View Full Version : Thru-Hikers with Asthma?
Are any of you that have thru-hiked asthmatics? I'm planning for 2006 or 2007, and I'm kinda worried about my asthma. I also have lots of allergies. (Plants, trees, dust, mold, pollen, you name it)
If you are, did you take medicines on your hike? I know some people think that meds make things harder for them. I'm currently on Advair, Allegra-D, some prednisone eye drops, theophylline, and Proventil/a nebulizer as needed. Obviously I won't be able to take the nebulizer with me, but I only usually need it in the winter when I get hit with all the sickness that goes around the university.
Thanks all. :)
I also have asthma and am planning a thru hike for april 2006. the Meds i take are Combivent, much better then Albutol,i would sujest that your Dr. put u on that. i also use the Advar disk it works good for a long acting med. i also use a nebulizer with DuoNeb in it. you can get a battery operated on too. Orian makes it. I an watching for one on Ebay. For a bad asthme attack you should get prednisone pills, i take about 60 mg if a attack hits. I am not worried about hiking with my asthma since i know how to treat it. Please dont let your asthma stop you from enjoying your life. Fell free to contact me if you want. Hope all this helps you. I can not wait to hit the trail!!!!!:banana
MDSHiker
11-18-2004, 11:39
I have asthma and enjoy all kinds of outdoor sports including backpacking. Stress seems to set off much of my asthma problems. I don't seem to have any trouble with it on the AT. :)
Just use your best judgement. You know your body better than anyone else. Take some long practice trips in preparation for the thru-hike and see how your body reacts. Yes, I take my medicine along on trips...why not? I rarely have to use it though. Take your med's along for the ride and have peace of mind. Where there is a will, there is a way.
When I started my thru in 2000 I knew I had emphesima. Two packs a day for 37 years. I had quit smoking six years earlier. I also had asthma and was a typical 62 year old COPD case but I wanted to hike the trail. Two days into my hike I was taken from Gooch Gap into Dalonoga by some friends who heard me coughing and hacking all night in my tent. I found I also had contacted pneumonia. I got a chest x-ray. a coryizone shot and a Z-pack and the doctor said to go back on the trail. That night it was 20 degrees and my water bottle froze solid in my tent up on Granny Top mountain. Except for being short of breath and having to rest every twenty five feet on every mountain all the way to Maine I did just fine. I never felt better and living outdoors, walking hard, and breathing clean air did wonders for my lungs. I was amazed in Virginia when I dove into a swimming pool, went to the bottom and was able to stay there for nearly a minute. My lung capasity was better than it had been for 30 years. All the way to Maine I was slow as heck going up hill but I kept a steady pace and made it. I also carrieed a 50 pound pack. I lost 55 pounds, took no medication on the trail and never felt better. Today I take Advair 250 twiice a day and carry abuterall for the few times I actually get short of breath. I carried medication on the trail but never needed to use it. After my hike the Govonor of Maine, Angus King, named me Maine's senior athelete of the year for completing an AT hike after quitting smoking and hiking the trail in my medical condition. Asthma must never be allowed to stop you. It may slow you down but if you don't try you will never succeed.
:clap
When I started my thru in 2000 I knew I had emphesima. Two packs a day for 37 years. I had quit smoking six years earlier. I also had asthma and was a typical 62 year old COPD case but I wanted to hike the trail. Two days into my hike I was taken from Gooch Gap into Dalonoga by some friends who heard me coughing and hacking all night in my tent. I found I also had contacted pneumonia. I got a chest x-ray. a coryizone shot and a Z-pack and the doctor said to go back on the trail. That night it was 20 degrees and my water bottle froze solid in my tent up on Granny Top mountain. Except for being short of breath and having to rest every twenty five feet on every mountain all the way to Maine I did just fine. I never felt better and living outdoors, walking hard, and breathing clean air did wonders for my lungs. I was amazed in Virginia when I dove into a swimming pool, went to the bottom and was able to stay there for nearly a minute. My lung capasity was better than it had been for 30 years. All the way to Maine I was slow as heck going up hill but I kept a steady pace and made it. I also carrieed a 50 pound pack. I lost 55 pounds, took no medication on the trail and never felt better. Today I take Advair 250 twiice a day and carry abuterall for the few times I actually get short of breath. I carried medication on the trail but never needed to use it. After my hike the Govonor of Maine, Angus King, named me Maine's senior athelete of the year for completing an AT hike after quitting smoking and hiking the trail in my medical condition. Asthma must never be allowed to stop you. It may slow you down but if you don't try you will never succeed.
