# Help, just diagnosed with Acute Bronchitis, Asthmatic Bronchitis...



## sneakyracer

Hi, I had a cold with coughing for about 5 days about 2 weeks ago, Monday I wasnt feeling too well, but not bad, throat felt a bit funny but not constricted at all so Tuesday morning went for a ride on a 20 mile very hilly loop near my home. I wasnt feeling strong but climbed pretty good. When I got home I felt very tired and later at night I had a nagging cough and the next day woke up spitting a lot of phlegm and feeling pretty bad and noticed congested chest when breathing out (if I breathe out hard I want to cough real bad, most times I have to). Today I went to the pneumologist and he tested my breathing, said it was low, at *70% lung capacity* and after a few other simple tests (listening to my breathing, o2 sat, BP etc) diagnosed me with Acute Bronchitis and Asthmatic bronchitis. He asked me if I ever had some symptoms of asthma like feeling slightly out of breath at times. I honestly dont know but sometimes caugh after hard efforts on the bike and spit clear secretions.

He prescribed me ADVAIR 250/50 (DISKUS), inhale one dose twice a day and a Nasal Spray (FLUTICASONE PROPIONATE).

I know I shouldve asked more questions but left in somewhat of a hurry because I had to go to a meeting. The doctor said that I might have asthma but this might have happened due to exposing my lungs to a lot of irritants right after a cold and my lungs didnt have time to fully heal. He said riding on the road a lot can do that since there is a lot of smoke, exhaust, road dirt/grime/dust. 

I want to know If anyone here has had a similar experience and any suggestions from a cyclist perspective are great appreciated.


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## Dajianshan

I have the same thing. It is usually a seasonal thing. The doctor gave me some powerful meds to get it under control (WARNING: Do not race on steroids... they don't help). I took a metered dose thing for a couple months along with an allergy tab before bed. Everything was brought under control. Be careful in cold damp air.


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## sneakyracer

I live in the tropics with a pretty constant temperature and humidity levels year round (75-85F deg, 60-90% humidity). ADVAIR seems to be working I can breathe in fully and exhale much more easily now.


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## Dajianshan

I am in the tropics too. 

I seem to have trouble two times a year. The moisture is what really does it. Advair works great.


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## rbart4506

Dajianshan said:


> I have the same thing. It is usually a seasonal thing. The doctor gave me some powerful meds to get it under control (*WARNING: Do not race on steroids... they don't help*). I took a metered dose thing for a couple months along with an allergy tab before bed. Everything was brought under control. Be careful in cold damp air.


What the heck does that mean??

I have seasonal allergies and am on a nasal spray that contains steroids...If I didn't take it I'd be plugged up solid...

You do what you need to do to stay healthy...

Now taking stuff to get an advantage when you don't need it is something totally different...


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## Dajianshan

The doctor gave me a whole pack of medication to bring my asthma from "out of control" to "managed" to "under control". 

If I recall correctly, one of the drugs was a steroid. The whole combination led to dehydration, insomnia... I didn't sleep for three days. I finally took a day off to get some sleep. 

Anyway

I had a race scheduled and asked the doctor it it was safe to ride. She said, "as long as you don't over do it." 

It was a race.

I made my way to the front of the pack. Had a great hill climb. Then the cramps and the chills... and my muscles started misfiring-- calf, ham, quad... then unclip... then the other leg... I dropped to 15mph and limped over the finish line in absolute pain and fatigue. It was only 70km. The doctor said the steroid will screw up the body like that and in combination with the antihistamine... I pretty much over did it. 

Anyway... you basically need to take meds to bring it under control.... as well as the Advair to maintain and possibly a 24hr. allergy medication. During the first two weeks try not to overdo it. The cure can be as bad as the affliction. 

This is my face at the finish line.


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## Dajianshan

You might want to check this out:

http://www.ginasthma.com/PatientGuide.asp?l1=3&l2=5
http://www.ginasthma.com/Userfiles/GINA_PatientGuide2007.pdf


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## sneakyracer

Dajianshan said:


> You might want to check this out:
> 
> http://www.ginasthma.com/PatientGuide.asp?l1=3&l2=5
> http://www.ginasthma.com/Userfiles/GINA_PatientGuide2007.pdf


Very nice links, thx


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## heathb

I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that you have asthma just yet. From what I can tell you had a virus move into your lungs with a resulting inflammation of the airways. 

