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[rigge]

Hi,

My husband has been diagnosed with Astma, has been told his lung age is 80 and function and 50%. I am nervous and do not know what this means. Please help and explain this to me. He is 52 and a runner.

[Minushabens]

First of all don't panic!

If it's asthma without wider complications then it is entirely manageable in most cases. There are different types of asthma though & a starting point will be to know what type (for example has it been triggered through a working environment or is it atopic...allergy related?).

The 50% figure will be a spirometry measure, which is a technique for measuring how much air your lungs can expel in various ways (I'm guessing a bit here as I don't know all the detail but I'm assuming that he has had a spirometry test).

So he might have had things like peak flow & FEV-1 readings which in simplistic terms measure how much air he can get out of his lungs over periods of time.

Does his surgery have a senior nurse practitioner? They can be a good source of information & often have a bit more time than doctors to talk through things.

Has he been prescribed any medication? He may have been prescribed (probably) two inhalers; a 'preventer' and a 'reliever' which are to provide long term management and immediate relief if needed. It's really important to learn to use these correctly & understand when to use the reliever. I see people all the time with inhalers using them completely wrong so the surgery or even the chemist will show him a good technique.

He could also usefully get his own peak flow meter (basic ones are about a fiver in Boots) & keep track to monitor how he is doing.

I've had asthma all my life & although it's a nuisance it's not terminal & managed correctly doesn't even have to be particularly life limiting. From memory I'm sure Sebastian Coe was asthmatic so his running may not have to stop once he brings it under control.

Good luck & I'm sure more knowledgeable people than me on here will also be able to answer any questions you have.

[rigge in reply to Minushabens]

Thank you for your reply. we are about to have a biopsy to find out what is causing the asthma. Once we know what is causing it, then treatment will occur. He does have an inhaler. The doc's think an infection is causing an obstruction in the airways, which also caused the asthma.

[Minushabens in reply to rigge]

I hope they work it all out for him. He sounds like he is fairly fit so one way or another they will get to the root of it.

Has he just got one inhaler or two? If only one what is it?

Also is he constantly short of breath or doea he have periodic attacks/exacerbations? It might be worth getting a peak flow meter & tracking if there are patterns to when he can breath better or worse & see if it links to anything (for example proximty to animals, high pollen count, stress) or if it is always much the same.

[rigge]

He is out of breath after exercise . Next we go for a lung biopsy to rule our cancer or infection. Very scard of that !

[freefaller]

Rigge, what sort of biopsy is your hubby having? Is it a bronchoscopy? There is nothing to be scared of when having any procedure that is trying to find out what is wrong. Much better once you know what you are dealing with for him, you and the Doctors. Does or has your hubby smoked? I doubt if he still does as you say he is a runner if he does try getting him to give up it will do so much good. He is young (relatively - I am 55 so he is young even to me) and fit so he will recover well. Once the cause of the asthma is found and tailored treatment begins then there is no reason he cannot continue to keep him self fit and active maybe even continue to run too. Please keep in touch so that we know how both you and he are getting on. If you need expert help and cannot getin to see your Doc then call the BLF help line 03000 030 555 and talk to a British Lung Foundation Nurse they are there from 9 to 5 week days. Your surgery may also have a respiratory nurse who you can contact and go and see so try that too.

All the best

Sian

xxx

[rigge]

I so appreciate the response. The docs feel he has sarcoidosis. They are doing a biopsy to rule out infection and cancer but do not feel he has that as he has no symptoms. His biopsy is August 12, fingers crossed !

[rigge]

Thanks again so much for the sport !! He is my life !!

[freefaller]

It shouldn't be a problem - the biopsy I mean. Don't know much about sarcoidosis so can't really comment on that. Everything will be fine I am sure once you know what you are dealing with and get the right treatment things will look so much brighter.

Take care of each other, Love and hugs

Sian

xoxoxo

[Hidden]

If you google sarcoidosis and then go on to the nhs choices entry for the condition, you will not only find information on it but also what appears to be a link to a sarcoidosis support group.

Hope this helps

[rigge]

Thanks for all the wonderful support ! We had our biopsy of the lymph nodes and lungs yesterday. The surgeon came out and reassured me that there were no visual sights of lung cancer. She also assured me that what John has is probably sarcoidosis. She mostly wanted to reassure me that what he has is treatable and common. I again thank you all. He does have a decreased lung function but this is treatable and you can live with it !

[freefaller]

Rigge, How did the biopsy go? Wehnd o you get the results?

[rigge]

Thank you so much for asking ! It came up negative for Cancer and lymphoma thank goodness ! We are still awaiting the result on the biopsy's taken for fungal infections. They take 2 weeks to grow but we know that those will be treatable so we are relieved. Now we have to find out more about Sarcoidosis.