:clap
Moxie..that was an amazing accomplishment. Congratulations on an incredible job. I take Avdair 250 also and I'm hiking fine with it. to the original poster I second the importance of acclimatization/shake-down hikes. C
schwenkler
03-31-2005, 13:10
My asthma is relatively mild, ie never life-threatening but I wheezed like crazy pretty much through Georgia. I think my mom forced me to take my inhaler, but I sent it home along with my cell phone.
Two things I learned:
-ultralight!
-like Moxie said, there's nothing better for your lungs than hiking. Shakedowns might help, but even if you don't train, the asthma will start to disappear as you get stronger.
Footslogger
03-31-2005, 13:46
My first questions would be how long have you been asthmatic and what triggers an attack ?? Asthma, depending on severity and induction mechanism is no longer the curse it once was. As a divemaster in the scuba world I see more and more asthmatics taking up diving and that was once a huge taboo.
Check with your physician/allergist and make sure you've got the right meds with you to deal with an attack (inhaler/tablets). There are wonderful allergy drugs now (some even OTC) of which you are/might be aware. Carry them with you and take them as needed.
Just know that some medications for asthma and allergies can zap your energy levels ...so plan your hike accordingly. Adjust your mileage downward so that you can still hike and enjoy yourself.
Take a slow, deep breath ...exhale slowly and have Happy Trails !!
'Slogger
AT 2003
Lumberjack
03-31-2005, 14:49
First see your doctor and explain exactly what you plan to do. Make sure your asthema is well under control with current meds.
Omron makes a very light weight Nebuliser (ru-22 ?) for about 250.00 or so.
There are several inhaled powders that dont require a neb but youll have to manage the meds because they take a bit of space in quantity.
Prednisone is a very evil drug... stay as far away from it as possible! a rare small amount can do wonders but the more you take of it the worse the side effects become. (and there are alternatives a pulmonologist can give)
Mountain Hippie
03-31-2005, 17:32
As you can tell from other posts there is really no "one" drug or treatment that works universally for all patients. The triggers and possible under underlying illnesses are different from person to person. As has already been said, seek the advise of an Allergist and/or a Pulmonary Specialist. Standard/Family Physicians sometimes don't have the training that is required to properly diagnose and treat Asthma and related issues. The answers are out there, you simply need to look in the right places.
New drugs and treatments are emerging everyday and most people can live a normal life and not be held back by Asthma. My wife has had severe Asthma for 30 years. The first twenty of which she was hospitalized at least a dozen times with complications that arose from an Asthma attack. The last ten years have been much smoother. She still has an occasional attack but is now better equipped/educated and can deal with it in a quick and safe manner.
Someone mentioned Prednisone. Yes it can be a blessing and a curse in the same package but other drugs can be as well. Corticosteroids are commonly used to deal with a specific occurence and sometimes for maintenance. Different allergy meds are also commonly used to keep a patients Asthma under control. When talking to a specialist make sure you give him/her "ALL" the "need to know" info about your lifestyle. Also make sure that he/she explains how the meds he/she prescribes are going to affect or alter that lifestyle. As I said every case is different and your treatment should be tailored to fit "you".
My main point is seek the advise of a Cardiopulmonary specialist. I am fortunate that I have an in house specialist available to me. I married one. Your results may vary. ;)
P.S. Lumberjack is right about nebulizers. They are now produced in smaller, lighter versions for an active lifestyle. Affordability may be a deciding factor for you, but weight and size no longer should be. :)
The one downside to Corticosteroid use (like the Advair I take) that I've heard about it is an increased occurence of glaucoma. I haven't really researched it (since Avair truthfully has been a life-saver) but I intend to, especially if it looks like I'll be on Advair maintenance long-term. C
StarLyte
04-01-2005, 08:36
Are any of you that have thru-hiked asthmatics? I'm planning for 2006 or 2007, and I'm kinda worried about my asthma. I also have lots of allergies. (Plants, trees, dust, mold, pollen, you name it)
If you are, did you take medicines on your hike? I know some people think that meds make things harder for them. I'm currently on Advair, Allegra-D, some prednisone eye drops, theophylline, and Proventil/a nebulizer as needed. Obviously I won't be able to take the nebulizer with me, but I only usually need it in the winter when I get hit with all the sickness that goes around the university.
