I was told by an asthma Dr. that the inhalers will not help if taken before. You must take it when the symptoms start. If this is true do they help you race better if taken before a race?
Are there studies?
How much do they help?
How long does the benefit last?
Is it albuterol that is illegal?
It seems like this may have been thought to help at one time and new studies say it does not.
Can anyone help with this info.
Inhalers do not help if taken prior to symptoms showing up…the albuterol is to treat the symptoms, not the cause.
I need to take this a couple of times a year (spring and fall) and I hate it. It makes my heart race and I don’t like using it when I train or race. It’s been said that it has benefits for some people when taken before a race so I believe it is a banned substance. I’ve never seen any benefit from using it. I try and stay away from it as much as I can.
Dan
This is not true. Before I started using Advair, I always successfully pre-treated with a puff of Albuterol and I still do if conditions are bad (ie cold air or high ozone levels).
I am not familiar with the actual rules around the use of albuterol, but I know there have been issues with it’s use as a PED. I believe that if a doctor has prescribed it and you remain within the prescribed levels and give appropriate notice to the overseeing organization, its fine. But there have been numerous threads about the need for age-groupers to submit TUEs, which I don’t care to get restarted.
But can anyone tell me why it is banned. If it does help. Is this just old school info. If it does not help why is it still banned?
It’s banned for people who don’t medically require it as they may take it in large doses in an effort to enhance their performances.
If you take it, get a TUE sorted out.
If you don’t understand why you are taking it, go ask your medically qualified doctor and not randomers on a tri forum.
Again, I am a patient - not a doctor - so this is anecdotal. I can’t vouch for any professional studies on albuterol’s use as a performance enhancing drug, but as dteed mentioned, it does make my heart feel like its racing, so I try to limit my intake. Almost feels like way too much caffeine, so perhaps its “performance enhancing” effect is like that extra boost.
I just found this interesting article, which talks about the efficacy of albuterol in a prophylactic use for exercise-induced asthma and the amount of time it takes for the drug to pass through the body.
http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/albut1_cp.htm
I find it a bit concerning that your doctor told you there was no preventative effect. I’ve had asthma for 30 years and have been using albuterol preventatively (and to treat symptoms) as long as its been commercially available. I have switched to Advair for preventative use because it does not have the same jittery effect on me.
I agree with mlbdenver, I avoid taking mine iof at all possible because I hate the way it makes my heart race and it leaves me all shakey.
That being said, I carry one with me on the bike and have one in each transition bag just in case! Not in case I’m too slow, but in case I’m wheezing. 
Would large doses improve their performance? Or is this just hear say?
Yeah, shaking is better than death.
Why do you want to know?
Would large doses improve their performance? Or is this just hear say?
I have always heard that it was a PED . But I was talking to a speciallist and she told me it would have no affect. So I’m asking it just seems to me that it may be able to be taken off the list
I have asthma and have been using albuterol preventively for a few years now. I dont know why your doc told you it wouldnt work becuase it does. Im not going to say much as it would just echo what others have said but if you truly are suffering from asthma then I would give it a try. It has helped me tremendously and if I do have an attack while training its much less severe than if I had not taken a puff or two before starting.
It absolutely helps as a pre-treatment. I also find that I need it again on the start of the run, for some reason that transition makes my asthma appear. It is not banned provided you can provide documentation from a physician that its for medical reasons.
Its a dialates the bronchials so it can do that even if you dont have an attack, thats why it works.
Like mlbdenver, I have used albuterol as a preventative before exercising for many years. I know from experience of forgetting occaissionally that it does work as a prophylactic. For triathletes this means using it at least once a day, often twice. Most doctors would advise against daily use because this is their signal that your asthma is not “controlled”. But if you have EIA the only real way to keep it controlled is to stop exercising.
I have noticed that it is more effective if used after symptoms start. I don’t know what sort of performance advantage one would get from it, as far as I know it only dialates the bronchial tubes, if you don’t have asthma, they should already be dialated. My wife who doesn’t have asthma tried mine once, it did improve her peak air flow by about 5%, but I’ve read that aerobic exercise is not limited by breathing in people with normal lung function, so getting a bit more air in the lungs every breath shouldn’t be performance advantage.
My Doc says take two puffs before exercise; my asthma tends to be exercise induced when I’m pushing it.
I haven’t really questioned this and sometimes do it, sometimes don’t depending on whether I remember.
As someone who has had asthma and participated in sports his whole life, I can tell you that your doctor is wrong.
have switched to Advair for preventative use because it does not have the same jittery effect on me.
Here is a brief primer on asthma treatments.
Asthma is 2 components, a constriction of the muscles surrounding the airways AND inflammation or swelling of the actual airways themselves.
albuterol is a short acting beta agonist aka fast acting inhalers or rescue medication. They do not provide long term control of asthma symptoms hence people tend to need to use these multiple times per day. This is a sign of an uncontrolled asthma patient. The guidelines call for no more then 2 puffers per year. If you are using more then this you might need to be re-evaled for the severity of your asthma. rescue meds relax the airway muscles.
The steroid component of Advair is a corticosteroid to reducing swelling of the airways. Inhaled corticosteroids are probably the best long term option for treating asthma based upon the current guidelines and the preferred method currently. If you can prevent swelling then you should not need a rescue med or so the thinking goes.
Advair contains a long acting beta agonist and a steroid to help reduce bronchial inflammation. Both Advair and albuterol can have beta mediated side effects. The LABA is a better option for prevention as it helps to relax the muscles lining the airways thereby preventing a constriction event such as a bronchospasm.
No one seems to know why it is a PED
.
There are quite a few drugs on the banned list that have no (proven) ergogenic effect.
There are drugs NOT on the banned list that have a proven ergogenic effect.
There is some evidence that beta2 agonists have an ergogenic effect (shown to increase sprint power in at least one study on humans) and there is plenty of evidence that in rodents and some farm animals that beta2 agonists have a repartitioning effect. However, there is also evidence that while it is repartitioning it decreases aerobic enzymes and causes a decrease in performance (in the rodents).
There is some evidence that beta2 agonists have no ergogenic effect on (healthy) humans.
There are some data using modified beta2 agonists for the repartitioning effect in humans with some experimental beta2 drug (no idea what became of it).
If you need to use a beta2 agonist and/or a corticosteroid inhaler, then you need a TUE - it doesn’t matter what level of athlete you are.
Some beta2 agonists are allowed in competition and some aren’t (names are likely to be different outside of the UK).
Always check with your governing body and don’t forget your TUE.
Ric