Number one rule when you feel the least bit ill is to take the day off. If you had a cold I wouldn't ride until I felt very strong. Pushing yourself just invites a chance for the invading organism to stage another attack and start the whole mess over again. 

As far as asthma it would be better to see an immunologist that can test your lung function when you are 100%. Personally as someone that was born with asthma and has had it my whole life I identify anyone with asthma as someone that wheezes with various triggers, and there can be a long list of possible causes. 

Personally I wouldn't wish to take asthma drugs unless I was absolutely certain I had it. I spend about $1000 out of pocket each year after my insurance pays a large chuck of the cost. There's no generics on the market ever since they switched propellants away from CFC to HFA. And the greedy bastards that run the pharmaceutical companies won't let there patents expire even though they were supposed to back in 2010.


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## spade2you

heathb said:


> I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that you have asthma just yet. From what I can tell you had a virus move into your lungs with a resulting inflammation of the airways.
> 
> Number one rule when you feel the least bit ill is to take the day off. If you had a cold I wouldn't ride until I felt very strong. Pushing yourself just invites a chance for the invading organism to stage another attack and start the whole mess over again.
> 
> As far as asthma it would be better to see an immunologist that can test your lung function when you are 100%. Personally as someone that was born with asthma and has had it my whole life I identify anyone with asthma as someone that wheezes with various triggers, and there can be a long list of possible causes.
> 
> Personally I wouldn't wish to take asthma drugs unless I was absolutely certain I had it. I spend about $1000 out of pocket each year after my insurance pays a large chuck of the cost. There's no generics on the market ever since they switched propellants away from CFC to HFA. And the greedy bastards that run the pharmaceutical companies won't let there patents expire even though they were supposed to back in 2010.


Really doesn't have much to do with the drug companies. Environmental groups made CFCs forbidden, which meant that a lot of things needed to be redesigned with regards to propellants. There aren't many generics for Advair because it's very costly for another company to develop a similar delivery system and get tested for equivalence.


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## heathb

spade2you said:


> Really doesn't have much to do with the drug companies. Environmental groups made CFCs forbidden, which meant that a lot of things needed to be redesigned with regards to propellants. There aren't many generics for Advair because it's very costly for another company to develop a similar delivery system and get tested for equivalence.


Yes I know the propellent issue is being used, but don't you think if the companies let there patent expire surely someone would step up with at least a generic albuterol. 

I went from $12 for a three month supply of albuterol to $90 with copay and it the HFA doesn't work as well as the old CFC. All someone has to do is look at the consumer complaints http://www.consumeraffairs.com/health/hfa_inhalers_p2.html to see that the asthma community is being made to suffer at the hands of an idiotic environmental policy and yet another money grab by big pharma.

There's 20 million asthmatics in the US and many of them are low income. I keep running into people that have uncontrolled asthma simply because they can't afford the medications. And yet this problem wasn't nearly this bad before HFA was forced upon us. It's my belief that asthmatics have a basic human right to be able to breath and that should trump corporate profits.


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## sneakyracer

heathb said:


> I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that you have asthma just yet. From what I can tell you had a virus move into your lungs with a resulting inflammation of the airways.
> 
> Number one rule when you feel the least bit ill is to take the day off. If you had a cold I wouldn't ride until I felt very strong. Pushing yourself just invites a chance for the invading organism to stage another attack and start the whole mess over again.
> 
> As far as asthma it would be better to see an immunologist that can test your lung function when you are 100%. Personally as someone that was born with asthma and has had it my whole life I identify anyone with asthma as someone that wheezes with various triggers, and there can be a long list of possible causes.



I think I got this way due to being continually exposed to irritants due to riding on roads with traffic at least 4 times a week or about 5-10 hours a week. I just got over a cold and my airways were probably a tad irritated since I had a dry cough for several days after the cold. I stopped coughing about 10 days before tuesday so I though I was fine. I rode a few days last week also. But after Tuesdays ride I got sick really fast, during that ride a few dump trucks went by as I was riding and I couldnt avoid the smoke completely. 

