Been diagnosed with asthma yet i haven't had any tests except a peak flow which is at 710 . she told me for a person my ages i shouldn't even be getting 600??
Ive been speaking to people who also have asthma and its frustrating because nobody actually understands me when i i describe what im experiencing.
My problems all started when i went out and it started to rain , and i had to wait an hour for my dad to come pick us up , the next day i got flu like symptoms for like 4 days then one evening i had trouble breathing at night . a few trips to the docs and now ive apparently got asthma and had it for over 2 month now.
my symptoms aren't even that severe Ive managed to finish my 1.5 mile in 14 minutes , whilst having an 'asthma attack' even my friends cant even tell the difference between normal me or me having an 'asthma attack'
i truly believe i have some sort of viral infection but when ive asked to have tests done she has refused and is only testing my peak flow which im passing with flying colours anyway...or asking "" how have you been feeling?"" im not being funny but is that anyway to track the progress of how someone is supposed to have asthma?
There are people more experienced than me to answer. But why don't you give the helpline a ring, they are extremely helpful. Secondly can you seek a 2nd opinion, as my surgery lets you book with whoever you want.
I'm newly diagnosed myself, and have only just had the peak flow test, but I've also kept a symptom diary. Perhaps keeping one of those, might help the GP/Nurse see another pattern.
From what you have said it might be worth asking your GP to get you a referral to get some allergy tests done for moulds (alternaria, aspergillus, penicillium and cladosporium) as you can get high levels of spores during periods of rain, specially during the spore season which we are currently in. You may also have excercise induced asthma so might be worth asking for further investigations to be undertaken. Hope you get things sorted out...
why would i get exercise induced asthma from being in the rain? it just doesnt make sense ive been going to the gym for over 2 years now and ive been finding that going to the gym actually helps since i started having these symptoms.
I've tried to document them before before , but they are erratic , i cant find out what the cause is , as i seem to get my symptoms spontaneously , the only thing ive noticed is that they go away if i forget about it...i know it sounds strange but if something takes my mind off of the symptoms i find that it goes away.
one thing i did find strange is that when has a sneezing fit , that would start off my tight chest but if i coughed abit it would clear my throat and i would be able to breath again without taking a puff from my inhaler.
ive been given Clencil modulite and im finding the side effects are worse than my symptoms .Im getting spots all over my arms , mood swings and depression im losing strength which is concerning me since im trying to strengthen my muscles to improve my posture and im worried im gonna gain weight ...these are things im not prepared to put up with if im quite honest because as ive said my quality of life is being effected more so by the side effects of the drugs than i am being effected by my asthmatic symptoms
You said ""Ive managed to finish my 1.5 mile in 14 minutes"" so assumed that you where possibly a runner hence the comment about excercise induced asthma. The gym is indoors with warm air which is less likely to affect your asthma, outdoors the weather, the cold and other outdoor factors can affect asthma. I mentioned the rain because mold spores levels can be high during periods of rain especially at this time of year. If you are allergic to mould spores it can cause symptoms and trigger asthma attacks.
as Crystal said, give the helpline a ring 0800 121 62 44
the nurse helped me much more than my doctor did
my asthma is only triggered by what is outside
do let us us know how you get on
This is the first time I was browsing this site and the forum with your query caught my eye. I have just registered onto the site so am new to this.
I was diagnosed with asthma 14 years ago aged 26. I can relate to some of what you say at the first diagnosis and with some of the symptoms you describe. At first I just got breathless when exercising and I didn't actually need medication, it didn't relate to anything that I understood asthma to be, but over the years and speaking to other asthmatics I realise it comes at many different levels.
Now, I use a symbicort preventer twice daily and normal blue reliever occasionally / as required.
I have exercise induced asthma, I find I get out of breath when doing high aerobic exercise, however gentler exercise such as walking or swimming are not usually a problem.
At times I have had asthma symptoms, such as coughing, breathlessness and tightness of the chest but my peak flow has been ok.
Things like cold, damp air and tree pollen can affect my chest. And if I'm very stressed I can get breathless.
I can experience breathlessness and don't always need to use my reliever inhaler, or can regain my breath before the inhaler works.
It has taken me years to understand asthma symptoms are wide and varying.
I can see how very frustrated you are with this situation.
I know you are experiencing your symptoms spontaneously, however, every time you get the symptoms make a note, is it:
1. Change of temperature or environment, going into a cooler room / another room / going outside.
2. The weather - are you better when it's warmer / if is raining, damp or frosty outside do you get symptoms or do they worsen?
3. If you are feeling stressed do you get symptoms? You mention they lessen when you 'forget' about it.
4. Does exercise / what sort of exercise gives the symptoms?
5. Daft as it sounds if you have a coughing fit / does it improve or make it worse?
It could be that you have had a virus that has upset your chest and that in a couple of months when the virus has run it's course your chest will right itself and the symptoms may disappear.
But at the moment you are experiencing breathlessness / asthma sypmtoms, even if they appear to be mild or not noticable to others, you are experiencing difficulties which need treatment.
Go and speak to the asthma nurse, tell her your concerns, tell her of your confusion, ask her about the sudden onset of the asthma and tell her of the side effects that you are suffering from the inhalers. She should be able to answer these questions for you and help you understand the diagnosis. I have had preventer inhalers for years and have not suffered side effects and definitely NO weight gain. There are plenty of different types of medication around and there should be one to suit you, it should make you feel better. And the asthma nurse should be able to put your mind at rest.
Sorry for babbling, I do understand your confusion and frustration. I hope this may help you a little and I hope you feel better soon.
Right well its been a while since i last posted because i did an experiment , i stopped taking my preventer inhaler and found there is no difference with me on med or without ,i still used my blue inhaler when needed but found my severity and symptoms have stayed the same sometimes they feel that they have even diminished a little .
@Jo unfortunately walking or swiming isnt good enough for me i want to be bale to carry on with what i was doin before , i used to do hill sprints , interval training heck i had even done some kick boxing for almost a year i cant believe i can no long do any intense cardio i used to do alot of conditioning , ive always like to do alot of heavy conditioning it helped me with injury prevention because i do strength training i can squat well over my own body weight i just don't want my muscle/ strength gains squandered over this pathetic disease.
Ive started to take my preventer inhaler again though because my main concern is if i do actually have asthma i don't want no permanent damage due to airway remodeling , im going to the doctors tomorrow and i think i need further testing done or something .
Browny do you have cough? If so what colour phlegm do you cough up?
usually it is discoloured yellow/green with an infection but not discoloured with asthma
I have never had a cough since I've been diagnosed all get is what i can only describe as a sticky throat every time i go to swallow.
the only other symptoms i get are :
-shortness of breath
-tight chest
I don't really recall any wheezing or 'rattling' they are literally the only 2 symptoms i get but they are very mild but persistent . i can usually sleep through both of the above without much problem the only reason i take my inhaler sometimes is that it gets on my nerves.
I also notice about 9/10 times my preventer inhaler brings on both of these symptoms when i use it and when i use my Ventolin it doesn't work as well as it usually does.
i was using clencil 100 but have gone back to using my 200mcg because it felt like the other one wasnt working , or more correctly there was no difference with me using it or not using any preventer inhaler , gonna book an appointment to see the nurse tomorrow .
My main concern is ive heard that long duration of not having your asthma under control can cause irreversible damage to the airways known as airway remodeling , is this actually true and if so how can you stop this from happening ?
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