Froome and Me: A Salbutamol Story

[FlashUNC]

So for the last couple weeks I've been fighting off a nasty headcold/chest infection I picked up thanks to the wonders of in-flight air recirculation. (Flying really is amazing. You're in a chair five miles in the sky traveling at hundreds of miles an hour, but the seat is cramped and you get the same disease coal miners got a century ago. I digress.)

Anyways, the illness wasn't getting better, I wasn't riding, and The Boss recognized me as generally being a sick and cranky cuss. When the night sweats started, she immediately sent my stubborn butt to the doctor. Who prescribed antibiotics and salbutamol in an inhaler to help with my breathing.

Yes...that salbutamol.



Let me just say, the stuff is legit. I'm not an asthma sufferer by any stretch, but it opens up your lungs like nobody's business. How he could get a TUE to use this stuff during a stage is beyond me. I took a shot or two and suddenly felt like I could inhale all the oxygen on the planet. And I can't climb a hill to save my life. I can't imagine what this does to someone with the oxygen engine that Froome has.

So I can now say I've taken the same drugs as a pro and, from where I sit on the couch anyways, yes, there is some benefit. It at least helped me feel less like an elephant was sitting on my chest. But hey, we're on the same program!

[Elefantino]

I could have used some Salbutamol in the hills today.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by Elefantino

I could have used some Salbutamol in the hills today.

You rode today? You realize its like a million degrees out? (Its only been a year here and I've already turned into the stereotypical Bay Area weather wuss.)

[Elefantino]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

You rode today? You realize its like a million degrees out? (Its only been a year here and I've already turned into the stereotypical Bay Area weather wuss.)

Yep. Tunnel/Skyline/Grizzly to Centennial and back. It was 91 when I finished. I was breaking no records.

[sandyrs]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

You rode today? You realize its like a million degrees out? (Its only been a year here and I've already turned into the stereotypical Bay Area weather wuss.)

It was 96 in Boston today...

[dcama5]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

So for the last couple weeks I've been fighting off a nasty headcold/chest infection I picked up thanks to the wonders of in-flight air recirculation. (Flying really is amazing. You're in a chair five miles in the sky traveling at hundreds of miles an hour, but the seat is cramped and you get the same disease coal miners got a century ago. I digress.)

Anyways, the illness wasn't getting better, I wasn't riding, and The Boss recognized me as generally being a sick and cranky cuss. When the night sweats started, she immediately sent my stubborn butt to the doctor. Who prescribed antibiotics and salbutamol in an inhaler to help with my breathing.

Yes...that salbutamol.



Let me just say, the stuff is legit. I'm not an asthma sufferer by any stretch, but it opens up your lungs like nobody's business. How he could get a TUE to use this stuff during a stage is beyond me. I took a shot or two and suddenly felt like I could inhale all the oxygen on the planet. And I can't climb a hill to save my life. I can't imagine what this does to someone with the oxygen engine that Froome has.

So I can now say I've taken the same drugs as a pro and, from where I sit on the couch anyways, yes, there is some benefit. It at least helped me feel less like an elephant was sitting on my chest. But hey, we're on the same program!

Well, the answer is long. You benefit from Salbutamol because, like an asthmatic, there is a reversible component to your airway constriction. The beta agonist bronchodilators relax smooth muscle at the airway wall that constricts and causes the shortness of breath and the sensation of an elephant sitting on your chest. However, in a normal person without any bronchoconstriction, a beta agonist bronchodilator does nothing. That's because there is no constriction to relax at the smooth muscle around the airways. Therefore, if froome (or whoever) takes a couple puffs of Salbutamol during a race but does not have bronchoconstriction going on, he gets no increase in performance from bronchodilitation.

Now, with that said, there is a side effect with the beta agonists that is beneficial to the cyclist - beta agonists act as stimulants. Ask any mom with an asthmatic child getting Q2 hr albuterol treatments. the kid is climbing the walls 24/7. It's actually that side effect that the cyclist or runner is after when they get a TUE that was based on false info about asthma.

Clenbuterol is another story. It's a beta agonist bronchodilator with a poorly understood anabolic-type side effect where it causes weight loss while favoring muscle mass. the perfect pre-race preparation for the climber. It's banned in the USA.

[93legendti]

Inhalers made my heart race - I felt better when I got off them and felt like I could go harder because my heart rate wasn't artificially raised. Prednisone does the same thing to me. My Allergy Dr. always wants me to take 30mg to start a few days course when I have a bad flare up and I tell him 30mg keeps me up until 4:00 am, even 20mg can make it hard for me to fall asleep.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by dcama5

Well, the answer is long. You benefit from Salbutamol because, like an asthmatic, there is a reversible component to your airway constriction. The beta agonist bronchodilators relax smooth muscle at the airway wall that constricts and causes the shortness of breath and the sensation of an elephant sitting on your chest. However, in a normal person without any bronchoconstriction, a beta agonist bronchodilator does nothing. That's because there is no constriction to relax at the smooth muscle around the airways. Therefore, if froome (or whoever) takes a couple puffs of Salbutamol during a race but does not have bronchoconstriction going on, he gets no increase in performance from bronchodilitation.

Now, with that said, there is a side effect with the beta agonists that is beneficial to the cyclist - beta agonists act as stimulants. Ask any mom with an asthmatic child getting Q2 hr albuterol treatments. the kid is climbing the walls 24/7. It's actually that side effect that the cyclist or runner is after when they get a TUE that was based on false info about asthma.

Clenbuterol is another story. It's a beta agonist bronchodilator with a poorly understood anabolic-type side effect where it causes weight loss while favoring muscle mass. the perfect pre-race preparation for the climber. It's banned in the USA.

I both hate and love all the science just dropped in my tale of specious anecdotal evidence.

I doff my virtual hat to you sir.

[Tickdoc]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Yes...that salbutamol.



So I can now say I've taken the same drugs as a pro and, from where I sit on the couch anyways, yes, there is some benefit. It at least helped me feel less like an elephant was sitting on my chest. But hey, we're on the same program!

Yeah but how is your form on the bike?

[wtex]

Same here with the heart racing. Had an infection, and even if I took one puff of the sal/clenbutoral (2 puffs were prescribed), felt like I was going to explode. Don't care for the stuff.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by Tickdoc

Yeah but how is your form on the bike?

Better than his. I'm slower, but I darn sure look better.

[wallymann]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Better than his. I'm slower, but I darn sure look better.

made my morning! :-)

[soulspinner]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Better than his. I'm slower, but I darn sure look better.

[zennmotion]

Anyone who suffers from seasonal allergies should get some version of a neti/sinus saline wash, 15 bucks at any drugstore. It's not a magic bullet by any means, but it helps. A lot a lot, huge difference in my case. I'm not completely free of the heavy meds, but I need them a lot less now with a daily rinse once or twice a day when it gets bad, I can't believe it took me 50 years to try it. Sometimes simple and safe works.

[Geeheeb]

+1 neti pot supremacy