Me vs Asthma

Hey Everyone,

After years of having Asthma I have discovered this site and thought I would give it a go!

I had a mild attack today on the tube (of all places) and not one person tried to help me or even asked if I was alright.. In fact, all I got were dirty looks as if to say 'ew, look at her coughing and spluttering all over the place' Has anyone ever had a similar embarassing experience in public?

Would be nice to hear I'm not alone!

Marie x

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Welcome to the forum Marie x Yes things like that happen to lots of people with asthma.Make sure you keep your reliever with you and maybe wear a medi alert etc.You can also register your mobile with 999 so they know you have asthma,then if u carnt talk when asthma is bad you can text them where to come get you. Google register mobile to 999. take care xxx

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Welcome to the forum. I've had the same experience a few times on the tube/trains/buses in London. I don't know if it's a London 'thing' or more wide-spread. Saying that I have had a few occasions where people have been helpful/concerned and that can be just as embarassing - never satisfied, me!

[Asthma-girl]

Welcome to the forum Marie.

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Hi Marie, welcome to the forum.

Was just thinking I hadn't had this, then remembered that a few years ago, when I thought my asthma had all gone, no trouble etc, I saw a train coming in the winter and absolutely legged it across the road and up the stairs (something I wouldn't do now no matter what, but the trains only went every 10 mins at that time and the platform was freezing). I got the train, but owww! Bent over wheezing and pain in chest from breathing in the cold air for ages, didn't calm down much till I got to my stop. Just got looks from everyone, no 'you appear to be expiring, can I help?' Luckily I didn't need reliever (I didn't have any, I 'didn't have asthma' and in general didn't have problems at that point) but definitely no help. That was in London, on the DLR.

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Thanks guys!

Good to know I'm not alone. One of my biggest problems is getting family/friends/bosses to understand how much I suffer sometimes. I'm the only person I know with Asthma pretty much.

At the moment it's totally out of control. After another sleepless night and Ventolin failing me I'm getting set for another trip to the hospital. This means another day off work and my boss is not happy!

Also, has anyone tried Advair? I have just been reading up about it.x

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Hi Marie,

The same thing happened to me last week - I don't live in London, but I was using the tube and ended up having a minor attack. No one tried to help me, or offered me a seat, just stared at me - I was so embarassed. I always try to help people if I see them having a problem, and after that, I'm definitely redoubling my efforts!

Natalie

[Annista]

Hi Marie

It's happened to me no end of times - in shops, on the bus and on trains. I've got to the stage where I avoid public transport where possible because I so often have problems breathing.

I have also had problems persuading my family and friends to take my condition seriously. I finally got people to come onto this site and read some of the information provided, and maybe have a look at the forum to get an idea of what exactly happens to us. It's a bit of an eye opener for people who don't 'get' what we're trying to say to them.

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when i was at boarding school, if i has an attack at night, i used to just get people saying: ""die quietly"" also i was told to refrain from coughing because people thought the sound/sight was too disgusting if i had a chest infection or something like that.

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I had a mild attack at work a couple of days ago. Luckily one of my customers helped me and made sure I was ok. There are some decent people out there somewhere.

Dave.