I still feel a bit congested in my sinuses today with a somewhat stuffed and runny nose and some sinus pressure but my breathing has greatly improved from just 2 doses of the ADVAIR (one last night another this morning). I can exhale air from my lungs with MUCH greater force and without coughing right after. Huge difference from yesterday.


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## heathb

If you feel better after just two doses of Advair then I wouldn't have prescribed advair. 

Basically you're getting the effect of the long acting beta-adrenoceptor agonist, which is the salmeterol in the Advair. It has the effect of relaxing the smooth muscles that surround the outside of the airways. The thing you should also know is that long acting beta-adrenoceptor agonist have less effect on relaxing the smooth muscles with continued use. In that case it's better to jump over to a short-acting β2-adrenergic receptor agonist like Albuterol. 

The second drug in advair would normally take a couple of weeks for the Fluticasone to work, a corticosteroid, which is the anti inflammatory part by reducing swelling and mucous inside the airway. This type of drug seems to really show it's benefit after having been on it for 4 to 6 weeks with less need for a rescue inhaler(Albuterol).

Pollutants from vehicles could be affecting you, could you possibly find roads that are less congested with traffic?


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## sneakyracer

I feel better but not close to 100%, its just that yesterday I felt really bad. Yeah, the doc gave me ADVAIR for 2 weeks, after that period he will examine me. 

I will try to limit road riding on roads with traffic to once a week, saturday or sunday. There is a local park with a paved 10km loop of asphalt for bike riding only. I guess I can ride there during the week instead of riding with traffic. I will also try and do some mountain biking, its the drier season right now so trails should get into shape. This past year we had about 100 inches of rain where I live so the MTB trails got into really bad condition.


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## spade2you

heathb said:


> Yes I know the propellent issue is being used, but don't you think if the companies let there patent expire surely someone would step up with at least a generic albuterol.
> 
> I went from $12 for a three month supply of albuterol to $90 with copay and it the HFA doesn't work as well as the old CFC. All someone has to do is look at the consumer complaints http://www.consumeraffairs.com/health/hfa_inhalers_p2.html to see that the asthma community is being made to suffer at the hands of an idiotic environmental policy and yet another money grab by big pharma.
> 
> There's 20 million asthmatics in the US and many of them are low income. I keep running into people that have uncontrolled asthma simply because they can't afford the medications. And yet this problem wasn't nearly this bad before HFA was forced upon us. It's my belief that asthmatics have a basic human right to be able to breath and that should trump corporate profits.


Stepping up means investing a lot of $ at this point. Tablets are child's play compared to having to redesign inhalers under the new propellants. It really has little to do with the drug companies. Most of the generic companies don't have the ability do do the R&D. That's what the drug companies are for. Once the new patents expire, everything should be back to normal.


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## shoerhino

sneakyracer said:


> I think I got this way due to being continually exposed to irritants due to riding on roads with traffic at least 4 times a week or about 5-10 hours a week. I just got over a cold and my airways were probably a tad irritated since I had a dry cough for several days after the cold. I stopped coughing about 10 days before tuesday so I though I was fine. I rode a few days last week also. But after Tuesdays ride I got sick really fast, during that ride a few dump trucks went by as I was riding and I couldnt avoid the smoke completely.
> 
> I still feel a bit congested in my sinuses today with a somewhat stuffed and runny nose and some sinus pressure but my breathing has greatly improved from just 2 doses of the ADVAIR (one last night another this morning). I can exhale air from my lungs with MUCH greater force and without coughing right after. Huge difference from yesterday.


I had the same problem. For many years, I would cough a little bit before and after exercise but my key symptom (looking back) was how much cold air bothered me. Anything below 50 was very hard because I coughed quite a bit. I just thought that the hard exercise in the cold air didn't agree with me and never thought about asthma.

This spring, I started feeling tight in my chest when moving from a cold environment to warm environment or when going outside. I went to the doctor and he prescribed me advair, which helped lot, but going to pulmonologist really made the difference. The pulmonolgist tested me for allergies and as it turns out, I have a lot of them, which probably contributes to the problem. It's really about someone helping you figure out the factors you have and helping you to control the condition with medication.

