Is it the notorious E.I.A??

February 24, 2010 11:00 AM

Bronchial irritation is cramping my (workout) style - is it an exercise class from hell, weed, humidity, or a combo of all there?

I've been exercising pretty consistently for a while now (a few times a week,) but, upon hitting a plateau, decided to up the game a bit. So, for the last four/five weeks or so, I've added Spinning to the mix which I LOOOOVE, and which has consistently left me feeling like a badass.

Problem is that I took a body conditioning class last Friday which consisted of a lot of cardio intervals (jumping jacks, toe taps on a bosu, sprints,) that left me wheezy and hacky, and like I was my 6th grade fattie self again. A doc way back when told me I had exercise induced asthma but I never used an inhaler, and I have been able to lose weight every now and then with mild cardio/weight combinations like dance, yoga, etc.

I took a few days off cardio after the body conditioning class from hell but when I went Spinning today, I felt like my chest and lungs were incredibly irritated and that I had severely reduced aerobic and fitness capacity as opposed to last week (my body and legs were was definitely struggling in a way they haven't before, too)

So, my question is - what the hell is going on? Have I triggered some sort of ashtma attack that has left my bronchial passages feeling battered and scarred? I didn't have this feeling pre-conditioning class and I don't really have the means to get to a doc right now, so I'm at a loss for what to do. Should I just take a brake from hardcore cardio-ing and stick to stuff like yoga for a bit? Possible factors:

1) I do smoke weed, a few puffs maybe every few days. But I've done this for the past year or so and it hasn't really hurt me....though I did smoke after that conditioning class, stupidly, so maybe it irritated my airways even more? I also felt a little lightheaded the next day but it felt more like I was sick/had a cold vs. not having enough oxygen or something

2) I got up 45 minutes before my class today and literally inhaled half a pb & j before class...I tend to wake up earlier and have a proper breakfast before class, but could this have affected my air capacity though?

3) Its raining today...could added humidity have played a part?

I've looked through some other threads and haven't found anything fitting my situation. Any insights would be very much appreciated!!

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (10 answers total)

IANAD but my guess is that your exercise-induced asthma is being exacerbated by smoking weed. It sounds like you should try an inhaler, give up/cut down on smoking, or both.
posted by pintapicasso at 11:24 AM on February 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

I also felt a little lightheaded the next day but it felt more like I was sick/had a cold vs. not having enough oxygen or something

Maybe you were sick/had a cold. Take care of yourself for the next week or so food/sleep-wise and see what happens. I doubt weed has anything to do with it.
posted by ludwig_van at 11:47 AM on February 24, 2010 [1 favorite]

I get asthma sometimes, for no apparent reason, throughout the year. I used to just use a rescue inhaler when I needed it, but my new doc recently mentioned that an OTC antihistamine like ceterizine can help a lot with inflamed bronchials and lungs. I tried it, and glory be, the wheezing is gone. I take it once a day, usually at night before bed, to take good advantage of any sleepiness it might cause. After a few days I'll usually skip a day to see if whatever causes my asthma to come and go has caused it to go. If so, cool. If not, I start again the next day. I also got ear canal blockages at night a lot, and the ceterizine takes care of that too. I know I sound like a paid representative here (I am not) but it really has improved my life dramatically.

Lots of things can irritate "reactive" (doctor word for you there) airways. Dust, dry air, wet air, cold air, pollen, etc, etc. Basic treatment is pretty easy, and if it takes care of infrequent symptoms, there probably isn't much more a doctor can do for you anyway.
posted by rusty at 12:13 PM on February 24, 2010

"Ceterizine" is the generic name, btw. "Zyrtec" is the brand name, but it costs twice as much as the generic. As far as I know, it always comes in 10mg doses. Probably Claritin would do the same thing, but Claritin makes me loopy.
posted by rusty at 12:15 PM on February 24, 2010

If you're exercising and having trouble breathing, I'd kill the weed. It's arguably worse than cigarettes in terms of the crap that it leaves in your lungs and it sort of boggles my mind that you'd try to condition your body while simultaneously holding yourself back. You should be helping your body to recover after exercise, not hindering what you just accomplished.

Possibilities 2 and 3 have almost nothing to do with your respiratory problems. Unless you're moving to something like 85% humidity I doubt you'll see much of an effect in your breathing unless you run all the time and are intimately aware of how many breaths you require at a given pace, etc, etc.

IANAD, but at his point I'm just going to guess at what might have happened based on some things that I do know. Immediately following a workout - especially an intense one - your immune system is slightly compromised. Your lungs are working hard to bring oxygen to your depleted body; they're really trying to suck this stuff out of the air. Then you take some puffs. The smoke gets into your lungs and damages your throat a little. Normally, it's fine, but in this case it was just enough to make you a little sick. You healed and got over it in a day or so, but your body is still trying to repair itself after fighting off whatever illness you'd got and now your going to have to wait a few more days before you can spin effectively again. That being said, if your condition persists for more than a few more days (without smoking!) or if it noticeably worsens, you should probably see a doctor.
posted by scrutiny at 1:51 PM on February 24, 2010

As a person with mild asthma, I can tell you that an asthma attack feels like your chest is constricted, like you can't breathe deep enough and something is squeezing your airways. Plus the wheeziness. From experience I know it's very hard to diagnose asthma unless you're actually in the middle of an attack when the doctor looks you over. An asthma attack leaves me very light-headed and sore in the chest even after recovery.

In good health and warm weather, my asthma only bothers me during intense aerobic activity (like running). Rather than pumping my system full of regular long-acting steroids, I much prefer just having a rescue inhaler on hand to puff once in a blue moon, when I really need it. Long-acting medicines are more for when you're using the rescue inhaler daily.

If this only happens to you during your most intense aerobic workouts, why not ask your doctor for a prescription for a single rescue inhaler and see if that helps. Take it before your workout. And perhaps try to warm up a bit before the workout, get some light cardio in before going full-tilt into the intense workouts - I've found that helps quite a bit, the strain on my breathing is more gradual.
posted by lizbunny at 2:39 PM on February 24, 2010

You have previously been diagnosed with exercise-induced asthma. Twice recently when you exercised, you got asthma. Simple as that.

You need a rescue inhaler. If you have a really serious attack while exercising, Very Bad Things could happen.

Smoking pot will definitely not help the situation. Smoke aggravates your lungs. If you could switch to brownies, or give it up altogether, it will help.
posted by ErikaB at 7:18 PM on February 24, 2010

I'd also recommend getting an asthma MedicAlert bracelet. They sell them at pharmacies (OTC obviously) and they don't cost much. Slip it on before you start exercising.

If you go into a full-on attack, you may not have the breath to say "I have exercise-induced asthma, please call 911." Handy to be able to just point to the bracelet.
posted by ErikaB at 7:21 PM on February 24, 2010

A vaporizer is a good compromise between smoking and giving up cannabis altogether. The Vapor Genie is a quality portable hand-held flame-fired one, and not too expensive.
posted by telstar at 11:16 PM on February 24, 2010

I highly recommend vaporizers. I've had the best experiences with the Aromazap and others of similar construction.
posted by ludwig_van at 6:53 AM on February 25, 2010