seen a nose, ears and throat specialist? back to square one with asthma (have to see a doctor today cause im bad again after being off work 7 weeks now!!) and should i request to see one and get a lungs x ray? please someone find out what triggers me!
your frustated and tearful
kelly
Hi
usually as part of any difficult to control asthma protocol you will receive a referral to an ENT specialist - to see if your symptoms are caused by something else ie - stridors or VCD. If peak flows are ok yet you are still very symptomatic-Drs like to rule out things such as VCD as asthma meds will not help this condition, there are however people who have VCD and asthma which complicate things slightly as its difficult for a dr/con to assess how bad your asthma is if you have both!!
When I saw ENT specialist he said it wasnt a stridor or VCD and it was asthma. Hope that helps - I also now see an ENT as whilst in costa and on o2 the o2 caused a perferation in my nasal septum something which has gone from bad to worse in recent months, its thought it may need something doing to it now ... eek!!
Hope things go ok but feel free to PM me if i can help anymore. Take care. Lv KitKat Xxx
I was sent to ENT three times in the last five years for recurrent all day cough, too much phlegm and wheeze. Told repeatedly it was post nasal drip and definitely not asthma. No lung x-ray ever taken although they did take X-ray of a barium meal thingy on the first visit. Thereafter it was just the wee camera up nose and down throat.
So glad I had what turned out to be bronchitis this year leading to firm diagnosis by new girlie - yes, you idiots at xx-hosp. it is asthma!
Wishing you well with your ENT dept. Fight for what you want.
Many thanks both of you! but what is VCD??
Went to doctor and he has given me a steriod nasal spray, singulair tabs and changed me over to symbicort turbohaler, will see how i go hopefully ok! i see my asthma nurse on the 17th so can update her on how im getting on discuss my plan etc..
will let you know how i get on
many thanks both and hope you are ok!
love kel xx
Hi Kelwoo
I don't know much about Vocal Chord Dysfunction (VCD) but from what I know my understanding of VCD is that normal vocal chords when you breathe in move apart, however in VCD the vocal chords move in towards each other if that makes sense, which can result in wheezing - usually inspiratory and in some cases expiratory, throat tightness, feeling like there is some kind of blockage in your throat and peak flows which dont really vary from normal, maybe throat wheezing, and possible voice changes like hoarseness. Because some of the symptoms are really similar to asthma, it is often misdiagnosed. VCD doesn't respond to asthma treatment, the usual treatment is speech therapy. VCD can be cured in some cases through speech therapy. VCD and Asthma can co-exist as Kat says. It is kinda considered a good thing because it might mean your asthma wasn't as bad as it appeared to be in the first place and as VCD can be resolved as I said before through speech therapy. VCD can have the same triggers as asthma which also adds to the difficulty of misdiagnosis, it is apparently alot more common than it is actually diagnosed. Diagnosis is usually done by putting a camera down while youre having an 'asthma' attack to see if the vocal chords are moving in towards each other.
Hope this helps.
Seritide (Any one on it apart from me)
Any advice?
Smokers triggering asthma, everywhere. Any management strategies? 
