Frequent attacks and an annoying mum!

In the past 2 or so months my asthma has been awful. From the age of about 8 (am now 14) until this April i had very very mild asthma, i had a brown inhaler and a blue one which i used rarely. Since then i have been awful. As well as constant shortness of breath, wheezing and tight chestedness i have had a number of bad attacks. There not even attacks that can be settled by taking my inhaler though and have ended up in hospital about 12 times in the last 2 months and on one occassion was airlifted to hospital. About 5 of these have seen me admitted (from ovrenight to 4 nights) and 2 have needed iv salbutomol and magnesium as nebs were failing to control it. I was only referred to a paediatic asthma nurse about 3 weeks ago and finally last weekend a consultant - who im yet to see. I believe im already on very strong medications (Seretide, atrovent, salbutmol, montelukast and antihistamines) and am really unsure on where they will go next. I'm sick of being on prednislone as its given me awful cramps and puts me in a rather horrid mood! Does anyone have any ideas on where they may go or if theres anything i can do to help myself.

On top of this my mum has been a real problem. She works in the NHS and is one of those typical mothers who always believes i am fine. She will often refuse to take me to the hospital and last time i had to half beg her. She eventuallly agreed to take me to the GP (though i think this was more out of spite, expecting them to say i was fine) anyway after a couple of nebs the GP was still very worried and i ended up being admitted. Despite doctors constantly saying i need to be brought down sooner (if pf <50% and inhaler having no affect) she still ignores them. On top of this she insists to them all that my asthma is 'physcological', as i have a history of anorexia. The doctors tend to give her funny looks and ask why i am i wheezy with low sats etc., but stil she doesn't listen. Every time i tell her she says just breathe which is stupid because if i could breathe fine we wouldn't be having this problem!

I guess im just really annoyed at eveything. The school have banned me from all trips and i can't do any sport though i am usually a fitness fanatic, going to the gym most days and playing rugby and hockey. Its really tough and quite scary having to have all the attacks and symptoms but when your mum just doesn't lisetn it's even harder.

Sorry about the long moan, i know theres millions of people in worse situation than me but im finding it really hard to cope so if anyone has any suggestions i would be very grateful!

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Welcome Anzharry, sounds like you are having a tough old time. If you scroll down you will find a link to the Kick Asthma message board (kick a) where you find many people of your age always ready to give advice and a handy shoulder to cry on.

Bex

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Hey anzharry,

I'm really sorry you've had such a rough ride, my asthma was the same I went from having very mild asthma to having rather crazy asthma in a very short space of time, so I completly understand where your comming from. When is your appointment with your consultant? because he/she is probs the one who will help you get your controll and your life back to normal, so seeing he/she as soon as poss is the best. Have you been seing the nurse regularly?

I'm really sorry your mum's not been very understanding, is there anyone else in your family or a close family friend thats and adult that you have to talk too? Maybe it might be a good idea to sit down and tell your mum how scary your finding all this and that you really need her support. The other thing is if you ever feel that you need to get to hospital and she's saying she won't take you, you need to phone the ambulance yourself, as it sounds like your asthma is very server, and asthma isn't something to be played with.

As for what medications you could have, there are still quite a few options, and combintations. What level of seretide are you on? 125, 250 or 500? The other thing is make sure you use your blue inhaler when ever you feel you need it, because the sooner you treat a potential attack the more likely you are to need less treatment.

I'm also sorry to hear that you can't do your normal sporting activities, I know this is hard but its probs worth giving them a rest untill you see your consultant who will be able to advise you on what you can and can't do. Hopefully when you get your controll back your'll be able to do all your sport again. I know this is hard as I'm a bit of a sportaholic and I know how annoying it is not being able to do the things you could. As for your school, it doesn't sound very fair that your band from all school trips! So when you've been to see your consultant perhaps this is something you could talk about, and maybe he/she could ring or write to your school and tell them what you are/arn't allowed to do.

If your symptomatic most of the time,m it might be an idea to go to the GP as they might be able to ajust your meds untill you see your consultant, if your mum wont take you then you can always go by yourself or take someone else that you trust with you.

I really hope your feeling better soon!

Let us know how your getting on!

ally xx

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Stay Strong

Take your asthma seriously even if your mum won't, after all, it's your life. If you were my child I would be more sympathetic. Stay strong, you have friends on this website who will answer your questions and care about you. Good luck!

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Thank you all so much, it's such a relief being able to come on here and talk to people who understand! Saw the asthma nurse yesterday and she said theres not a lot more she can do so we have to wait to see the consultant and even though it's been put down as urgent, i think it will be quite a while as she's the only paediatric respiratoty one. Would it be ok to go and see the GP before then, i don't want them to think im not patient! As for my mum, i have tried to speak to her but she just doesn't listen. A lot of my teachers at school have been suprisingly nice about it but i don't really like talking to them about it as i don't want them to have any more excuses for me not being allowed to do things. A few of my friends do know but again i don't want it to seem major or anything, i already stick out enough!

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I sympathize with your predicament as my asthma went from nothing to terrible in April too. As for what do.....I'm sorry to hear your mum isn't being very understanding or helpful but, unfortunate though that is, you need to take control of your own destiny. As has been suggested you could talk to your mum about or maybe another relative? Failing that you need to take charge of your own fate by calling an ambulance if you are having an attack that doesn't respond to your reliever. It's a big ask at 14 but ultimately we all have to rely on ourselves. Good luck