Does anyone know if sedation can/does impact on asthma?
I've got to be sedated for a hospital procedure on Monday and I was just wondering if it made airways/lungs sleepy/'floppy' and could cause asthma to be a problem? My PEFs are pretty low at the moment for me so was wondering if this would be an issue?
Hi Ratty,
I've previously had sedation with no problems. They give supplemental oxygen while you're sedated (at least, that's been the case every time for me) and you could ask to use your inhaler or have a neb beforehand if you're concerned. Your O2 sats will be monitored throughout, so they can adjust the oxygen if necessary.
Good luck for your procedure - let us know how you get on!
Wishes
Hi Ratty,
I had sedation for a bronchoscopy and it was fine, felt breathless afterwards but was before anyway and they told me it was normal to feel slightly more breathless after a bronchi so was probably not sedation and doesn't always happen. I got oxygen too. Sedative didn't work mind but it was all fine.
Hope procedure goes ok.
not sure about sedation...make sure you tell them you are asthmatic... and say how bad it can be. But of you are on prednisolone that can have an impact on some procedures...I have had to increase the dose I am taking before hand...sorry not very helpful, but just a thought. Hope it goes well.
I asked today and they said it should be fine. That of course doesn't account for the fact that I'm stressing out/totally petrified and that'll likely have an effect on my already stroppy lungs.
Ratty, I don't know what you're having (and obviously you may not want to say, I'm not being nosy or anything!), and it may be completely different but when I had my bronchoscopy it was fine - the people doing it were very reassuring as well through the whole thing. It's not the way I'd have chosen to spend a Thursday morning lol but it wasn't at all a horrible experience.
Hope that helps even a little and that it goes ok. xx
Dear Ratty,
I've had sedation before and been fine and i've had sedation and not been fine! My advice would be if your not on a respiratory ward to take your nebuliser with you, make sure the nurses are fully aware of your problems and have the neb loaded and ready just in case. Best of luck.
Thanks 
No, I won't be on a resp. ward, it's a day admission to a something-or-other ward I can never remember the name of - I'm having a camera thing to look inside me as they think (well actually one consultant thinks and two don't - and they actually stood around my hosp bed making bets about what they would find!!) that I have a slow-bleeding ulcer (I'm with the 'not' consultants as my symptoms don't match and I'm sure I'd be looking/feeling a lot more 'dead' than I do, but I'll let them play) from eating too many smarties (pred).
The trouble I find with hospital departments is that as soon as you're seen by one that isn't respiratory, they forget that you have any respiratory issue at all - it's almost like they think they can compartmentalise you and the other difficult bits don't exist whilst in their care.
Medics! Trust them to make bets on that sort of thing - hope the 'not' ones are right and someone fixes whatever it is that's causing your symptoms. I've never had a tube to look into that area but I imagine it's not that different from the bronch so hopefully my not-bad experience will be reassuring.
Luckily I've never had the 'depts not talking to each other' - in fact I almost had the opposite problem as when I was referred to cardiology they seemed to have taken the resp consultant's views on board instead of approaching it independently, and spent a lot of time discussing the 'stresses in my life' and going over distinctly respiratory ground instead of asking about/checking the heart symptoms which were the reason I was there.
You know it's actually us patients who are never satisfied - we're not happy if they communicate and we're not happy if they don't!!
One consultant has a fiver resting on finding this ulcer - me thinks he's going to have less in his pay packet at the end of this month!
I know, we're so demanding, wanting to be treated! 
I wouldn't mind if some of them had the slightest inclination to actually communicate properly with the patient, never mind each other. I've now seen one resp cons who didn't read my notes and didn't listen, one resp cons who did read notes and appeared to listen but clearly wasn't actually taking in anything I said and one cardio registrar who also appeared to be listening but obviously wasn't. Still, there are good ones as well...
A fiver, huh? I suppose it's cheaper than the horses - just worried for you now that you're not going to get an honest opinion lol! Perhaps you should ask for a second opinion from someone who doesn't have a stake in the outcome
Dear Ratty,
Definitely with you on the hospital department problems when not on the respiratory ward, hence my comment about going in prepared. Also I tend to find speaking directly with the ward sister on admission a good idea.
