Anyone else with Asthma?

[Hingus]

I have asthma. One of my triggers is vigorous exercise. I find that I occasionally have to stop during keiko to take off the men to use my inhaler. This disrupts practice and I don't like disrupting practice!!

Has anyone else battled this problem and found a solution?

[S. Takamori]

Hello Hingus,

I had the same problem as you. Be sure that this will go better once you got more experience and have a good breathing control. I'm still practising for 20 years now and the need for additional help from the inhaler decreased during kendo practise. Of course, this is my own experience and not a general fact...

Keep doing and relax!

Saigo T.

[reicheru]

Me too! Some days I'm fine, others I have to stop and use my inhaler during practice. Doesn't have to be too disruptive, though it sometimes means sitting out a round during jigeiko while my breathing returns to quasi-normal. One thing that helps is if I remember to use my inhaler before practice or before mensuke (even if I'm breathing perfectly well then).

Rachel

[Kendoka]

Me too!

I now use Flixotide, a new inhaled drug. With my doctors help, I found that I have been able to now reduce the inhalations to one per day from the previous three per day on Becotide.

Some colder mornings my chest gets a bit tight after I have started to warm up, so on those days I use my preventitive (Ventolin) prior to keiko. Once I get going I am OK. Could be a bit of anxiety there as well, it happens cos I am worried that it might happen !

Some get it worse than me of course, but it seems to me that my lungs etc have improved their efficiency with regular workouts.

Talk to your medico about it when next you see him/her.

Richard

[Curtis]

I have had asthma for most of my life and all of my kendo years. I now have a doctor that has brought it under control. I was overmedicated. I now use a therapeutic inhaler (pulmicort) and a daily long term inhaler (seravent) to keep my passageways open. I use half the recommended dosage and almost never need the short term rescue inhaler. Combined with regular aerobic training on machines, etc. I keep the wheezing at bay.

What is important according to my doctor and through my own experience in the past was to use the rescue inhaler 20 minutes before practice. When I have done this I have had no problem during practice.

Consult your doctor and see what is best for you.

Sincerely, Curtis

[ben]

I don't have asthma myself and am reporting second-hand info *warning*, however, at a recent coaching seminar I was told some coaches in other sports are (under medical supervision), encouraging some of their asthmatic athletes to trigger an attack at the beginning of a training/competition session. The theory is, I believe, that the attack has a protective effect over the rest of the session: literally get it out of the way first. This was dealing with elite athletes who had known, predictable triggers for attack and, I presume, no history of life-threatening episodes. I can't cite any scientific studies to back this up unfortunately, and mention it only for the sake of discussion.

:)
b

[Hingus]

Thanks all for the replies. I am in contact with my physician, but we are still trying to get my medications right. The steriods do not have much effect for me.

Ben, I have read the same things you are talking about as well, and it is interesting, thanks for the information!