Am I A severe Asthmatic?

[Asake]

Hello everybody, I have once heard it from medical experts that severe asthma is quite different from other forms of asthma and it's a bit difficult to treat.

I developed asthma in my teenage years and it was very controlled as at then but when I clocked 18, it became a bit uncontrolled and seretide was recommended which was very effective in controlling my asthma.

But as at last year February, seretide was not effectively controlling my asthma, so, sometimes I do use prednisone, Monteleukast and rescue inhaler to achieve control.

So I want to ask if this are signs of severe asthma as I now use my asthma drugs and inhaler both day and night to achieve control unlike before when seretide alone was sufficient to control my asthma.

[ChrissieMons]

You should be talking to your GP and/or consultant about this. Prednisone is a very powerful medication and should not be taken lightly. If your preventer inhaler is not working and you are using your blue rescue inhaler more than 4 times a day, you should get a doctor's advice very quickly. You can get an emergency appointment if your asthma is really troubling you. You would also benefit from a chat with the nurse at asthmauk. Take care.

[Asake in reply to ChrissieMons]

Thanks Chrissiemons, I appreciate your comments. Although, I use my rescue inhaler like once or at most twice but am bothered bcos I rarely use it in the past. Am currently on Monteleukast and I use it daily but the prednisone is not a drug I use frequently unless I have asthma attack and that's because I am aware of the side effects. But its just that sometimes my asthma makes me depressed, or makes me feel my life span would be shortened or so.

I live in Nigeria, that was were I was born and raised

[ChrissieMons in reply to Asake]

You might find that a different preventative inhaler, with the Monteleukast would help. I know uncontrolled asthma is depressing, so you need to get it properly controlled. It shouldn't shorten your life once you get it controlled. It's a nuisance, but millions of us live with it and live well. Think positive - you are in charge of your asthma, it is not in charge of you!

[Joan_Public]

Hi, i think that it is only a consultant that can diagnose severe asthma, not a GP. In my experience, it is a lengthy process and there are various other criteria for diagnosing asthma as severe, not just how often you take meds.

The asthma UK nurses are fantastic for advice and support, but as ChrissieMons says, if you are concerned about your symptoms and are having to use your meds more often than previously, the best thing to do is to talk it over with whoever is responsible for your asthma care. Do you have an asthma action plan?