So confused...my doctors can't decide if I have asthma or not...

Hi guys,

I know I haven't been around for a bit. I've been working in my new program as a hospital chaplain, and I really like it! Since I moved though, I've had to switch all my doctors. I was diagnosed with moderate persistant asthma in 2003 (I take pred. 3-5 times a year). But then in 2006 my work sent me for a chest x-ray, and I was diagnosed with a vascular ring with a cat scan.

(pted.org/?id=vascularring2)

The thing is it's very rare, so every time I go to the doctor they go through this process. So right now I just got a whole bunch of information on this from my new pulmonologist. He doesn't think I have asthma, as the pattern on my breathing tests shows a large airway obstruction, which would be my aorta pressing against my trachea. He said theres a soft spot where the two press against one another, and that when I cough/wheeze this colapses. My breathing also would get worse when I exercise.

Sounds like asthma huh?

So I just feel really confused. I've been tapering off all of my asthma drugs, prednisone and 3 other inhalers. But the funny thing is I'm terrified. My family doctor says that he's doing this to see if I get sick, and I'm terrified I will get sick again. I'm also sitting here and thinking about the whole situation....

You see vascular rings are fixed through surgery, but my doctors are saying that it's not ""bad enough"" to have surgery.

I'm wondering how they would feel if they lived in my body!

But it also occurs to me that my symptoms get worse seasonally, and that this really seems more like asthma to me.

It's such a hard situation to be in! Of course I don't want to have surgery, but I'm practically in the position to ask for surgery.

Bee

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Asthma is defined as reversible small airway obstruction. If your tests show large airway obstruction, not small or both, then that wouldn't be classified as asthma. You need to weigh up the risks of heart surgery (i.e. complications or death) vs the chance of an improved quality of life if the operation is a success. Is the vascular ring going to give you more problems as you get older? Do the doctors want to wait until the benefits more clearly outweight the potential risks? Sounds like you need a lot more information and maybe a referral to a heart surgeon who has experience with this type of surgery in adults would be the way to go.