[flagged]
Your behavior in this thread is shamefully arrogant and misinformed.
> Formoterol is a medication I take for asthma. I have been taking it for years well below the anti-doping threshold
> I refused the use of a nebuliser for asthma when I was so unwell I couldn’t walk upstairs because I knew I would need to apply for a TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption).
It sounds like you skimmed over the part above at least, but misread it to mean the opposite
> My sample tested positive for 2.9ng/ml of formoterol. Formoterol is a medication I take as part of an inhaler called Symbicort. I have been taking this medication since summer 2020. It is listed by WADA as a threshold substance, meaning that it is allowed to be present in urine up to a concentration of 40ng/ml on the basis that it was likely the result of permitted therapeutic use.
> Although the WADA rules state that formoterol is allowed up to 40ng/ml [30], the problem is that the WADA rules also state in conjunction with a diuretic that ANY LEVEL of formoterol is considered an AAF [31].
And for extra credit, if you were to do one web search (or citation check) worth of "research" you can corroborate the last bit with info direct from WADA:
> Inhaled formoterol is permitted to a maximum delivered dose of 54 micrograms over 24 hours. The presence in urine of formoterol in excess of 40 ng/mL is presumed not to be a therapeutic use of the substance and will be considered as an Adverse Analytical Finding unless the Athlete proves, through a controlled pharmacokinetic study, that the abnormal result was the consequence of the use of no greater than 54 micrograms delivered over 24 hours. If a dosage in excess of 54 micrograms over 24 hours is required by the athlete, then a TUE must be requested
> is suggestive that years of endurance training may be a contributory cause.
> Athletes with asthma/AHR have consistently outperformed their peers, which research suggests is not due to their treatment enhancing sports performance.
Anecdotally, when I lived in Chicago and rode outside in cold air I had asthma like symptoms (and I didn't ride nearly as frequently as olympians do) - which lines up with this quote, also from my original link:
> Inspiring polluted or cold air is considered a significant aetiological factor in some but not all sports.
I think it's possible that it's not just a sham.
> Diuretics affect the way the body metabolizes and excretes beta-2 agonists. If you are on a diuretic medication (or on any other substance in the S5 category of the Prohibited List) for any reason and you are using an inhaler that contains salbutamol (albuterol) or formoterol, then you may need a TUE. Please see the TUE section below.
Which is covered in the article.
And one of the main points of this article is that the rules are inconsistent and not based in reality.
To paraphrase the article (but don't take my word for it, I highly suggest reading it yourself), the rules are fatally flawed because of the bimodality where contaminants at arbitrary concentrations determine whether other medications in urine samples are allowed or not.
Edit: if you’re about to talk about how it affected the ruling for the asthma medication, then you’re just repeating the article and should just read that instead of arguing in the comments.
The reason why is actually in the article but I’m sick of just typing it out for you when you can stop being lazy and read the thing yourself.
It’s a real tough choice.