Asthma

[Jamie_39]

After years of struggling to breathe during strenuous activity, I finally caved in and went to see my doctor yesterday. I described my symptoms and he told me that he suspects Exercise Induced Asthma (EIA). I was diagnosed as a child (about 9 yo) with asthma and given a standard Ventolin inhaler, but stopped taking it a few years later (my mum decided I didn't need it any more!). I've just recently been doing a lot more sport than I used to, and I'm really noticing that the difficulties breathing are getting worse, not better as I get fitter as I had hoped as I thought the tightness in my chest was just down to lack of exercise :(

Anyway, I digress.... back to my original question. I've had a blood sample taken to rule out an unknown allergy and my doctor has recommended that I go to see a specialist to confirm the diagnosis. This is obviously still a few weeks off, but I was wondering if anyone out there could let me know what I should expect in the way of testing. Is there anything specific that I should prepare, avoid beforehand etc.

Thanks for your help,

J

[Davy9]

They will conduct pulmonary function testing at rest and after you exercise. The tests involve conducting a selection of inspiratory and expiratory maneuvers into to closed system. You will breath in and out into a large set of tubes using a mouthpiece (your nose will be clipped closed). The system can measure a ton of data. Typically they assess rates of gas flow and volumes as they relate to the breathing cycle.

They will compare your test values to a population of normals of the same age, gender, height and weight. They will compare your values before and after exercise. If they see no difference they might try to induce a response. If you do have an asthma event they might treat it with medication and re-test again to determine how well you responded.

If it is am ambitious lab they might test you dynamically by measuring your pulmonary functions while you exercise on a tread mill.

These tests can be very sophisticated. They are used to assess pulmonary function and can capture loads of metabolic data as well. They can evidence anaerobic thresholds and exercise efficiency all they way down to the type of nutrition being metabolized.

[Jamie_39]

Thanks for your reply Davy9. I thought I'd give an update in case anyone's interested.

It's been a few weeks since I had my appointment now, and knowing what to expect when I went to the specialist was really helpful. It appears that although the doctor was unwilling to say for certain that I have EIA as apparently it's very hard to accurately diagnose, my results showed "lung irritation" with reduced capacity which was improved by medication, so I'm being treated as if it is EIA, and have a follow up appointment in 6 months (or sooner if I feel it necessary) to see how things are going.

He prescribed me Singulair to take daily, and an Oxis 12 turbohaler to take before exercise (max 1x daily), and so far I'm really pleased. The chest-tightness has gone, and now when I exercise, I get out of breath like I would expect to, but it doesn't hurt any more, and I don't make that horrible wheezing noise or cough like I used to!!! It's like a breath of fresh air (excuse the pun) to know that I wasn't imagining my symptoms, and I never would have thought that the medications could make such a difference.

[Davy9]

That's good news. Take care of your lungs. Avoid exposing them to irritating environments. When you smell something that is noxious you are also breathing it in. I am not saying live in a plastic bubble. Just use your head. When you paint a room make sure it is well vented and the fumes do not concentrate. Beauty parlors and dry cleaners are loaded with fumes. Smoke filled rooms means you are smoking too. You have reactive airways so baby them a little.