When I first took advair, I could feel the difference in hours. I've been on it for a about 8 months now and it works very well to control the symptoms. I can even ride bicycle on 50 degree days with relatively few problems. I used to ride on the roads quite a bit but started to ride on a local trail for the last few years. Given my allergies, the road might be easier for me!


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## twinkles

I've been gargling vodka when I get a sore throat for years, and haven't had any crud get into my lungs since. My experience is that the crud starts in my head & throat, then works it's way down to my lungs. But If you can stop it in your throat, and perhaps catch a little buzz, why not? My wife and friends are using my technique with good luck also. This won't help you now, but maybe in the future.


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## heathb

twinkles said:


> I've been gargling vodka when I get a sore throat for years, and haven't had any crud get into my lungs since. My experience is that the crud starts in my head & throat, then works it's way down to my lungs. But If you can stop it in your throat, and perhaps catch a little buzz, why not? My wife and friends are using my technique with good luck also. This won't help you now, but maybe in the future.


Why not just use a stainless steel tongue scraper. You're right in that most people myself included have a lot of mucous at the back of there throat. I scrap back there daily and get all that gunk out and haven't had to use mouthwash for more than a year since I started doing it. It gives a much cleaner feeling than mouthwashes. Most of these mouthwashes with alcohol aren't good for the cells lining your mouth, gums and throat.


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## twinkles

I'm not saying use it constantly. I only gargle booze when I've got a sore throat. That scraper isn't going to help you, once you've caught the latest bug that's going around. The goal is to avoid getting crud in the lungs & decreasing the severity of a sore throat. 

I'd consider getting a tongue scraper, if they made them out of ti.


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## heathb

shoerhino said:


> I had the same problem. (looking back) was how much cold air bothered me. Anything below 50 was very hard because I coughed quite a bit. I just thought that the hard exercise in the cold air didn't agree with me and never thought about asthma.
> 
> This spring, I started feeling tight in my chest when moving from a cold environment to warm environment or when going outside. I went to the doctor and he prescribed me advair, which helped lot, but going to pulmonologist really made the difference. The pulmonolgist tested me for allergies and as it turns out, I have a lot of them, which probably contributes to the problem. It's really about someone helping you figure out the factors you have and helping you to control the condition with medication.
> 
> Given my allergies, the road might be easier for me!


The cold air has less moisture, as a result of rapid breathing your lungs rapidly dehydrate and it's thought that this is a trigger for exercise induced asthma(one of the reasons that a hot shower(breathing in steam) will often help an asthma attack as well). Many asthmatics do much better breathing though a fairly thin mask during the winter as it humidifies the air. Warming up on the trainer before you go out is also a good idea and that something I do as well. 

I'm allergic to just about everything under the sun, but I take allergy medication during the fall, spring and summer. I don't really have to during the winter because the pollen counts are low when everything is froze over. I also drop my dose of Flovent during the winter because I'm not dealing with allergies more than just needing puff off the albuterol to free up the lungs before I go out and ride.

You might consider getting a good hepa air filter for your house and bedroom.


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## heathb

twinkles said:


> I'd consider getting a tongue scraper, if they made them out of ti.


You're in luck they make them Ti as well, but there a little pricey compared to SS, the Ti is 40% lighter so you should be able to carry it in your saddlebag. 

http://shop.tonguesweeper.com/Model-Ti-MA-TI-4-0-0-1-00-00.htm


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## tone12

Dajianshan said:


> The doctor gave me a whole pack of medication to bring my asthma from "out of control" to "managed" to "under control".
> 
> If I recall correctly, one of the drugs was a steroid. The whole combination led to dehydration, insomnia... I didn't sleep for three days. I finally took a day off to get some sleep.
> 
> Anyway
> 
> I had a race scheduled and asked the doctor it it was safe to ride. She said, "as long as you don't over do it."
> 
> It was a race.
> 
> I made my way to the front of the pack. Had a great hill climb. Then the cramps and the chills... and my muscles started misfiring-- calf, ham, quad... then unclip... then the other leg... I dropped to 15mph and limped over the finish line in absolute pain and fatigue. It was only 70km. The doctor said the steroid will screw up the body like that and in combination with the antihistamine... I pretty much over did it.
> 
> Anyway... you basically need to take meds to bring it under control.... as well as the Advair to maintain and possibly a 24hr. allergy medication. During the first two weeks try not to overdo it. The cure can be as bad as the affliction.
> 
> This is my face at the finish line.


