I'm new here and I am really glad to have found a community of people who understand what dealing with asthma is like (even if most of you are in another country š I'm Canadian) I'm an 18yr old girl and I was diagnosed with asthma when I was 12 so almost 7yrs ago. Anyway I hope everyone is feeling better than me right now. I've been feeling pretty ill all day today, I had a minor asthma attack last night and I was able to control it with my rescue inhalor. But today I have been struggling with terrible chest pain/tightness, coughing and shortness of breath when I talk. I've taken my rescue inhaler about 20times but it hasn't gotten any better. I'm nervous about going to the hospital because every other time I've gone my oxygen levels were perfect (98-100) and the nurses looked at me like I was faking. I really don't want to go unless I have to but at this point I'm just not sure how I am supposed to decide if I need to or not.
If anyone has any advice I would really appreciate it.
Written by
emptyskies13
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Hi sorry to hear that youāre not doing well at the moment!
The general rule with asthma is if it feels uncontrolled get help.
If your reliever helps and lasts more than 4 hours but you keep needing it book an urgent appt to see your GP as you probably need prednisolone.
If youāre reliever doesnāt help, doesnāt last 4 hours or you are struggling to eat, sleep, talk or do basic activities go to hospital for further treatment. If youāre not sure go to hospital - in the UK docs would rather see us early and not bad then really bad when we put it off - itās cheaper and less stressful for them! (I should imaging this will be the same in Canada!)
O2 sats is not a good indication of how bad your asthma is! It should be measured on peak flow and symptoms! Iāve had bad attacks where my PF was below 50% but sats at 98%, and conversely PF of 70% but sats of 94%! In Britain the only time they really look at sats is if the drop to 92% or below as an indication of a very severe attack, or just as a measure of improvement (like heart rate and blood pressure too!). I think people āconfuseā asthma with COPD which is a lot more focused on sats as they can drop very quickly in flare ups.
From the sounds of it youāre reliever isnāt working so Iād āpopā to your local hospital and get help.
Hello. Iām in a similar situation here. I tend to just use my reliever/my preventer whenever Iām struggling as quite often I can be very tight chested but cope by breathing shallowly and not over exerting myself until it passes. I usually find it does pass eventually. However, because my reliever isnāt helping should I be attending hospital? (If itās evening or weekend) because I usually feel like Iām just wasting peoples time as I can still eat fine and usually my speaking is ok although sometimes I sound like Iāve just ran a mile. Iām not sure if thereās much my GP can do to help me as Iām already on quite a collection of medication. Does this post make sense? Iām afraid Iām rambling
I completely understand what you're saying and normally I just let the feeling pass by itself too but yesterday it just wouldn't go. I just felt like I couldn't catch my breath, my chest was really tight and I couldn't stop coughing. My mom took me to a different hospital than we normally go to and the staff were amazing! Everyone was super nice and helpful and they took care of me right away. My O2 levels had actually dropped down to 94 which is the first time that's happened for me. I was given 4 breathing treatments and iv steroids and I got to go home later that evening.
My advice for you is: you know your body better than anyone else and if you feel like your symptoms aren't improving then go to the hospital.
It took me a while to understand this but you are NOT wasting anyone's time and it is always better safe than sorry.
I had a really bad chest infection in February that came on suddenly. I had a barking, chesty cough for a fortnight then within an hour I felt like death. Took a taxi to hospital as I felt unfit to drive and got into trouble as the doctor said I shouldāve called an ambulance š I definitely donāt like feeling like Iām wasting time. I always worry Iād call an ambulance and feel better by the time it got to me and Iād get into trouble for time wasting
Trust me I get it, I hate feeling like I'm wasting their time too. But I'd rather "waste" the doctors time than wait too long at home and not make it to the hospital in time š
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