I had asthma diagnosed at age 1 and spent most of my childhood wheezing with a few trips to A&E for nebulizer treatment, but have never had a stay in hospital due to my asthma. My asthma seemed to slowly subside and didn't plague me very much during my teens- only a few bouts of bad asthma attacks when I had flu and colds. Then when I was 21 my asthma got worse- I was living in slightly cold accomodation and very stressed and was experiencing symptoms every day and a tutor asked if I was a chain smoker because I was making so much noise! After about 6 months this subsided again for a year and got a little bit worse again this year (2 years later), I also had an asthmatic reaction to a general anaesthetic in January.
Has anyone else had bouts of asthma like this?
Also I don't understand some of the abbreviations on this site! could anyone fill me in?
yes I think it is quite common to have periods like that, mine is not the same in that I had mild asthma as a child and then it got slightly worse at secondary school and completly went from about the age of 14-15 until I was in my mid twenties and then it came back with avengenace!, Now its the worst it has ever been and told it prob wont go backwards again now, but I am not sure if thats the same for everyone as i have read others who say the same as you.
Which abreviations are you referring to? see if i can help out lol
Take care and hello ...
Snowy xx
Seems to be quite common for it to disappear in teens and then come back in mid twenties. That is what happened to me, had never had a preventer before, and no longer had a reliever as I had been symptom free for so long, then I developed hayfever which got worse over a few years and then set my asthma off again. This year have shot through several different preventer doses and had two trips to A&E for nebs although as a child I had never had what I would call an attack before.
Hi Ellie,
I had something like the same thing. Mild exercise-induced asthma (no real attacks, no nebs or hospital) from age 7, and it really went away in my teens though I had a couple of incidents at uni with sudden tight chest - nothing major though and tended to pass quickly.
Then at 23 I got swine flu and it seemed to come back then, mildly and not really a problem at first but has been getting worse since November of last year and now is definitely bothering me a lot - have been told 'definitely not asthma' though because tests seem to be normal and it's certainly not typical or like most people's experiences, but does seem to have a lot of the same triggers as when I had 'real' asthma when younger. One of the reasons I'm still not quite convinced it isn't asthma is that the way it's come back seems so typical in many ways, so your experience does sound fairly common.
Re abbreviations - not sure which ones you mean specifically but Costa is hospital (Costa del NHS), umm, can't think of any more, guess I've been here too long!
Hey!! I have had asthma since 3 months and although was constantly being increased on inhalers i never had problems like attacks...then suddendly as i hit puberty i started having mild attacks resolved by inhalers and then suddenly this year ive needed hospital treatment!!!
Also i say once asthmatic always asthmatic...its not something u can grow out of...maybe controlled by medication if ur symptoms stop, but thats a good thing!!!
My experience is that asthma calms and then re-emerges. I had a bad time as a baby/child, things calmed in my teenage years then restarted in my early 20's. Then I was controlled for years until last year. Things haven't been as bad as when I was a kid, in the past year, but they aren't far from it.
Over the years, I've found its best to get help as soon as things start to change. This way they may be able to increase your meds before it gets bad.
I hope things are ok now?
Thanks for the replies guys!
I'm really sorry to hear about the hospitalisations people have had, I feel silly for posting and hope you're all coping today.
I find my asthma scary sometimes when my reliever inhaler won't work properly for a while and I was just a bit surprised that it came back really! I take preventer but sometimes everything works and sometimes not. Has anyone had any experience of asthmatic reaction to anaesthetic? I was really terrified and had nebs until I was okay.
I hope things are alright and I love the abbreviation costa del NHS but hope you're all well enough to stay away for a while
Really don't feel bad - I sometimes feel silly for posting about my worries when others are so much worse, but even mild asthma can have a big impact on your life if you aren't controlled properly.
It can be, I've found if I have asthma at all.
Was told had asthma as an adult only 4 years ago after struggling to keep up with others going for a last train with coughing & couldn't catch breath. It didn't go away, had peak flow diary with morning dips & response to ventolin. I had slow increases in medication then until late 2008 and was ok until late 2009 when had first pred.
It cleared up in 2010 until colds/flu this last Christmas after getting bathroom roof done & redecorated in Oct 2009 (walls were damp and getting mouldy). Now on max medication GP will give and had 4 courses pred this year.
Just seen respiratory consultant for the first time who has said as spirometry good, not high IgE levels allergy test and no wheezing or emergency appts/admissions may not be asthma but dysfunctional breathing or something else. Going for methacholine provocation test and seeing them again.
It's not at all silly to post, there is a fair few severe asthmatics on here but this forum is for everyone!
I had bad asthma from age 1 to 28 then lived normally until age 56. I caught pleurisy and the GP didn't treat it. I've had breathing problems for 2 years since. After 18 months of asking the GP for help I was prescribed Seretide with spacer six months ago. But it's ruined my voice and I'm about to stop using it as it's jeopardising my job. Unfortunately GP's aren't what they used to be and are not interested in prevention, just in money from the NHS and pharma companies. I asked to be referred to a specialist to get better informed advice but the GP refused and charged me £30 for a spirometer reading & blood test so I could see how I was. It seems we have to stumble along on our own even though there are probably knowledgeable people in the NHS who could give us reliable advice and reduce emergency costs to the NHS in the longer run. I was interested to read about the spirometers on this website. How do you get one and what is the best make?
Hi. I was born bronchial asthmatic and very bad until about 7. Then it was on and off for many years but I did manage to fit in a decent few years playing Rugby and not having too many problems. When I got to middle age it came back with a vengeance and now I am quite bad again.
You can't ""get better"" from asthma but it does seem to go into a sort of hibernation for a while. So in answer to your question, no.
Take care.
Dave
The more I read this thread the more confused I am - my asthma comes, tails off, then something comes back in 20s triggered by a resp infection which acts a lot like asthma, has some of the same triggers but is 'definitely not asthma'? Ockham's Razor has got very blunt...
Anyway sorry, don't want to hijack your thread by moaning about my strange lungs. Did you get anywhere with the other abbreviations?
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