Sounds like one of the drugs was prednisone. That steroid can definitely get your body racing and cause some sleep issues.


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## sneakyracer

I feel worlds better today and have for 3-4 days. I have been sleeping well and taking it easy for about 9 days now. Really had to control myself from doing any aerobic exercise. I have been doing air mini squats, calf raises, some full air squats and some pushups almost every day. 

I have continued inhaling ADVAIR twice a day. 

I feel perfectly normal with the except of the occasional coughing to extract some clear mucus. I have had none of the thickish, yellow/green mucus that I had when this all started and zero low grade fever for a week. I feel quite strong actually. 

So, I will go on a easy, flat, familiar 30 mile road ride tomorrow morning. I will absolutely NOT push it and if at any point of the ride I feel "funny" I will turn around immediately. Will report tomorrow.


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## Dajianshan

Sounds like it is back under control. 

Good to hear.


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## tednugent

sneakyracer said:


> Hi, I had a cold with coughing for about 5 days about 2 weeks ago, Monday I wasnt feeling too well, but not bad, throat felt a bit funny but not constricted at all so Tuesday morning went for a ride on a 20 mile very hilly loop near my home. I wasnt feeling strong but climbed pretty good. When I got home I felt very tired and later at night I had a nagging cough and the next day woke up spitting a lot of phlegm and feeling pretty bad and noticed congested chest when breathing out (if I breathe out hard I want to cough real bad, most times I have to). Today I went to the pneumologist and he tested my breathing, said it was low, at *70% lung capacity* and after a few other simple tests (listening to my breathing, o2 sat, BP etc) diagnosed me with Acute Bronchitis and Asthmatic bronchitis. He asked me if I ever had some symptoms of asthma like feeling slightly out of breath at times. I honestly dont know but sometimes caugh after hard efforts on the bike and spit clear secretions.
> 
> He prescribed me ADVAIR 250/50 (DISKUS), inhale one dose twice a day and a Nasal Spray (FLUTICASONE PROPIONATE).
> 
> I know I shouldve asked more questions but left in somewhat of a hurry because I had to go to a meeting. The doctor said that I might have asthma but this might have happened due to exposing my lungs to a lot of irritants right after a cold and my lungs didnt have time to fully heal. He said riding on the road a lot can do that since there is a lot of smoke, exhaust, road dirt/grime/dust.
> 
> I want to know If anyone here has had a similar experience and any suggestions from a cyclist perspective are great appreciated.


I have had asthma all my life, and my exercise-induced asthma hits me pretty hard (especially climbing hills).....

anyway, to help fully diagnose asthma, there is a series of tests that can be conducted, which includes the "Methacholine Challenge", where you breathe via a nebulizer and each "test" they try to force an asthma attack with increasing concentrations of methacoline.

the abnormal difficulty breathing, coughing & coughing up mucus can be a can of asthma, in particular exercise-induced asthma....

asthma medicine can be quite expensive...
Advair retails for around $300 (no generic available)
Albuteral HFA is around $100 (no generic available)
At least the Flonase, is available in "generic" brands, which saves you a lot of money.



spade2you said:


> Really doesn't have much to do with the drug companies. Environmental groups made CFCs forbidden, which meant that a lot of things needed to be redesigned with regards to propellants. There aren't many generics for Advair because it's very costly for another company to develop a similar delivery system and get tested for equivalence.


If you break down Advair to is 2 main components:
Flovent & Serevent.... there is no generic version for Flovent nor Serevent either.


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## Dajianshan

Ah! The American system. I paid $15 for mine.


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## enki42ea

My Albuterol is still the CFC version, might be expired though.... So glad my asthma is under control.

But back to being on topic, don't you have to do the methacholine challenge when not under the influence of drugs or is it just the short acting rescue inhailers like Alberterol? I was always told to avoid using my meds before the test.

