All in all I have changed my life alot. On top of being fat I drank WAY to much and I smoked 2 packs a day. Well I gave up smoking about a year and a half ago but at a cost. I developed asthma from it, so I had some help quitting heh. Now that I decided to change my weight I gave up drinking and started the atkins diet about a month ago. I started walking two days ago and I decided to start slow and walked about a mile each day but the problem is with it being cold and me having no health insurance at the moment I have no advair so I am having to use emergency inhalers as a daily medicine instead of using them as..well..emergency inhalers. But to the point...In the cold I end up having to take a puff about three times on a walk and in the end I still feel like I did nothing. I dont feel tired or sweat or even like I did anything. And on top of that I am wasting my precious supply of abuterol. I was wondering if anyone knows if an exercise bike or treadmill would be a better solution. Not that I could probably afford one of those but I could still try. I really want to exercise but I have to think of my medicine supplies even more.

If it's the exercise itself that is making you out of breath, then that probably won't be helped by getting an exercise bike or a treadmill. Aeorobic exercise gets your heart rate up and makes you breathe harder.
But since you mentioned that its cold out, that probably has something to do with it. It's harder to take in enough air in the cooler weather. Try wrapping a scarf around your so you can pull it up to your face or see if your local mall opens early for walkers. Most of them do.
No matter what, you are doing great so don't stop the exercise.

Yeah it is the cold thats causing it. The only time I get out of breath from working(exercise, moving things etc.) is when its really intense stuff so I am hoping for some warm days here.

Hi,

I have asthma, have had since birth.

I have 3 types of inhaler, a preventor(steroid), a protector(salmeterol) and a reliever(Ventolin).

The preventor and protector I take first thing in the moring and last thing at night, if I am not doing any cardio that day I do not need to use anything else all day.

On cardio days I will take the Ventolin 15 minutes before starting and this will generally see me through an hour of intensive cardio no problem. Take yours 15 minutes before you start, dont try and kid yourself that you can get away without using it, it is not going to happen.

Dont use asthma as an excuse not to do the cardio, it is the most beneficial thing you can do for asthma. You will make your lungs stronger (just like working muscles) and us asthmatics need all the help we can get. The cold shouldn't really be a concern.

Cheers
Mike

I have exercise-induced asthma and it is a real problem for me when I have to exercise in the cold, especially when it's dry cold. When I couldn't afford a gym, I bought a mini-trampoline and bounced on it every day. They would only last about two months before breaking, but that was still cheaper than paying for a gym membership, and I could exercise inside.

I've been lucky this winter--my gym has an "open" plan built around the indoor pool. This keeps the air nice and moist, which is important for me. I've hardly had an attack since I started running at the gym, and I'm pushing myself pretty hard.

Best of luck with this, I know what a pain in the a$$ it can be.

Emily

Thanks for the responses guys. But Mike the cold does have everything to do with it in my case. Its a catalyst to setting off my ashtma. I dont have raging ashtma in the sense that I need daily medication. I use(if I had insurance) advair once every three days and when I used that I didnt use abuterol. But now I dont have advair so the only thing I can do is wait till my lungs start closing up and hit the albuterol and wait. I dont know the medications you are taking but I know my albuterol doesnt protect against anything, it just stops it. If I took a puff and then started running around outside in the cold I would still have to use it again 10 minutes. Working out indoors where it is warm doesnt cause me to need to use my medication.

I think you've answered your own questions DEM. You can't walk outside without needing to use up too much albuterol. And if you exercise indoors you don't need the albuterol. And you can't afford the Advair to prevent needing the albuterol when you walk outdoors.

I think are right on the money when you say you need to work out indoors right now. How to do it is the problem judging from your post due to financial concerns.

If you really have no other way of exercising indoors, go to a building supply store and buy a concrete block (should be less than a $1 or $2). Use it as a step and walk up and down it, doing a step workout, like in-place stair climbing. Or find stairs somewhere that you can use to walk up and down to work out. Running in place, jumping rope, all low-cost indoor workout options.

Good luck! I have asthma too, I know what a pain it is!

Interesting that all my life my doctors told me that my weight didn't have anything to do with my asthma, but not too long ago I read there actually is a large correlation between overweight and asthma. You could say it was the asthma causing the overweight, but I really think it's the other way around, no matter what the doctors say. I think being overweight somehow makes us more prone to asthma. Off topic, and only my own personal (and uneducated) opinion based on my own experience.

Valerie

Well I can afford some things, just not work out equpiment like treadmills/bikes ect. And Advair costs about 220$ per prescription off of insurance so im getting the royal screw job there heh. I was thinking maybe tae bo or something.

Dem
Good luck with your work outs...i have a small touch of asthma also.. with me just losing 13 pounds it has helped with my breathing...I think being over weight does have an effect on asthma..seems it makes it harder to breath...any little bit of exercise you can do will help your breathing...

Dem

I also have asthma, and cannot be out in very cold weather - triggers an attack.

Have you thought about mall walking? Doesn't cost anything, and many malls have programs.

P.S. We just had a cold snap here, and I didn't have any attacks. Not sure if it's this WOL, but that's the first time I haven't had a problem in January or February for years!!

I wonder about the weight/asthma connection. My asthma has gotten a whole lot better since I started running back in September. Before that, it was still a huge pain despite losing more than 20 lbs on Atkins.

But then again, my snoring--gone. And I know that's because of weight loss. <scratches head...>

Yeah when I was diagnosed with asthma it came as a huge shock to me. I have been heavy most of my life and never ran into it before and then it just happened out of the blue. But after taking advair my snoring stopped and now that I have lost about 12 pounds I notice its easier to breath as well when I do start running a little short on breath.

DEM -

First of all, way to go on quitting smoking!!! I too have developed asthma as a result of smoking, quitting and starting again. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to quit successfully so I am using the lowest dose of Advair 2x daily. In the past, my Dr. has given me free samples of Advair - does that sound like an option for you?

Another suggestion..look into natural remedies for asthma.. such as Breathe Easy Tea, etc.

In regard to exercise, I used an elliptical machine for the first time today and found I could go for 35 minutes without getting winded or getting my heart rate up to high.

You may want to check into buying a used treadmill, elliptical machine, etc.

Finally, I don't know what your situation is, but have you checked into getting low cost medical insurance or assistance through your state, etc?

Good luck and again, WAY TO GO on quitting!!!

Insurance is funny like that. I applied for kaisers personal advantage plan and got denied because of my weight and asthma...go figure. When you NEED health insurance you are denied and when you dont they are more then happy to have you...damn healthcare system heh. BUT I was covered under HIPAA so when I called and asked why I got denied they said that was for the personal advantage plan I got denied for. But I still get the same plan automaticly under HIPAA...for the low price of 377 dollars a month! Great if I was Bill Gates.

I tried Tae Bo and its a little intense for me. I was lazy for so long I get light headed and feel like crap doing Tae bo so its back to weights. Weight lifting doesnt seem to cause me to need medicne.

I was thinking about looking into low cost insurance but advair is so expensive im not sure how much it would help. Primatine mist seems to be working well right now. I am saving what I have left of my abuterol for emergency situations but then again I have never had an emergency but who knows what could happen. I would love to be able to afford a treadmill but I cant right now. Well not one that isnt a piece of crap.