I was on a PSSU ward recently (planned short stay unit) and found after mentioning my concerns to the sister, the nurses were waiting for me on my arrival back at the ward with sats machine, nebs, oxygen, fantastic care. Sorry your having tummy trouble, it must be very painful.
Will be thinking of you on monday, let us know how you get on. Maybe in the mean time we can join in the consultants sweepstake of whats wrong………….. !
Great idea of Picalilly's about speaking to the ward sister when you arrive.
I totally agree about each department tending to view their 'thing' in isolation. In my experience, they've been excellent as long as I keep reminding them, but I suppose they're just used to dealing with people who have one issue at a time.
One example from this week:
I went to A&E with a dislocated shoulder (I have a syndrome that means, among other things, that all my joints dislocate really easily). Usually, I don't need help relocating shoulders, but every so often I do, and this was one such occasion.
I told the doctors about the syndrome (spelt it for them, explained what it was, and gave them a printed summary, and told them about the asthma).
They got ready to pull my arm, using my hand as a convenient pulling point. I reminded them about the syndrome and suggested that, if they didn't want to have to relocate my wrist and elbow, it might be better to pull from somewhere above the elbow.
They offered me oral painkillers (very sweet, but I don't absorb things well orally, as part of the syndrome, which I reminded them), and eventually got my shoulder back in place (after enough sedative to kill an elephant, apparently - another thing that's related to this syndrome), were surprised that I was wheezing, but allowed me to have a neb, then offered me some more oral painkillers and anti-inflammatories to take home, which I politely declined.
Thankfully, this time, they listened to me when I told them that it was just a 'normal' part of the syndrome for me to have a pulse of 140 and for my blood pressure to be dodgy too. There have been so many unnecessary admissions (or threatened admissions) when people have assumed I have no idea what I'm talking about!
Urgh... wishes, I'm wincing even reading that - I have hypermobility syndrome and can bend things in ways they really shouldn't bend which tends to freak people out quite nicely but even the thought of dislocations gives me that nails down a chalk board feeling.
Now, if you're all going to enter into some 'wonder what they'll find lurking inside Ratty' sweepstake, I at least want a cut of whatever profit is made out of this. Oh and put me down for a tenner on them not finding anything.
Hmm, I might put something on that Ratty. Though I'm going to go for 'finding nothing' on the basis of you thinking it's that and my recent experience of being right when consultant was wrong (ha!). I reckon you'd know... Just hope I don't lose too much if I'm wrong, I'm already heavily invested in the sex, birth weight and date of arrival of my colleague's baby.
sweepstake
Can I put a £10 down ………………. I bet they find real smarties? (sorry cheated, just read your other post where your off to the sweetie shop)
Picalilly - that made me laugh!! Actually I don't have the smarties as we're currently having a thunder storm, which my lungs don't like, so I'm waiting for it to clear. And if they did find real smarties I'd be in trouble as I have to be nil by mouth 6 hours before.
Hope today went well for you Ratty. x
I'm afraid no-one wins the sweepstake - yet. 
I was admitted for my asthma Saturday afternoon (told you I didn't like Thunder-storms!) and have just been discharged this evening. Meant I missed my 'what's hiding inside Ratty' appointment (current answer - Jelly Babies!).
I got a doc owing me money though - charged him 50p/ABG - he owes me a lot...
Oh Ratty,
So sorry you were too poorly for your test, glad your back and better though. As for the sweepstake i was convinced i was going to win!!!!!!
50p for an ABG? that's a cheap prick, and that's a cheap quip…….. sorry had to do it!
Take care x
I agree with piccalilly, 50p is cheap! That would be ok for a blood test, ABG should be at least a pound!
Sorry you had to have so many and were in for asthma though. Hope you feel better enough soon for the question to be settled. Perhaps it will give you time to prepare a treasure hunt for the docs
Picalily, I'm not supposed to be laughing!! The doc owes me £2.00, although he took four attempts, he was actually pretty gentle (and very nice - mmm :o) so I wasn't complaining too much. He brought out 16 of the ABG kits - my face must have been a picture as he quickly explained he was re-stocking the drawer and they weren't all for me!
Most people with asthma
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