Sure, please dissect my post. It is a small piece from a longer blog post, which is the non-scientific user friendly version of a 55 page meta-analysis.

Please read the post in it's entirety as well. Please keep in mind the goal of the thread. I am on here because I do not believe the OP needs to suffer asthma in ironmans. You appear to be on here to pick on me for trying to help someone. That is unfair, and low.

If I am presenting quackery (according to you), then maybe quackery isn't such a bad thing? After all, if you are not a quack - I am happy to be separated from the likes of you.

I am not suggesting use of some crazy oils, or herbal remedies, or even anything spiritual or anything in terms of alternative medicine at all actually.

Asthmatics breath too much. They loose too much water with each breath. I simply reversed that by reducing my breath and breathing through my nose, and becoming hydrated? I don't see the quackery?

Is it because I wanted to be a great athlete and refused to suffer from an illness that was obviously not necessary (which I realized because I did not suffer to it prior to a 3 month extreme heat exposure) and refuse to give up on my goals in life and sport?

Well if that makes me a quack - then I am very happy to be a quack. I am also even happier not to suffer from asthma. I am here to share my experience in hopes that to help another person. I gain nothing from that but the satisfaction of helping other people in need. Let me guess, that makes me a quack too?

Once again, what's your contribution to this thread?

I have mild asthma on a regular basis that gets bad when the exercise induced component gets mixed in. My last three Ironman races were affected by asthma to some degree. At IMAZ I had to stop at about mile 80 on the bike for several minutes to get my breathing back to normal. I didn't have my rescue inhaler with me and it was kind of scary. Ironman Canada 2013 I crossed the finish line and had to be taken to the med tent to get my breathing under control. Ironman Florida a couple of months later had me walking for a mile or two in the middle of the run in order to get my breathing under control.

So yes, I have experience in the matter.

So my "help" and advice is much like others... Kathy should seek the advice of a doctor. Dr. Lo was far too diplomatic in his response to you because he's a caring professional. I'm not so your advice from above was mostly a big steaming pile of bullshit. That's what he really wants to say to you but can't.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

Okay, I hope I did not come across wrong. I can get defensive (as you may have noticed!). I do apologize.

I am really just trying to help. I feel for people who go through this. I can see how you or others may be offended and may immediately reject my ideas. Asthma is so harsh and tough to deal with - that once you accept it you will quickly frown upon suggestions like mine.

Here me out. I was told my asthma was also exercise induced. I learned that in the literature. It all came down to hyperventilation.

The higher your heart rate, the more you breathe. This is hyperventilation. This aggravates the asthma, because the person gets dehydrated quickly. Add on this the sweating in the event. You can see where I am going!

So exercise induced makes much sense in my proposed model.

I was a horrible asthmatic. I know how it feels. I initially went to University as a young punk who just wanted to swim and run varsity. I actually fell in love with learning too!

I sat out one varsity season because I could not train due to asthma. There were many swim sets where I would give it my all but no matter what I would have an asthma attack. That year I really studied. Not just my sports science courses - way beyond.

There was one in particular - I came to call it the asthma inducer lol. 30 x 50m dive start sprints on 60. The coughing by various swimmers by rep 15 was enormous. Though I made it many times, there were some ugly times. Once I ended up in the hospital on oxygen. Most times by stopping and slowing my breathing I would be okay, but not always. That's before I learned the root cause of asthma. Something had to give. The doctors did their best, I tried every medication. I got worse.

So I decided to see what science had to say. It had a lot to say, it just took a lot of reading!

I think you may have misunderstood my intent. Of course written communication loses a lot.

I have lots wrong with me. I've had tons of accidents (skiing and cycling) that have led to all sorts of lingering issues. I have heart problems, lung problems (I lived beside an asbestos mine for a while as a kid), asthma, heart problems, arthritis etc etc.

Yet, for almost 25 years I managed to get up every day, push myself to my feeble limits and give it a damned good go. I was a thoroughly addicted but mediocre triathlete

For ones limits, I include things like work. Trying to get training fitted around a job can be a right royal pain, and limit what we can achieve. Likewise, family can be a limiting factor. One of the reasons I was crap at tri was because I willingly gave up evening workouts when one of the kids would ask for a bed time story, or just to cuddle on the couch. Geography/climate is another limit imposed on us. Hard to go for a long bike ride after 30cm of snow fell last night. There are all sorts of limits on each of us. Slowtwitch helps us all to get over or around our limits and become better than we were yesterday. That is one of the great things about ST, we all (more or less) bring our experiences to the table so that others can learn from our own mistakes and successes, so we all win in some way.

In spite of the limits each of us have imposed on us, we can only do the best we can. Some limits are more obvious than others, but we are all limited one way or another, and we can all just do what we can with the limits we each have. Our limits should not stop us pursuing our dreams or enjoying our lives, but we need to acknowledge that they exist and to be happy and satisfied with doing our best each day.

It was not my intent to put anyone down or to discourage anyone, just to highlight that we all need to be happy with doing our best within the limits our own lives.

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TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

You know how best your 55 page meta can help people? Don't present it that way. I read your "paper" and to it I say, "What are you saying?" Help people who you have the true ability to help, i.e. the people you see and test face to face. Pulmonologists don't dx people from afar and neither should you. The best advice you can give to your triathlete asthmatics is this: "Learn about you (Perceived Exertion) and when you feel like you are breathing too hard, back off." Tell it to THEM. And one last clarifier for me, if I breath through my nose when doing a long run will I need less electrolyte? Just wondering because I have not done the lit review...the kidneys are kind of far from there.

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Swimmer
http://www.usprotri.com/LAMASTRA.html
http://www.bodyphyxinternational.com