Worried the doctor has got it wrong about my asthma !

[shuk]

Hi All,

Would love to hear your thoughts as Im going out my head!

I suffer from seasonal asthma (from oct-feb usually) and recently had a chest infection - Started a slight cold with a tight chest whoch got more and more painful and wheezy. Had to go out of hours doctors on 14th Jan. Was put on a nebuliser and given Amoxyclav 500mg and prednisone. Took a good 7 days but felt better, cough went, no tight chest. My peak flow was 450. And oxygen levels 99% .

Then on Thurs 3rd feb (not even 2 weeks later) I started getting an itchy throat - By the next morning I had all your usual cold symptoms and a tight chest again. I wasnt feeling AS wheezy but I was in pain when i coughed. The cough wasnt AS chesty as last time either but once I would start, it would get out of control.

I went to the docs yesterday and she was pretty dismissive. She seems to think a virus has just made my asthma worse. She gave me an aerochamber and told me to up my preventer inhaler to 4 puffs morning and night. But didnt think its an infection which I would be happy about. She said my lungs seemed clear even though I was wheezing and coughing when she was asking me to breathe in and out while she listendd with stethascope.

BUT - Im worried because my chest dont seem to be getting better. When i had the prednisone, it seems like it was helping. So my current state is that, i jus feel short of breath - Like , if i have to talk, i have to take deep breaths in between. Im Not actually that wheezy and the cough is chesty but not much phlegm coming up.

When I coughed up this morning, i reallyhad to coughed to get sme stuff up so i know my lungs arnt filled with mucous, but it was clear and there was like tinges of an orange (not sure if its blood as it wasnt red) but most was clear. and then some yellow.

And then yesterday, both my ribs and the bottom , coming up to sternam kept getting these spasms which were coming and going. Its happened intermittently today but i havent had them for a few hours. This started happening after the visit to doctors. I wondered if this was down to the coughing but then have read other stuff like Pleurisy which worried me.

All my cold symptoms seem gone, its jus the cough and shortness of breath. I am due to see the practice nurse in 3 days as she requested to see me about my asthma but im worried the doctor has misdiagnosed as im petrified of catching a secondary infection (Pneumonia etc)

I would love to hear your thoughts - Im worried sick as i just dont seem to be getting relief. Not getting worse but not getting relief either!

Many thanks

[Hay133]

Hi is the problem coming from your chest or throat as i have gerd and vcd and have very simular symptoms as your describing

[shuk in reply to Hay133]

Heyy, its definitely coming from chest.

All started from a scratchy throat etc which went into a cold but the chest part took hold a day after the cold symptoms.

You mentioned gerd...that wpjld never have crossed my mind ..

[Hay133 in reply to shuk]

Hi the only reason i ask is because doctors treated me for asthma for four years when it wasnt gerd makes you cough and struggle breathing if you try gaviscon and it helps breathing that could give you a clue whether it is i had to have camera down my nose i was scared because theyd ignored that i felt strangled for years

[Sllewis]

Hi,

As well as a generalised cough, are you getting distinct 'fits' of chronic coughing that you can't control (that leave you desperate for breath and feeling sick/retching)? The symptoms ypu're describing sound very similar to my own and l was diagnosed with whooping cough on Monday. It might be worth contacting you gp again as if it is whooping cough, antibiotics are on,y effective in the first three weeks of symptoms staring.

Good luck and hope you feel better soon x