There is a very big side benifit to taking the test if you are asthmatic, being in a controlled enviroment and knowing precisly how bad you are doing can give you a better feel of how you need to treat an attack. For example mine is mostly exercise induced and I know that I can get down to a certain point and still recover reletively easily with rest. The people who panic when they get asthma attacks even when not really that bad are the ones who will have the most issues.


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## heathb

enki42ea said:


> My Albuterol is still the CFC version, might be expired though.... So glad my asthma is under control.


Your CFC inhaler is most certainly expired unless it's from overseas where they don't care about banned inhalers....China!

When you get ready to buy another inhaler with the new HFA propellants get ready for a major price increase. 

I used to buy CFC Albuterol generic inhalers for $12 a year. The new HFA inhalers now cost $540 a year for 1 inhaler every 2 months.


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## Gnarly 928

heathb said:


> I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that you have asthma just yet. From what I can tell you had a virus move into your lungs with a resulting inflammation of the airways.
> 
> Number one rule when you feel the least bit ill is to take the day off. If you had a cold I wouldn't ride until I felt very strong. Pushing yourself just invites a chance for the invading organism to stage another attack and start the whole mess over again.
> 
> As far as asthma it would be better to see an immunologist that can test your lung function when you are 100%. Personally as someone that was born with asthma and has had it my whole life I identify anyone with asthma as someone that wheezes with various triggers, and there can be a long list of possible causes.
> 
> Personally I wouldn't wish to take asthma drugs unless I was absolutely certain I had it. I spend about $1000 out of pocket each year after my insurance pays a large chuck of the cost. There's no generics on the market ever since they switched propellants away from CFC to HFA. And the greedy bastards that run the pharmaceutical companies won't let there patents expire even though they were supposed to back in 2010.


 I have to go to Mexico for my medical needs. Asthma inhalers, same company (glaxo) are $4 each in Mexico. They are $14 co-pay with my insurance in the US. and the insurance company will only pay once per month. I have to re-visit a doctor once per year to get my script renewed...even though I have had this Asthma for 15+ years.... Antibiotics are about $8 for 100 caps of Amoxicilin (sp?) or Keflex or whatever...After the doctor visit here in the US...probably $100 bucks+ for the same pills. Eyeglasses are about $50, including the exam and the frames. $30 to extract a tooth about $70 for a root canal and filling.

I needed some dentistry and some antibiotics and some Asthma juice last fall, so I drove to Algodones, near Yuma, from Portland, Oregon. Got my stuff and my bridges made, spent about a week riding near San Diego, drove home and saved well over $3000 to boot. Lovely system when you have to drive 1500 miles to go to the dentist....

I control my asthma with Flovent and sometimes Albuterol..

A joke, our medical services in the US. Algodones is mobbed by Americans, they fly in to Yuma and take 'Medical tour busses' over the border for their health care....most have insurance or Medicare...but save a bundle even so.


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## heathb

Gnarly 928 said:


> I have to go to Mexico for my medical needs. Asthma inhalers, same company (glaxo) are $4 each in Mexico. They are $14 co-pay with my insurance in the US. and the insurance company will only pay once per month. I have to re-visit a doctor once per year to get my script renewed...even though I have had this Asthma for 15+ years.... Antibiotics are about $8 for 100 caps of Amoxicilin (sp?) or Keflex or whatever...After the doctor visit here in the US...probably $100 bucks+ for the same pills. Eyeglasses are about $50, including the exam and the frames. $30 to extract a tooth about $70 for a root canal and filling.
> 
> I needed some dentistry and some antibiotics and some Asthma juice last fall, so I drove to Algodones, near Yuma, from Portland, Oregon. Got my stuff and my bridges made, spent about a week riding near San Diego, drove home and saved well over $3000 to boot. Lovely system when you have to drive 1500 miles to go to the dentist....
> 
> I control my asthma with Flovent and sometimes Albuterol..
> 
> A joke, our medical services in the US. Algodones is mobbed by Americans, they fly in to Yuma and take 'Medical tour busses' over the border for their health care....most have insurance or Medicare...but save a bundle even so.


And this is why are system in America is a complete joke and why we spend billions upon billions for healthcare that could be made much cheaper. 

