diagnosis

[kuroe]

Hi everyone! I’m new to this forum, I was actually diagnosed with asthma today, it was an extremely scary experience and now I’m on steroids and have an inhaler, I’m worried about taking the steroids, 8 5mg a day is that a usual dose?

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador]

Hi

Sorry to hear this and welcome to the community. Please feel free to post any questions you have! Someone out there probably has the answer, or has had a similar experience!

To answer your first question. The usual dose of steroids after an attack is 30-40mg (6-8 5mg tablets) for 5-7 days (the most common combo is 40mg for 5 days). It seems like a lot initially but the steroids are to calm down the inflammation in your airways (cause breathing is kind of important 😉😂) as quickly as possible. Common side effects that people experience initially from a short course of pred is insomnia and mood swings (pred can make you feel hormonal even at the best time of the month, usually causing anger/tears for most).

Once you’ve recovered from this initial attack (and assuming you’re UK based) I suggest booking to see the asthma nurse at your surgery (or of you don’t have one a GP) and get them to fill out an asthma action plan for you. (You can print them off here; asthma.org.uk/globalassets/... ). This usually makes things seem less scary because you know what to do when. Also the asthma UK website is full of information to help! If you’re still worried, or just would like a personal information give the AUK helpline a call, and they’ll be able to do that (you’ll be speaking to an experienced asthma nurse). The key thing is not to worry about it. You may have asthma, but as I said once controlled many people find they have very little issues!

A controlled asthmatic can do the same as a non asthmatic, so long as they’re on the correct meds (when controlled you shouldn’t need your blue inhaler more than 3x (6 puffs) a week! However finding the right med combo for you can take a little time, so bear with it and keeps going back if things don’t settle! Also a word of advice: spacers whilst incredibly irritaing, cumbersome and unsexy, really help improve your drug uptake efficiency (up to 70%) so definitely worth using/getting/asking for one! Also a peak flow meter (cyclinder you blow into to basically measure airway narrowness and speed of which you can blow out) is an essential bit of kit... initially not very helpful (as you will have to compare to an average score, until you’ve worked out your best) but once you know your best, for many it can be the first indicator of when an issue is occurring!

Going to promote a couple of my past posts here but these may help...

What I wish I had asked my GP/AN when first diagnosed: healthunlocked.com/asthmauk...

Asthma top tips and advice: healthunlocked.com/asthmauk...

What I wish I had known (and what I learnt through trial and error): healthunlocked.com/asthmauk...

Hope this helps and that you feel more confident in your condition as time goes on!!

[kuroe in reply to EmmaF91]

Thankyou so much, I really appreciate it! It means a lot

[Chokit]

Hi Kuroe, Hope ur feeling a bit better today, yes, I was on the same 40mg to start off then they taper the dosage down, don’t worry about that, just concentrate on getting better, Good Luck!

[kuroe in reply to Chokit]

Thankyou! X

[Statch in reply to kuroe]

Hi kuroe

It is initially scary can attest to that. Got diagnosed with asthma last August and has taken till now to get to a place where I feel in control not the asthma. Never be scared of going to a gp or walk in centre if things are not right better to get seen and get meds changed or another dose of steroids.

Would also get the flu jab it will help.

And from personal experience I now have a emergency pack of antibiotics and steroids so I can start treatment earlier for chest infections but had to ask gp for that

Hope you get better soon

[lucia_m]

Hi Kuroe and welcome. You’ll find lots of support on the forum, it’s a really nice community. Asthma can be scary but it definitely helps to be able to connect and talk to others. Hope you feel better soon.

[Superzob]

Try to look at it this way: a diagnosis of anything doesn't change you at all - it is simply a means of determining the best treatment to make you better.

And I wish you all the very best.