New diagnosis.

Hi,

I'm new here & currently going through a diagnosis process, but my Doctor is fairly set on his opinion that I am asthmatic.

He's asked me to get a chest X-Ray done as he thinks I have a mild crackling right lung, so wants to check for an infection there.

I also have to go back for a Spirometry, which I gather is some kind of air flow test.

He has precribed me an inhaler also.

All of these points are fine, but i'm trying to seek opinions from an exercising perspective.

I ride and race MTB's, and as a result do a lot of training, up to 200km a week, of varying sorts; base, intervals, fixed power etc. I've always struggled with my riding peer group, all of whom seem be be able to do half the volume of training I do & can perform better.

One of the guys was in a similar position to me a few years ago & once the diagnosis had come out and treatment was undergone his riding was almost turbocharged & he came on leaps and bounds in a short space of time. I have also heard similar stories elsewhere of large gains, almost like a 'shackles off' feeling.

Can I expect this to come at some point? I've always struggled despite the volume of training I do with the usual symptoms. It would be nice to benefit from the diagnosis and reap the rewards of being able to breath properly

Thanks

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I can comment a small amount on the bike related exercise (I do road bikes). When ive not had any medication (inhaled steroids, salbutamol etc) my lungs felt like they burn and id be out of breath when i do exercise, before id have even broken a sweat!... but when i take my prescribed medications and then take a pre-emptive puff or two of salbutamol prior to exercise, its a completely different scenario. No tightness, no burning, and i dont get out of breath until i really exert myself.

So perhaps its worth really trying with the inhalers, getting rid of the chest infection and learning about yourself and symptoms, and how to control/get on top of them.. and you may well see some real good effects, and being diagnosed with asthma may well be a charm.

Good luck!