Asthma Community

While running with my husband this weekend, I was forced to quit pretty quickly (as usual). As we walked, I mentioned how much I hated the burning sensation, and how it always made me quit. He thought I was talking about thirst, but the more I described it to him, the more he asserted that he's never experienced anything like it. I was curious and started to ask other friends who run a lot, and they all asserted the same thing. So I started researching and made an appointment with the doctor. I have not seen a doctor or been diagnosed yet, but my symptoms seem to line up pretty well with Asthma. I don't want to self-diagnose. But honestly, I'm still sort of reeling from the concept that this isn't normal. I always thought THIS was the reason people didn't like to exercise. I've pushed through the pain since I was a kid (as a kid my P.E. teachers and other adults never took me seriously, so I thought I must be being dramatic). I have always had this pain, and always this level of pain. It has always come on pretty quickly (think within a few minutes of increased cardio). Even as a child, when I was still in relatively good shape (because I played through the pain) I had this horrible burning (if you want to call it that) in my throat (as many others have described) in the area under the adam's apple, and mostly above the collarbone. And, like many others, mine is so, so much worse in the cold weather.

But my problem is with the intensity of the pain. The "burning" described, doesn't quite do the feeling justice, to me. I would put it more on the level of getting a tatoo inside my throat. I don't consider myself too much of a whiner - I did 63 hours of childbirth labor without pain medication. But this is pretty horrible pain. And it has ALWAYS been that level of intensity. Is that normal for asthma patients?

I have yet another question. Am I likely to be able to really control this, ever? So many kids I knew who had it when I was young didn't really seem to be in control of it. A lot of people I have known with it seem to mention it as their excuse to not exercise. I desperately want to be able to someday run a mile (or more) with my husband. Is this going to prevent me from doing that? And frankly, I'd love to be able to not have to use an inhaler every time I want to run. Is that possible?