I rang the asthma advice line today

spoke to a lovely nurse, i rang because EVERY time i run i struggle with my breathing, even when i take my blue before i run i still struggle afterwards, and often during my run.

I thought my asthma is generally well-controlled apart from this particular issue but she thinks maybe not. One thing she asked was do i often have to clear my throat, until she asked i hadn't really thought about it but since the call i've been hyper aware LOL

She's suggested i see the GP and try to get a few things changed. She wants me to change my qvar autohaler to a MDI with spacer and i have to monitor my peak flow morning & night and also before / after exercise and before / after reliever inhaler.

She said to monitor for 2-3 weeks and if things don't improve with the changes then i can ring back if i want and they can advise about next steps.

It all sounds pretty positive, i want it properly sorted cos i'm getting more and more into running and have signed up for a half-marathon next year!!

[Maurveen]

I also had occasion to phone the nurse on here , and they are just brilliant and make sure you understand everything they are telling you , im new to all of this and I never released how complex and changeable the symptoms of asthma can be , for instance woke up the other morning with my sense of smell GONE ...so im supposing I now have some kind of hay fever , or maybe the inhalers cause this ..who knows ? if someone told me your whole life could change almost overnight health wise id have found it hard to believe ...thank goodness for places like this .

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I clear my throat a lot... Did the nurse say why she was asking about that?

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I am new to this as well, but the nurses are lovely!

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Pinger she said often clearing your throat can be an underlying sign of asthma because it suggests your airways are irritated, she also said it can sometimes be caused by particularly the preventer inhaler if the stuff is hitting the back of your throat rather than going down into your airways. That was one reason why she wanted me to use the preventer with a spacer cos that way it goes into your airways / lungs without hitting the back of your throat.I've not noticed any difference yet but i've only been doing it a week so i'll see if it gets any better over the next couple of weeks.

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I have been clearing my throat a lot since my last chest infection that I'm still recovering from. My voice had been affected too and sometimes it's so sticky that I momentarily can't breathe until I clear the blockage, not pleasant! I always use a spacer, so unfortunately I doesn't help me. I hope it helps you though jinglfairy.

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thanks butterfly - well a week in and it's made NO difference, just been to running club and am coughing as much as ever. I know they say any changes tend to take up to 3 weeks for the full effect so ive still got an open mind.

I've got a 10k race on sunday so that will be a telling time - if it takes me less than 2 days to recover!!!!!! '