What can you say about healthcare when you can't go back to school, you can't change jobs, you can't do anything without thinking about how you're going to pay for your medical expenses. It's crushing our economy in so many ways and limiting our freedoms. 

I


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## tednugent

heathb said:


> Your CFC inhaler is most certainly expired unless it's from overseas where they don't care about banned inhalers....China!
> 
> When you get ready to buy another inhaler with the new HFA propellants get ready for a major price increase.
> 
> I used to buy CFC Albuterol generic inhalers for $12 a year. The new HFA inhalers now cost $540 a year for 1 inhaler every 2 months.


...and it seems like the CFC inhaler is more effective than the HFA inhalers....


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## heathb

tednugent said:


> ...and it seems like the CFC inhaler is more effective than the HFA inhalers....


You are correct. Despite pharma has to say about the new HFA working just as well as the CFC. 

There are thousands of complaints that the HFA inhalers don't have enough force to deliver the medication http://www.consumeraffairs.com/health/hfa_inhalers.html. Your technique needs to be perfect otherwise your just coating your tongue when it comes to the HFA as it's a very wimpy propellant. 

Most everyone I've run into uses a large needle to open up the tiny aperture that gets plugged easily in the plastic holder for the canister. It does help with getting a little more power on the puff and it doesn't clog as often.


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## Ivan Sanders

sneakyracer said:


> Hi, I had a cold with coughing for about 5 days about 2 weeks ago, Monday I wasnt feeling too well, but not bad, throat felt a bit funny but not constricted at all so Tuesday morning went for a ride on a 20 mile very hilly loop near my home. I wasnt feeling strong but climbed pretty good. When I got home I felt very tired and later at night I had a nagging cough and the next day woke up spitting a lot of phlegm and feeling pretty bad and noticed congested chest when breathing out (if I breathe out hard I want to cough real bad, most times I have to). Today I went to the pneumologist and he tested my breathing, said it was low, at *70% lung capacity* and after a few other simple tests (listening to my breathing, o2 sat, BP etc) diagnosed me with Acute Bronchitis and Asthmatic bronchitis. He asked me if I ever had some symptoms of asthma like feeling slightly out of breath at times. I honestly dont know but sometimes caugh after hard efforts on the bike and spit clear secretions.
> 
> He prescribed me ADVAIR 250/50 (DISKUS), inhale one dose twice a day and a Nasal Spray (FLUTICASONE PROPIONATE).
> 
> I know I shouldve asked more questions but left in somewhat of a hurry because I had to go to a meeting. The doctor said that I might have asthma but this might have happened due to exposing my lungs to a lot of irritants right after a cold and my lungs didnt have time to fully heal. He said riding on the road a lot can do that since there is a lot of smoke, exhaust, road dirt/grime/dust.
> 
> I want to know If anyone here has had a similar experience and any suggestions from a cyclist perspective are great appreciated.


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## Ivan Sanders

After suffering from increasing acute breathlessness / conjested chest for over six months I was becoming increasingly worried particularly as I can't usually take mainstream medicine as I'm chronically allergic to most of it having extremely little by way of an immune system. I could not even walk for more than a hundred yards without resting.
Experience has taught me that countless times illness is due to allergy, and sometimes a newly developed one - eg. drinking coffee once disabled me with rheumatoid arthritis! I could barely get out of bed let alone go cycling. I have now been completely cured of that for over twenty years, simply by limiting myself to one cup / day. 
Cure usually begins with a theory, and is often not achieved until many experiments have been carried out. Often when success is achieved the determined cause is seemingly insignificant and sometimes quite outrageous. So I've learned to be totally open minded.
I theorised that since becoming single I had not kept my place clean enough, particularly with regards to vacuuming carpets and general dusting. So I made more effort on that score. Alas no health improvement. 
I then removed all 108 or so deep standing keys from my computer key board and gave it a thorough clean out. The mess under the keys was substantial. Did it also house some kind of mites?
Anyway, literally within 24 hours after that clean out I became 90% well, and completely well within 48 hours.
Writing this even I struggle to believe the efficacy of my words. But they are true. Poor health is not something to joke about.


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