Why my asthma medications do not work?

Hello. I'm 28 and last year I was diagnosed with persistent asthma. My symptoms are back chest tightness on only one side, dry cough, mucus and occasionally wheezing and sneezing. These symptoms are present every day, Every hour and they worsen with movements. Spirometry has a sightly lower average fev/fvc but still normal.

Xray and CT scan show no signs of any disease. The asthma medications that i take (an inhaled steroid called relvar ellipta) and albuterol (ventolin) do not ever have an effect of my chest tightness, mucus and cough. However i feel that i can breathe a little better. Should these medications only affect the breath? No improvement on mucus, tightness and cough. Is this normal with ashtma?

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador]

Hi

If it’s asthma, usually all symptoms will clear up with the right asthma meds, however some times it takes a while to work out what works for you. Have you tried anything like montelukast? Also have you found that these symptoms occurred after getting COVID?

[Hidden in reply to EmmaF91]

I'm Covid negative and never tried montelukast. Thank you for the info. Idk what to do

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

I meant have you ever had covid/suspected covid 😅

[Hidden in reply to EmmaF91]

Yes and i was tested and negative for covid fortunately

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

Ok. Was it a test at the time or months later? Cause your symptoms could be down to post covid syndrome and that would explain why they aren’t really helping too much.

But healthunlocked.com/asthmauk... talks about add ons for asthma that a GP will often go for. If these don’t work I strong suggest asking for a referral to a hosp con to get things checked out properly

[Hidden in reply to EmmaF91]

I was tested at the time of the symptoms

[twinkly29]

Is it just the GP who is dealing with this or are you under a consultant? If not a consultant it might be worth asking if they will refer you. Explain that various things make you wonder if it's not asthma but something else (I know you've previously wondered about COPD for example) and that your symptoms don't necessarily fit with asthma - but that a specialist might be able to look into it more? If you're already under a consultant though maybe ask directly (when you can see or speak to them) "if it could be something else like COPD because....."

It may still be asthma and, like Emma said, just taking time to find the right medication for you. But it is hard in that time to feel you're making progress.

Do you monitor your peak flow? Doing so twice a day regularly (at the same times) even if it doesn't change is useful evidence for discussing things with doctors. Also doing it when tight etc before using your ventolin and then repeating it 15 mins later is really useful too as it can show if the ventolin is helping or not - this can also be useful in getting doctors to accept that it's not. Or, if it appears to be helping because peak flow improves but you don't feel any better, it may help them to consider other factors. But you need these ongoing records sometimes to help.

[Hidden in reply to twinkly29]

The doctors just left me with asthma diagnosis. No matter what I said, they looked at the documentation I have (negative to all kinds of exam). I still feel like s... everyday. And I basically spent all my money on doctors. Guess will see what will happen next .. been recovering, been stable or in a coffin.

[twinkly29 in reply to Hidden]

Are you in the UK? Am thinking maybe not if you're paying for doctors?

[Hidden in reply to twinkly29]

I'm not in UK

[twinkly29 in reply to Hidden]

It's a bit more difficult for many of us to know how to help if you're abroad as you'll be working with a different system. That's not to say you shouldn't post here of course but it's harder for us to say "this should be happening" or "ask for this". But it must be very frustrating for you at the moment.

[Poobah]

There are a range of asthma medications and not every one will suit every asthmatic. If your meds aren't relieving you of your symptoms then make an appointment with your GP or asthma nurse - it probably be a telephone appointment, but these can be beneficial if you're well prepared with what you wish to say. Be clear about your symptoms and how often they occur and how they affect your ability to carry out daily activities. And explain how your current meds are not relieving the tightness & mucus. This will will help the GP/nurse decide which meds to change. Unfortunately, trial and error is often the only way to establish which meds suit you best.

And make sure that you have a follow up appointment in order to discuss progress with any new meds, just in case they need adjusting or changing.

[Hidden in reply to Poobah]

Thank you form the reply

[Ortho10]

Have you had your Mucus tested to see if there are bacteria present.Issues with just one lung are not very indicative of asthma.