After a dedicated summer and a decent start, my times have plummeted. I am a senior in high school and am running slower than my freshman times (think 2 minute slower 5ks). What kind of treatments can I do, to hopefully recover somewhat and be ready for my final track season? BTW i will admit this is self diagnosed as I went to the doctor for EIA but inhalers have done nothing and a breathing test showed that the inhaler was not helping me.
I am skeptical to self diagnosing. The same with all the people who think they have allergies, but they do not.
A second opinion from a real doctor wouldn't be bad.
Ok. So I've got PVFM. And yes, inhalers won't help. But I would seriously recommend going to a doctor and having them diagnose you, because you need to be referred for therapy, which will help you gain control of episodes (often you'll go to speech therapy)
Absolutely not. My daughter was diagnosed with vocal cord dysfunction a few years ago. Initially she was thought to have exercise induced asthma and was prescribed an inhaler, to no avail. She then was referred to a pulmonologist who diagnosed her with VCD. He referred to a speech therapist who was able to get her on a treadmill with an endotracheal camera so she could see what was actually happening with her VCD under heavy exercise. The speech therapist then worked with her on a number of breathing techniques to retrain her vocal cords to properly open and close. She would practice these techniques everyday and also use them during her training runs and races. She has also seen a sports psychologist who was familiar with VCD as this is really a mental / subconscious issue...this has been a really important aspect of her conquering VCD. You just need to have it properly diagnosed and work with the appropriate doctors that are familiar with treating it. Good luck!
Dan C wrote:
A second opinion from a real doctor wouldn't be bad.
Bump!
Highly recommend a speech therapist! I work in sports med and have seen multiple runners diagnosed with asthma or allergies, given inhalers, etc. and FINALLY had (quick) results with speech therapy. It was pretty amazing to see as I was not familiar with VCD at all.