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@ASTTer
I’ve known I’ve had asthma for about 12 years but probably had it for quite a while before then. I’m lucky in that as long as I take my preventer inhaler (Symbicort) I don’t need a reliever, but I really notice if I miss a dose.
Things I’ve found help are getting a proper intensive warmup if I’m going to be doing a high intensity workout, and I’ve also had some success using a powerbreathe. I don’t use one currently as despite religiously following the cleaning advice found I seemed to get more chesty coughs when I was using it, but it definitely made breathing feel easier.
Diagnosis wise I’d say the important thing to remember is it’s not normal not to be able to breathe when you’re doing hard exercise. What was noticeable during my diagnosis was that the severity of it changed day to day, so one day I’d have a normal peak flow, the next day it would be considerably lower. I used to row and my 2k PB on the Concept2 is from before I was diagnosed, so you can do a lot without realising you’ve got it. I know Alex Gregory (2 Olympic Golds) didn’t know he had it until he nearly collapsed at a world under 23 final!