Thanks all. :)
I live with asthma. Let me ask you one question: Have you ever backpacked, and I mean carry a pack up a mountain on the AT? If you haven't, you better get your butt out there and do that first. Your lungs are under a lot of stress and you're talking carrying 30+ lbs. up a mountain. My first time going up a mountain took me all damn day. It felt like I couldn't get enough air. I repeatedly stopped over and over again. But check this out: NOT ONCE did I have to use my albuterol-I NEVER had an asthma attack on the Trail either. I do however use Advair 500/50 and I took a Claritin D every day. BTW, flat land walking, treadmill, does NOT compare to hiking up the mountain. Every spring I have to work out just to be able to backpack. I'm from Cleveland Ohio so living here in the winters suck. WHEN I COME OFF THE TRAIL from a hike, my complexion is radiant, I was breathing like a 10 year old. Wait until you see what this fresh air does for your lungs. HIKE ON !!!! (Marsha) :clap
orangebug
04-01-2005, 09:56
I have some allergy and exercise induced asthma. Running tends to bring it out, along with grass and cat dander. The first day or two of hiking usually results in hacking cough and expulsion of mucous plugs.
No, I am not pleasant to be around.
Afterwards, I've been good to go, having no problems around shelter and hostel cats - ever. Yet I'd never leave home without a rescue inhaler. It is just too easy to use and too inconvenient to be carried out by my friends.
Toolshed
04-01-2005, 10:59
For your nebs - Try This (http://www.xopenex.com/) with less of the side effects found in Albuterol!!!!!
I have asthma and emphesima. I'm so old that when I was born Benton Mckay was still in nursery school and the Appalachians were at least 1000 feet higher than they are now. However I still hike with a heavy pack. The secret of good hiking with any lung problem is to put yourself in the care of a good specialist in that area, take all the tests, and follow his or her prescribed regime.
:sun
Miss Daisy
07-01-2005, 23:31
I am doing a thru hike in 2007 and have asthma...I am only taking my allegra and inhaler....I use the Allegra every day (allergies) and the inhaler occasionally. I recently went off the Advair and Singulair because they made me to dang tired and I found that I was worse with them. In fact, I was more "winded" with them than without. I jogged a marathon in March and my lungs felt terrible...My legs were fine! When I came back I started playing with with the meds and figured out that I do best with the basics. It sounds like you have a worse case of asthma than I do...I've got a great doc who works with me on a medical kit for my forays into the wild.... hopefully you can find someone to help you...wouldn't want to be miles from nowhere with an asthma attack! Perhaps they can make an emergency kit for you? I do take prednisone with me because I have a horrible allergy to poison ivy, sumac, oak....I also take zomig (migraines) with me (in case) though I've only needed it once on a hike....Oh and got to have the Aleve for arthritis (doesn't getting older suck? well, I guess it does beat the alternative) You can try putting a stash in every drop package? My little medical kit weighs a few ounces and I think its worth the weight... I don't know if the weather conditions will keep your medicine stable? I'm not a pharmacist or anything but some of the stuff seems like it ought to be kept at least at room temperature so having access to fresh meds every 10 days or so might be necessary....Best of luck! You go girl! ..................
badinfluence
08-30-2005, 14:34
I'm with MDS on this.
I use my pump regularly at home - almost never on a longer distance hike.
Must be the difference in environment or something.
I just spent a week in Baxter State Park with no use of my inhaler at all.
I'd say try a section hike or equivalent to see if you need it - you might find that you don't need the pump nearly as much as when you're not hiking.
I thought it odd, but I'm glad there's some time that I don't need to be chained to an inhaler.
If you find that you fall in a similar category as some of us that seem to not need an inhaler while hiking - whatever you do, don't forget at least one inhaler when you go. I keep two just in case one fails (in the IT field, we sure get antsy about redundancy).
Jonathan
silvereagle
08-30-2005, 15:14
I am lucky to say that I used to have asthma, I used to have 3 different inhalers and 2 medications. Flovent, Serevent, Albuterol, plus Advair and Singulair. My asthma was brought on by allergies. After hiking quite regularly for two years, my asthma is now gone. I will say that my asthma seemed to be less and less of an issue once I started taking the Singulair. Hope this helps and I wish you well in your hiking adventures.