HALIE GEB HAS ASTHMA???

been waiting for this reply. thank you!

Flonase and albuterol. I used the flonase daily until sometime in November and the albuterol before workouts and races.

The first time it happened, I was running an interval workout that I'd finished each of the two preceding weeks. Suddenly, it felt like a belt was tightening around my chest and I just stopped running after 10 minutes or so. After three weeks of trying to figure this out, and another four weeks on the meds, I felt better and did some good threshold runs but never tried any interval type stuff again.

I used the albuterol regularly for a while, and felt like it helped, but I think the flonase made a bigger difference. Go figure. I'm not sure I gave it enough of a chance, however. I thought I'd miraculously take 10 minutes off my half marathon or something, but of course that never happened. I'm going to train for a spring marathon, so we'll see things go then.

ehhhhhhhhhhhh wrote:

Some steroid-based asthma based medications could be considered performance-enhancing.

I am getting tired of reading people who see the word steroid and automatically assume it is performance-enhancing. The steroids used in treatment of asthma are not ANABOLIC steroids; they are CORTICOSTEROIDS (more specifically GLUCOCORTICOIDS) and function mainly to reduce inflammatory response and limit allergic response. They do not boost testosterone levels, they do not boost muscle growth, they are not a form of cheating. Just because you see the word steroid does not mean it is the kind used by body builders or used for performance-enhancement. "Steroid" merely refers to a chemical moeity consisting of 4 rings. Cholesterol contains a steroid ring. Is cholesterol a performance-enhancing substance?

So to re-iterate: steroid-based asthma medications are not performance-enhancing. They contain glucocorticoids which are not the same as anabolic or performance-enhancing steroids.

*moiety