginning of June I had a routine op, it was not running related, but the surgeon recommended I take 2 weeks off exercising whilst the stitches healed. I gave it two and a half weeks before starting back in the gym. About 2 weeks after that I was running on the treadmill and all of a sudden got a tight chest and struggled to take a deep breath. This carried on over the next 4 weeks until I rang the doctors and made an appointment to see the nurse.

At the appointment with the nurse I did an ECG which said my heart was fine, my resting heart rate was 46bpm, and I did a spirometry test which was fine so the nurse didn’t think I had asthma.

However over the next 4 weeks I was still having the same issues so did some research and came across exercise induced asthma. I made an appointment to see the doctor again and they said because the spirometry was fine they didn’t think I had that but prescribed me an inhaler to use before exercise. I’ve been using it for a week now before going the gym and not once have I suffered with a tight chest since.

I also went for my first outdoors run in months this morning and whilst my pace was way off again I wasn’t having any chest issues.

Does this sound like exercise induced asthma? And secondly is it perfectly normal for my pace outdoors to be way down? During COVID my pace was around 7:10minutes per mile but over the years since I’ve stopped road running as much due to a bad knee injury my times when running on the road have started to gradually get slower.

i have exercise induced asthma and i find my pace can be slower when outdoors, mainly when the air is particularly dry and cold

mine was weird, id always kinda had it but it was very rare to have an incident. Only on sports days. But it became an issue very suddenly. One day i was playing football and i couldnt really breathe and then i was sick and then i happened all the time until i got an inhaler.

Me too I've done every sport under the sun. I found it hasn't affected me that much as long as you make it a routine to take the brown inhaler when you wake up and when your about to sleep. Every now and then, maybe twice a year, I have to use the blue one. I still play football 6 days a week without an issue.

If you already have a morning and a nightly routine just implement the inhaler into it and trust me the 20 seconds a day of using the inhaler will seem like nothing after a couple weeks.

If it stops being as effective ask to go on a brown one and they can give you a peak flow measurer which you use to show that the brown inhaler is effective.

Thanks I will keep that in mind. I feel a bit annoyed with my doctors as they were quite dismissive of me suggesting exercise induced asthma as a spirometry I did hours after exercising was fine. But when I have done my own research it suggests for exercise induced asthma, a spirometry has to be done almost immediately after exercise to test for it.

I struggled to get a diagnosis at first, i was told it was post nasal drip and then a mental issue. Eventually they got it right, i hope you can get it sorted

At the beginning of June I had a routine op, it was not running related, but the surgeon recommended I take 2 weeks off exercising whilst the stitches healed. I gave it two and a half weeks before starting back in the gym. About 2 weeks after that I was running on the treadmill and all of a sudden got a tight chest and struggled to take a deep breath. This carried on over the next 4 weeks until I rang the doctors and made an appointment to see the nurse.

At the appointment with the nurse I did an ECG which said my heart was fine, my resting heart rate was 46bpm, and I did a spirometry test which was fine so the nurse didn’t think I had asthma.

However over the next 4 weeks I was still having the same issues so did some research and came across exercise induced asthma. I made an appointment to see the doctor again and they said because the spirometry was fine they didn’t think I had that but prescribed me an inhaler to use before exercise. I’ve been using it for a week now before going the gym and not once have I suffered with a tight chest since.

I also went for my first outdoors run in months this morning and whilst my pace was way off again I wasn’t having any chest issues.

Does this sound like exercise induced asthma? And secondly is it perfectly normal for my pace outdoors to be way down? During COVID my pace was around 7:10minutes per mile but over the years since I’ve stopped road running as much due to a bad knee injury my times when running on the road have started to gradually get slower.

Yes, it sounds to me like excercise induced asthma. I've had it since I was a child and am now 33 years old. My recommendation is to all your doc for a few prescriptions fire Albuterol inhalers so you have more than one, that way you can leave one in your car, bag, school nurse, home, parents/friends home etc. which may sound excessive, but I promise you it is not. There is not too many more terrifying experiences than having a really bad the sheer helplessness of not being able to get air into your lungs without the inhaler.

About your running time, you’re getting older and with that naturally comes slower running times, add onto it a knee injury (I've had four knee surgeries myself) and now ensured induced asthma? Yeah, you're most likely never going to hit your peak mile time from your younger year's.

Luckily, none of that really matters in the grand scheme of life! Express gratitude that you woke up breathing at all (albeit with occasionally a little more difficulty) in a body healthy enough to have the ability to be running at all, and enjoy the ineffable beauty offered around you when you are lucky enough to be running outside amongst nature.

Good luck and kind regards!

At the beginning of June I had a routine op, it was not running related, but the surgeon recommended I take 2 weeks off exercising whilst the stitches healed. I gave it two and a half weeks before starting back in the gym. About 2 weeks after that I was running on the treadmill and all of a sudden got a tight chest and struggled to take a deep breath. This carried on over the next 4 weeks until I rang the doctors and made an appointment to see the nurse.
At the appointment with the nurse I did an ECG which said my heart was fine, my resting heart rate was 46bpm, and I did a spirometry test which was fine so the nurse didn’t think I had asthma.
However over the next 4 weeks I was still having the same issues so did some research and came across exercise induced asthma. I made an appointment to see the doctor again and they said because the spirometry was fine they didn’t think I had that but prescribed me an inhaler to use before exercise. I’ve been using it for a week now before going the gym and not once have I suffered with a tight chest since.
I also went for my first outdoors run in months this morning and whilst my pace was way off again I wasn’t having any chest issues.
Does this sound like exercise induced asthma? And secondly is it perfectly normal for my pace outdoors to be way down? During COVID my pace was around 7:10minutes per mile but over the years since I’ve stopped road running as much due to a bad knee injury my times when running on the road have started to gradually get slower.

It may ease off as your fitness recovers. You may have had Covid without really being aware. You could also possibly have developed a sensitivity to chemicals, particles, or allergens. An example is mould. This could be leaf mould outside or there could have been a spill in the gym, leading to invisible mould. There are lots of possibilities with asthma. The Asthma UK website is great for advice.
With Exercise Induced Bronchspasm, definitely always use your inhaler before exercise and as a precaution, always have a Salbutamol (blue) rescue inhaler with you when you exercise. I carry an oximeter (£15 Amazon) to check oxygen saturation (SpO2). Safe levels are above 95%. Always clip on on to a treadmill. I’ve seen people go literally blue and then panic not being able to stop. Get at least annual check ups with an asthma nurse or GP. Asthma is very serious and an asthma attack can cause cardiac arrest, so be aware of your symptoms increasing. If you find you’re using your blue inhaler more often when you’re not exercising, you may need a brown preventer one, which is long acting. This will prevent a loss of elasticity in the bronchioles over time. A blue one will not do this.
Qualified PT & Exercise Referral practitioner
Long time asthma sufferer