EXERCISING ASTHMA AWAY

I use to use my Albuterol or Ventolin inhaler an average of probably three times a day.

I’d use two or three pumps when I woke up, and one or two more times over the course of the day. I’d wake up hacking my lungs out coughing. I was allergic to dogs, cats, and dust. Running would set me off, too. Sometimes the attacks seemed to be random, caused by nothing at all. If I got a cold, it was real bad. I used a nebulizer a couple of times a year, mostly in the winter.

Then, about ten years ago, at 21 years old, I traveled away from home.

I had an asthma attack and none of my medication cleared yet, so I couldn’t use an inhaler. Luckily, it eventually subsided and my medication was cleared. Thanks to that incident, I decided that I was going to do everything I could to rid myself of that dependence.

That is when I got serious about getting fit, and more importantly, getting rid of my asthma.

I started by using my inhaler preventatively before I ran, then running as long as I could before I’d need the inhaler again as to build up my endurance. After a couple of weeks, I stopped using the inhaler beforehand. Instead, I stopped running when I felt like I couldn’t breath anymore, and I would wait for as long as I felt that I could before I used my inhaler for relief.

Eventually, my breathing was able to recover without any medicinal intervention.

The process took about two months of consistent (near daily) running/jogging. I still needed the inhaler occasionally in the winter, or when a cold got too bad, but eventually that subsided, too. It’s now been over almost a decade since I’ve used any inhaler, sick or not, and despite rigorous 5+ mile runs. I’ve even ran a couple of 5Ks without even thinking about using an inhaler!

In retrospect, I believe that I initially needed the inhaler when I was younger, but then my lungs had just grown dependant on it.

I had been using inhalers since before I entered elementary school, and came to use them anytime I was at all out of breath at all because that’s pretty much what I thought an asthma attack was, but as most people know, if you are active, sometimes you become out-of-breath. Duh. By the time I was 19, I also had a burning sore throat almost all the time, and now I know  that was definitely caused by the albuterol/ventolin inhalers because I haven’t had that issue since weaning myself off either.

I’m sure that my circumstances are not the same as everyone else’s, but I think going inhaler free is absolutely worth a try so I thought maybe my personal story was worth a share.

I love being able to be more physically active, not depending on having an inhaler handy, nor needing to use one preventatively. One of the things I am most proud of is the fact that I was able to overcome something that no doctor ever told me was possible through hardwork and perserverence. I hope my story helps others do the same.

...NOT THE END