> 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