How are your lungs?

What is the average peak flow reading for a 25-30 yr old male?

I went to a walk-in clinic the other day after feeling a lot of tightness in my chest, but the nurse there said my peak flow reading of 500-520 was completely normal. Looking at that graph, it seems quite low....

My knowledge of pneumophysiology is pretty amateur, but I'm guessing that it's not crap in your lungs.

It could just be exercise induced inflammation, because your lungs aren't used to doing what you're suddenly asking them to do.

Hm, so I take it the answer is HTFU and do more laps. Fortunately I've forgotten the pain already haha!

What is the average peak flow reading for a 25-30 yr old male?

I went to a walk-in clinic the other day after feeling a lot of tightness in my chest, but the nurse there said my peak flow reading of 500-520 was completely normal. Looking at that graph, it seems quite low....

When I was actually fit I was pushing 750. 500 sounds about right for an average person. Before I had my asthma treatment and breathing exercises I'd struggle to get out 350

I've recently developed exercise induced asthma - probably brought on by the hot weather and shitty air quality.

It's meant that I can't do nearly as much running or any serious efforts on the bike, and I can end up either a wheezing mess, or a chest spasming wreck.

I've been given a peak flow meter, and am monitoring output before & after salbutamol.

Today was 600 (normal for my height & age is 660). After was 720.

http://www.peakflow.com/top_nav/normal_values/PEFNorms.html

tl;dr I'm entering the TdF with a TUE.

That's strangely the complete opposite to me. Before I commuted to work every day via bike (started 6 months ago, haven't been on the train since) I have effectively cycled off my asthma.
Last year I developed what was called "night wheeze" by my doctor, he put it down to allergies, I have hay fever etc. So I had a peak flow which led to me getting a pump, anyway after wheezing my way through the commute for a few months which also brought on exercise related asthma, it just suddenly disappeared. My tight throat/lungs/whistling/wheeze symptoms have stopped and I've never felt better.

I'd be really interested in what your doctor has to say about possible causes and how you get as the weather cools off.

tl;dr Would like to avoid the wheeze again because it sucked a bag of dicks.

I also have low level rhinitis. A real pain as exercise, particularly cycling hard, makes it far worse. Anything effective at giving some relief beyond the usual stuff like Beconase? I tried spraying a saline rinse up there for a while and didn't see any particular improvement.

I have been asthmatic my entire life, and I have found sport to stave it off for the most part. It usually bothers me more in colder weather, but I have salbutamol for attacks and Qvar (beclometasone dipropionate) to take tegularly. Not that I do most of the time #livingontheedge

Beconase?

That's clearly where I've been going wrong.

Ended up in St Thomas's overnight last week with a full blown asthma attack. This has a ramped up really quickly - had some wheezing after chest infection in November, an attack in December and now this. Am on all the drugs, but my peak flow is still only about 200 when I wake up and am struggling to do any exercise. Obviously not looking for online medical advice (GP's surgery monitoring medication really closely and am due to go St Thomas's asthma surgery, so am happy on that front) - but any practical experience/ reassurance of managing asthma for cycling / life would be welcome. The cold seems to make it much worse.

I take it you've had asthma before??

I've had pretty mild asthma all my life. I don't use a brown inhaler but I take 1 puff of my blue (salbutamol or ventolin) inhaler before most rides. My asthma tends to be slightly worse in the cold too. I also tend to really make a conscious decision to take a few deep slow breaths as soon as I wheel my bike out the front door. After that I'm normally Ok and can go as hard as I like without a wheeze. Its if I go off hard straight away with no inhaler puff first, I get a wheeze. Or get over excited if I'm racing someone..

No - it's come from nowhere in the last couple of months. I don't think I've got the habit of taking the blue inhaler BEFORE I start wheezing, so will definitely do that.

Yeah defo have a puff before anything even semi strenuous! Its what my doctor advised me many moons ago. If its just a slow trundle to a pub/ shops or something don't bother.

I've also had intermittent asthma for the last forty years or so - sometimes months without a problem, sometimes needing an inhaler every few hours. FWIW, cats, dogs and exercise in cold air provoke an attack for me, and sometimes moving from cold air to warm & humid (e.g. straight from bike into pub in winter) but a blue inhaler keeps it all manageable. As mentioned above, a pre-exercise puff generally works, and if I don't anticipate sufficiently it just means a few minutes looking at the view instead of pedaling while waiting for Ventolin to do it's thing.

If you have any choice, go for proper Ventolin - generic salbutamol inhalers use the same active ingredient but Ventolin supposedly uses a much finer powder which disperses better and penetrates further.

tl;dr asthma = scary but can usually be managed. Carry inhaler and carry on.

Im in a similar boat to Itsaboutthebike. But I was never advised to take a puff before exercise until the last couple of years since changing GP. Definitely recommend doing it this way as Itsaboutthebike says. 6 hours on the bike and no issue what so ever after that initial puff.

And it definitely flares up more so in the cold air but that initial puff before exercise should keep it at bay.

I like to have a puff before exercise... :)

I've recently developed exercise induced asthma

Code for "my TUE for salbutamol is sorted, i'm totes gonna rip it up this year, bitches!"

How do you measure it? Get on a bike and then exhale into a special machine?

I save it for after

I had spirometry to measure forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and the forced vital capacity (FVC) - the total amount that can be forcibly breathed out.

This is a before & after test, with the after being 12 or so puffs on a salbutamol inhaler, and a 15 minute wait*.

I had something like a 15 %- 20% increase incapacity after using the puffer.

