The medications prescribed to Lindsey are commonly used to treat the viral respiratory infection she had, despite mistaken believes by Methuselah and cheech to the contrary. I’m a med student and as the prior poster suggested, ask your doctor if you have doubts about this.
Flovent is an inhaled glucocorticosteroid which is not a performance enhancing drug, unlike anabolic steroids which are strong performance enhancers. There is a huge difference between the two, which cheech doesn’t seem to understand.
Several years ago WADA noticed that athletes were using inhaled glucocorticosteroids at a higher frequency than the general population and suspected that inhaled glucocorticosteroids might be performance enhancers, despite medical experts telling them this was not possible. WADA went ahead and commissioned several studies (one of which I was part of). All of these studies concluded that inhaled glucocorticosteroids are not performance enhancers even if used in excess dosages.
The reason that athletes use inhaled glucocorticosteroids more than the general population, is that athletes who have exercise induced asthma will have difficulty with strenuous exercise and will seek out treatment. Most of the general population does not exercise strenuously, and those having exercise induced asthma do not realize they have this condition and therefore do not seek out treatment.
WADA was embarrassed that they missed this observation and they stubbornly decided to keep inhaled glucocorticosteroids on their prohibited list. WADA’s new explanation was that they now wanted to protect the athletes’ health and prevent some from using inhaled glucocorticosteroids without a doctor’s prescription and prevent others from using excess dosages. Never mind that it is unhealthy to take nearly all medications and many foods in excess.
So WADA does test today for unhealthy levels of inhaled glucocorticosteroids. As far as I know, WADA has never caught and suspended anyone whose inhaled glucocorticosteroid level exceed WADA’s threshold. But many athletes have been suspended for using an inhaled glucocorticosteroid without having first obtained the needed ATUE (Abbreviated Therapeutic Use Exemption). Also, inhaled glucocorticosteroids are only prohibited for in-competition use and do not require an ATUE for out-of-competition use.
Obtaining an ATUE to use an inhaled glucocorticosteroid only requires your doctor to sign a statement certifying the inhaled glucocorticosteroid being prescribed is medically appropriate. For more powerful Beta-2 agonists that are used to treat asthma, WADA requires the athlete to pass a bronchial provocation test or Bronchoconstrictor test to demonstrate need. But no such tests are required for the safer, milder and non-performance enhancing inhaled glucocorticosteroids.
WADA is only half heartedly trying to control unneeded or excess use of inhaled glucocorticosteroids by requiring a doctor’s signature, which they don’t bother to verify. USADA automatically approves ATUEs for inhaled glucocorticosteroids upon receipt, with no review whatsoever – other than checking that the application is completed and signed.
In summary, use of Flovent and Singular will not enhance anyone’s performance. As already pointed out above, page 12 of USADA’s legal brief explains in detail why “It would have taken an extraordinary and improbable series of acts and fortuities for Lindsey to have weaved a web of deceit to create the circumstances of this case in order to cover intentional doping.”
I’ll accept that conclusion by USADA’s investigators over the mere speculation of possibilities by a few anonymous letsrun posters who have made incorrect and misleading statements about Lindsey's treatment and about the medications prescribed to her.
