What happens next

[Lucymarlow1]

Been to my asthma review today

and the nurse recommended I see my gp again as im using my blue inhaler nearly every day as well as my brown preventer one

what will happen next as she mentioned I may need a spirometry test????

thankyou

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador]

Hi

Spirometry is just 1 test they can use to see what’s going on. Do not worry if it’s classed as higher or lower than normal (when I’m well I can have 144% predicted, however despite this I’m a severe asthmatic). They’ll mainly be looking for evidence of airway restriction (esp if you’re feeling tight when you do it). It is a easy test to do even if not nice when you’re struggling and have to do it x3 (it’s like doing a PF but you then breathe out for as long as possible).

The GP will most likely change you’re preventer to either a different steroid base or a combination inhaler.

I hope that helps

[Lucymarlow1 in reply to EmmaF91]

Thats helped alot thankyou

The pf killed me today had to do it twice first blew 300 then 340 would you say thats aversge or?

Cough like a mad woman when i do them

Do you ever feel at times you wished you could breathe normal not to mention im 25 "/

I have a feeling he will most likely change them

Thankyou for your reply

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador in reply to Lucymarlow1]

PF are personal... there is an national average, but very few are actually on it! My predicted best is 440 but I can hit 630 when I’m well. It took me a couple years to actually find my best tho (til I was back in better control etc). So for PF the number isn’t really important, it’s the percentage level when compared to YOUR best (for me 300 is <50% so bad, but for others it’s 80/90% so absolutely fine). However if you’re struggling to do it and it’s making you cough it does sound like something is making you twitchy (inflammation etc).

Once you’re on the right meds you should return to feeling like to have normal lungs (Barring the regular meds). Good control means not needing to use your reliever (blue) inhaler more than 2/3x week.

For me it’s been a while since I’ve had an extended period of ‘normal’ (ie no asthma but also no debilitating med side effects), but I’m hoping my new drug is the one to give me back control!

Ps I’m 27... my asthma kicked off badly from the age of 23 😒. Providing asthma is the correct diagnosis you should get back control, esp if you’re at the very start of the system! (lots of drug options for you to try 😉)

[Lucymarlow1 in reply to EmmaF91]

Thankyou so much for your help & kindness thats helped alot!

Did yours just come out of no where as mine has and im not sure whats triggered it apart from constant chest infections & i know its like a trial & error atm lol

Thankyou for replying & helping

[DeborahBlythe in reply to Lucymarlow1]

Hi Lucy,

I've had mild asthma since childhood. So mild that I hardly ever needed medication except perhaps when I caught a cold. It got worse just over a year ago (I'm in my sixties) when I moved house to go and live near fields and the seaside. Before that I'd been living in a London suburb near a major ring road so you'd have thought that I'd be much better off once I'd moved away from petrol fumes and the general poor air quality of a busy city.

Quite the opposite. My previously mild and untroubling asthma has become chronic down here so GP organised some allergy tests to see if I'm allergic to something. Turns out I'm allergic to grass seed, tree pollen, cat and dog fur and house dust.

But these triggers are not all aggravating to the same extent, apparently. So I'm more allergic to tree pollen and grass seed than I am to dog fur, which is good news as I've had a dog for five years and I'd hate to keep away from him!

Anyway, what I'm saying is that there could be a cause for your asthma suddenly cropping up, if something has changed in your environment and your GP might want to do allergy tests. (Nothing scary, just sending off a small sample of blood to get it analysed).

Hope this helps and that your GP can find a better treatment for you. (I'm on a combination inhaler, one which has a preventer drug plus a reliever drug in it.. Sirdupla after years of just having a blue inhaler.) Plus an antihistamine for all those pesky allergies.

Good luck.

[Lucymarlow1 in reply to DeborahBlythe]

mind you saying that

in our house there is a little mold I wonder if that is the cause?

plus I do vape,

I have 2 cats I don't think im allergic to those

however my skin is always itchy to the point im scratching it constant

not sure if I can take a antihistamine though as im on a new mental health med I will mention that to the gp

but I do suffer bad with hayfever so I do wonder if its this too?

as a child I couldn't sit in grass without sneezing like I don't know what so im not sure if its that either?