It's very rare that I have an attack, and it's exercise induced (other that when the air quality is shitty), so I avoid using it and train without an inhaler.

I tend to race without too, but only because I forget where I put it.

* Which had me shaking like a meth head going cold turkey.

Did. Not. Feel. Good.

Pfff, just get more... And enough for during to.

#poloisexercisetoohonest

Exercised induced asthma normally manifests as wheezing, tightness etc after exercise has stopped right? And it should respond to a blue inhaler yeah?

Sorry if I ramble on a bit here, just wonder if anyone else has experienced what I am and has any advice.

My doc gave me an inhaler and a vague diagnosis of "possibly asthma" a few months ago when I'd had a cough I couldn't shift for a month or so and had started feeling tightness in my chest.

The inhaler seemed to have an immediate effect in that I'd been having coughing fits throughout the night but taking a couple dunts (through a spacer device) as prescribed before going to bed saw me have a peaceful night's sleep.

Eventually the cough went away and I experimented variously with taking a dunt before exercise, taking a dunt when I got a wheezy feeling following exercise etc and none of it ever made a noticeable difference so I kinda gave up on it and infact gave the inhaler to my wife (who has more severe and properly diagnosed asthma) as a spare.

However, I have noticed for a while that it's my breathing that I feel is holding back my performance on the bike at times. Legs feel fine but just can't seem to process enough oxygen to keep things going if that makes sense? I think the OP mentioned gasping for breath and riding partners are having no such problems, definitely noticed that.

Felt kinda like this this afternoon. Rode 35ish km at a pretty brisk pace, felt ok while doing that, struggled a little on some hilly bits but not too bad. Then jumped off the bike and climbed a small (<400m) hill on foot and was breathing out my arse while the 2 other's I was with carried on a conversation no bother. Started getting that 'feeling' in the top of my chest/bottom of my throat when trying to take deep breaths, not exactly pain, discomfort maybe?

Anyway, chilled at the top, walked down by which time I was feeling a bit better, back on the bike and another reasonably brisk 30ish km cycle feeling like I was managing to breathe alright but then got on a train to come home and felt like I couldn't fill my lungs more than half way or that chest/throat feeling came back pretty badly.

Had to ride a little after getting off the train and had someone else to keep up with so had no choice to breathe a bit more deeply and it was ok.

I probably need to revisit the doc and start carrying the inhaler with me again eh? Interesting to read someone say that hot weather affects their asthma, wonder if it could be that today...

I think there's something going round. I've never had lung / breathing problems. Had a dry hacking tickly cough for months, which then blocked my eustachian tubes, think there was definitely an upper respiratory infection going round as the boss has it now and he's fit as a flea normally. I had a chest xray which showed nothing so think its higher up the system!

Tried hitting the inhaler before (and during) a ride last week and felt like it allowed me to utilise more of my lung capacity so went to the doc for a chat as I wasn’t too clear on how to be using the inhaler, how long a dose would last for etc.

Doc reckons she should be able to improve my situation, she has prescribed me a brown clenil inhaler, a peak flow meter, a spacer device and has booked lung function tests at hospital.

I’ve to do peak flow tests morning and night for three weeks before starting with the clenil inhaler.

Doc was quite surprised by the result of the peak flow I did for her at my appointment.

Think it’s was 625 or thereabouts.

The ones I’ve been doing at home have all been between 600 and 650.

Looks like I’m only just shy of the ‘norm’ level on the peakflow.com site which, for my age and height is around 665-670.

Still not too sure on how much I should use the inhaler.

Doc said it takes 20 minutes to take effect so to try taking two puffs 20 minutes before a ride and that that dose should last me 4 hours - can anyone offer real life experience to support or contradict this? But then she also said if I’m wheezing to take a hit and that it should be instant. So like, is it 20 minutes or is it instant?

I took further doses within 4 hours when riding last week (because I’d felt an improvement and wanted to maintain that improvement), probably took 6 puffs within 2 ½ hours. Still had a bit of that “feeling” in my chest when inhaling deeply at the end of the ride but it wasn’t too bad. Took the inhaler again after the ride to see if it’d remove that feeling and it didn’t.

I used to have a brown Becotide inhaler, similar (I think) to Clenil - used as a preventative, not for instant relief. Also had a blue inhaler for immediate effect - generic salbutamol never worked as well as Ventolin, apparently due to differences in particle size. As I remember they were distinctly different - I'd be surprised if Clenil works immediately, and I have clear recollections of headaches and palpitations from trying too much becotide when I thought it wasn't working well enough.
FWIW I appear to have grown out of asthma (probably a change of environment) - possibly your need is temporary or even seasonal?
It sounds to me like your doc is using a fairly broad and general approach: you need proper and more detailed advice from someone who knows...

Yeah sorry, all the timing stuff I talked about was for the salbutamol one.

She decided to give me a prescription for the Clenil then remembered that the peak flow should be done without the Clenil so although she still gave me the prescription she told me not to use it yet.

I’d probably agree with your broad, general approach comment, though it does seem a lot better than the last doc who was basically “eh, you might have asthma, take this salbutamol inhaler and see if it does anything”.

I think she expected me to do a lot worse on the peak flow so was a bit like “eh what do I do?” when I blew 625.

I think I’m only noticing my symptoms very recently as I’ve only just started doing hard rides with other people (ooh matron!). Before I’d ride by myself at a slower pace and if I got out of breath then I just chilled out but now I have others to make comparisons to.

Maybe worth saying, I’ve never (yet) felt like I needed to take an inhaler or anything in order to keep on breathing.