Is Albuterol Unfair

Yes, but don't admit to anything and when accused of gaining unfair benefits, make sure you bring up the sex life or psychiatric evals of your accusers.

Get it? Albuterol Salazar?

Not in prescribed doses

It opens up the air pathways, making breathing easier. It's also a stimulant and has minor steroid like effects. After being around track for 20 years I can tell who's on it by appearance. Albuterol users have lean stick arms and shoulders and emanciated faces.

AlSal's attorney wrote:

Yes, but don't admit to anything and when accused of gaining unfair benefits, make sure you bring up the sex life or psychiatric evals of your accusers.

Well, lets say your accusers are a husband/wife on thyroid meds, pysch meds, and taking asthma meds and then they point the finger at you (who really has asthma, really has a thyroid condition, and never "needed" antidepressants).

Another reason to involve psychiatric consultation in professional sports stems from recent reports that antidepressant drugs have been implicated as performance-enhancement agents. It is now well known that the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are recognized as first-line treatment for anxiety disorders and their various subtypes.12 Additionally, a selective serotonin-norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitor (SNRI), such as venflaxine, also has received approval for generalized anxiety disorders. Although this situation may sound counterintuitive or even absurd, consider the hypothetical example of a professional athlete who is anxious by nature but does not meet DSM criteria for an anxiety disorder. If this athlete is regularly competing on a public stage, he is likely to experience more anxiety than if working daily at a desk job. The more patients are symptomatic, the more aggressively physicians treat them. Are these athletes being given an unfair advantage if they can biologically increase their capacity to calmly compete in high-stress competition, even if the medication used is permitted? If so, who is ethically responsible to define this subtle issue and enforce fair policy? It seems that the burden falls less on the athlete, who is likely to be naïve to these implications, and more on the clinical experts who create policy with each sport’s governing body.

Another developing concern is the use of antidepressants for treating what is commonly termed over-training syndrome. Overtraining refers to a negative response to training stress and is often due to chronically high training levels without periods of lower training loads.12 Overtraining also can lead to fatigue and depression.13 It has been hypothesized that overtraining syndrome may involve disregulation of brain serotonin and neuroendocrine function.15,16 Treatment logically dictates that SSRIs and SNRIs should be effective, and these have anecdotally been reported to help athletes with this common problem.17 Moreover, the use of SNRIs for various pain conditions makes one consider if this class of drug can benefit endurance athletes who inherently cope with tremendous pain during training and competition. The question should be asked if the use of an antidepressant in these situations is fair.

Better Call Sal wrote:

It opens up the air pathways, making breathing easier. It's also a stimulant and has minor steroid like effects. After being around track for 20 years I can tell who's on it by appearance. Albuterol users have lean stick arms and shoulders and emanciated faces.

Have you ever had an asthma attack. Been to the ER for asthma?

No. In prescribed doses taken through an inhaler it provides no real benefit beyond preventing asthma. Not to mention it can't be "unfair" since it's legal and anyone can pick up an albuterol inhaler and take it in those same doses, so there's that...

I definitely never lost any weight on albuterol. I wish I did. I gained about 10 pounds coincidentally, just from graduating college and getting a real life job. I wish taking my inhaler helped me magically lose that weight. What a load of BS

When my asthma isn't bad I notice absolutely no difference between using my inhaler and not using it. Some hot days on longer intervals it can get bad and I just can't get enough air, I will use my inhaler. I'd almost say not using it makes me feel better because that means my asthma isn't acting up at all. No asthma > asthma + inhaler, at least for me.

It gives a significant advantage.

You think all AlSals group is magically risking the court of public opinion for no benefit....It has PROVEN endurance enhancing benefits

I had exercise-induced injuries that steroids could have prevented, would it be fair for me to take steroids?

Jagwah wrote:

I was diagnosed with mild exercise-induces Asthma when I was 9, and have used an albuterol inhaler before intense exercise, including running, ever since. I've had a fair degree of success in high school, and though I work really hard, I'm worried I may be getting unfair benefits. Is it ok for me to take it?

100% okay for you to take it. If you have an asthma diagnosis from a doctor, it's unfair to YOU to not take a medicine that gets you healthy enough to compete.

If you didn't have asthma and still tried to get albuterol, that's a different story.

Bad Wigins wrote:

I had exercise-induced injuries that steroids could have prevented, would it be fair for me to take steroids?

If you want to take albuterol to try and help your weak muscles and bones, more power to you.

oh come on guys wrote:

No. In prescribed doses taken through an inhaler it provides no real benefit beyond preventing asthma. Not to mention it can't be "unfair" since it's legal and anyone can pick up an albuterol inhaler and take it in those same doses, so there's that...

I definitely never lost any weight on albuterol. I wish I did. I gained about 10 pounds coincidentally, just from graduating college and getting a real life job. I wish taking my inhaler helped me magically lose that weight. What a load of BS

Some athletes take more than the recommended doses, but even at recommended doses the performance enhancing effects will be evident when taken while partaking in an intense distance running training program.

Salazar buys as much prescription drugs on the gray-market as he wants. The reason he wants used inhalers kept is so they can be refilled in his home pharmacy lab. Refilled with what exactly is the interesting question.

It is only fair if everybody can easily get it OTC.

Better Call Sal wrote:

oh come on guys wrote:

No. In prescribed doses taken through an inhaler it provides no real benefit beyond preventing asthma. Not to mention it can't be "unfair" since it's legal and anyone can pick up an albuterol inhaler and take it in those same doses, so there's that...

I definitely never lost any weight on albuterol. I wish I did. I gained about 10 pounds coincidentally, just from graduating college and getting a real life job. I wish taking my inhaler helped me magically lose that weight. What a load of BS

Some athletes take more than the recommended doses, but even at recommended doses the performance enhancing effects will be evident when taken while partaking in an intense distance running training program.

Find me one reliable source that says that inhaling 90 mcg of albuterol before exercise enhances performance in non-asthmatics.

And then send it to WADA while you're at it because if that's true it should require a TUE.

Of course, it's not true...