Hi All,
Thanks for any help or reassurance in advance.
Me:
33-Year-Old Male. Ex smoker (as of 4 weeks ago - light smoker over the years, probably 4-pack years max). Well-controlled asthma for about 15 years (Beclametasone ICS, never needed rescue inhaler when not smoking).
My recent story:
i) 3 months ago I had a minor exacerbation (tight chest - no mucus, no cough, no wheeze) after a heavy night smoking (duhh, I know).
ii) Went to the doctor, he prescribed Symbicort (160/4.5). Went off all other asthma drugs, just 2 puffs of Symbicort/day. Recovered in around two weeks.
iii) A few weeks later after some beers I thought my lungs felt so good that it was time for a few cigarettes
iv) Woke up with a super tight chest again (no mucus, no cough, no wheeze).
v) Upped my Symbicort dose to 4 puffs a day.
vi) Slow improvement over 2 or 3 weeks before smack bang at square one of this current situation.
vii) Back to doctors to be prescribed stronger Symbicort (320/9 - two puffs a day) and Montelukast.
viii) Since then, there has been zero improvement and zero change.
ix) Another doctor appt on Friday to advise I'm not improving.
Other stuff that may be clues to what's going on:
- I feel fine in the evenings at home and when sleeping. I wake up in the morning feeling almost normal. In the office feel OK until around 1-2pm when the tightness comes on
- Only Asthma trigger I've ever known is smoking. Had cats forever with no issues, no hayfever, no other allergies, lived in cities with terrible air etc...
- No allergies, no wheezing, no mucus, no coughing.
- Ventolin is having a negligible effect right now.
- Fit and healthy generally, plenty of sports and cycling etc.
- Peak flow is always good. Blood oxygen always good.
- I'm currently not in the UK but have access to a respiratory specialist department within 24 hours and a great team of docs.
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So err, yeah... That's my story. Anybody ever experienced anything similar? Anyone got any advice what might be the issue or what might help recovery?
I'm so anxious right now that I desperately need to know this tight chest will not be with me forever.
Hi,
I have no great advice at all, but just wanted to say hope your appointment is helpful on Friday!
It’s good you have a respiratory team. They would hopefully offer you some help and advice.
Hey, thank you so much for taking the time to respond.
Yeah, I hope we can start fixing this soon. I'll report back to the thread if anything changes.