Asthma anxiety

[Allie_Rose]

Hello everyone, I am just writing a post as I wanted to see if I am alone in this and whether anyone has any suggestions to help. I will give a bit of a backstory to this.

I had mild asthma from the age of 13 however it wasn't serious enough that my parents never took me to get diagnosed. Fast forward to mid pandemic, I try to do some running and I find that my breathlessness had continued since my teenage years, I contact my GP and am told that they can't do any tests as it relies on the physicians being in contact with air droplets (fair enough) and that I had been fine for years so to wait and to call back when it is over, (very encouraging).

I then catch covid, I had only had 1 vaccine at the time so it didn't lessen the symptoms. I was wiped out for 2-3 weeks and when I finally got back on my feet my breathing wasn't normal, I thought that the GP couldn't do anything about it because of what I was told before (I should have called and checked). 1.5 years later, my breathing is still not better but worse and I can't do any form of exercise/laugh without wheezing so I decide to go back to the GP practice (I had changed GP practice by now).

The nurse sends me away with a peak flow metre and a chart to jot down my results for 4 weeks without a relief inhaler. In this time I get exposed to a chemical irritant at work and get hospitalised with a life threatening asthma attack, I was informed by the paramedics that my GP practice had failed me. I then get put on preventative inhalers and have another asthma attack 6 months later which renders me not able to go to my work for a week, I go to my asthma nurse and get told that I just need to up my preventative then go back down to what I was on before (bare in mind there was no trigger for this that I could find). I took their advice but the dose I was on before didn't work so I stuck with the higher dose. 2 months later I have an asthma attack at work because the heating broke and I was working in a 6 degree lab for hours. I go to the GP and get steroids, I then developed pneumonia and have been off work for a month and had steroids, antibiotics and a chest x-ray.

I am slowly getting back to work now but have been getting very anxious when it is cold outside or I smell anything strong (lab chemical, petrol, perfume, cleaning products) or I laugh. The anxiety makes my chest tighter and then I spiral. I am finding it really hard to rationalise myself out of my panics as I have been hospitalised and had pneumonia and I feel like my asthma just isn't under control yet.

I guess I just wanted to see if anyone else has had a similar experience with post asthma attack anxiety? I feel like I can't enjoy my life anymore and just want to stay home where I can control what I am exposed to. Sorry for the long post!

[Shellc]

Hi Allie

I wear a snood in cold weather to cover my mouth, if u try to breath in through the nose that will warm the air before it hits the bs I if the throat . If I were you I would ask to be referred to the Brompton as they are a specialist hospital as they’re a few different types of asthma . I hope you get to the bottom of all these scary times xx

[MommaMich]

My asthma started as mild. Eventually escalated. I suggest you find a pulmonologist, they will do PFT (pulmonary function test), a CT, or X-ray (since you had covid this could be necessary) and I suggest bloodwork, specifically checking your eosinophils. Turns out I have Eosinophilic Asthma, treated slightly differently, but still requiring inhalers. I also have COPD/Emphysema, but my asthma attacks would trigger the COPD. I currently take a monthly injection of Nucala (a biologic) while I’ve had several minor asthma attacks in the 3 yrs I’m on Nucala, I have been able to get it under control with inhaler & nebulizer, and avoiding a trip to ER. GOOD LUCK

[Thebird]

Hi Allie, your not alone in this. I believe that Asthma and Anxiety go hand in hand. My breathing function hit a low in mid 2020 (peak flow). My Anxiety hit a high. Honestly I got a GP that specializes in Anxiety and I got a Mental Health Therapist. In addition I switched Asthma Drs to one that would actually see me and not send in an assistant. It’s been very worth the effort and it does get better. Best Wishes

[Homely2]

It is very normal to be anxious re your asthma.

You need some tools to help you handle it.

I do the following

1. Pursed lip breathing really helps me when I get exposed to an irritant. It calms me and helps my asthma.

2.Take a mask with you, it protects against an unexpected issue.

3. I always check my peak flow when I am having shortness of breath, it helps me realise when an attack is more anxiety based.

4. Discuss with work. My work adjusted my work to make it safer for me. Asthma is a disability.

Long term, you have to find a medic who will help you find the correct inhalers for you.

My gp could not help but he had a good gp asthma nurse and referred me to a consultant, who is not much use either, however he gave me access to a hospital asthma nurse. The hospital asthma nurse and gp asthma nurse are slowly together getting my asthma under control.

Spiriva was my lifesaver, but they put me through a series of trials before they got to it.

Ring the asthma UK helpline and talk it through with an Asthma nurse. They are brilliant.