Hi all, as I am one of the original first UK Coronavirus Lockdown's bronchitis or asthma (which is looking more like asthma now due to symptoms) patient since: 05/05/2020, due to being triaged at a hospital as my doctor could hear me wheeze and lose my breath the deeper I coughed over the telephone; I was wondering what positive changes you noticed from the start of when your asthma was properly medicated??.....
Especially as I can only dream and imagine what it is like at the moment because on my side of the fence all of the healthcare professionals are waiting for the Coronavirus, to either be eliminated or at least treatable therefore we shall only be seeing less than: 10 people a day dying from this nasty disease; due to just complications before I can go to my Doctors Surgery to finally have that most needed Spirometry Test!
I must not grumble though because during this pandemic both my doctors over the telephone and my hospital in person twice have been medicating me with the maximum dosage of the: Ventolin (reliever) inhaler and 2x 50mcg, twice daily dosage of the: Qvar (preventer) inhaler, but since: 11th March 2021 my dosage of this inhaler was increased by: 2x 100mcg, twice daily as I had another attack from: 05/02/2021 and also after being triaged at my hospital I was even given a short course of: Prednisolone (steroid tablets) to help me to recover from my first attack.
Just yesterday (24/03/2021) I had an unexpected shock in the afternoon whilst I was just watching the TV as I got so angry due to watching different injustices happen I suddenly felt as though I was going to become very dizzy and collapse. Afterwards my heart started to pound fast which did make my chest hurt for a bit but I gathered that this was because my blood pressure had risen very quickly so by the looks of things I shall have to take it easy and relax from now on because as we all know that Asthma naturally rises our blood pressure and heart rate due to our bodies working twice as hard to keep on working!
I look forward to your replies.
All the very best and take care,
Road_Runner1984
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Road_Runner1984
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Hi! I’m in a similar boat to you, had my first symptoms in June 2020 and have only had phone calls with my gp and blood tests. I’ve been on 4x 200mcg clenil preventer but still use my salamol reliever 4 times a day most days so I’m being switched to a different inhaler. It feels quite scary to be dealing with all of this new information without seeing the specialist and also difficult to judge my symptoms and what is “normal” now. I wonder if there are things I’ll always have to avoid or if I’ll be able to manage my asthma enough to be ok. I hope you stay safe and well 🌻
I am truly sorry to hear that your asthma symptoms and diagnosis started just: 1 month after mine. I had the same as you when it came to blood tests and in addition to this I had an X-Ray, urine and an ECG test which sadly came back negative but maybe it was a good thing?! I will probably end up on a similar preventer inhaler and dosage as you soon especially because since last month, my asthma symptoms has been getting allot worse due to pollen triggering it even though it did not last year?!
But I should not be at all surprised because I have had very bad Hay Fever from the age of: 20 years old so: 16 years down the line I now have more asthma than bronchitis symptoms. You mentioning about the usage of your salbutamol reliever inhaler I have been using mine the same as you, plus sadly an additional: 2x puffs because of the pollen triggering me this year.....
My doctor is taking it slowly with me when it comes to my asthma medication because I found out at my hospital in the past that I am allergic to Morphine so in my case the less medication I can take the better! There is no need to feel scared about dealing with all of the new asthma information without seeing a specialist, because we have this Asthma Forum and our best friend: Google Search Engine to rely on as well as our own GP doctors over the telephone.
Too true! I also find it difficult to judge my symptoms compared to what is “normal” now as it is coming up to our first year anniversary isn’t it sadly due to feeling ill and triggered by asthma trigger symptoms all the time so taking you twice as long to complete any kind of task and living life in general..... I hope you are not triggered by pollen because that will be almost impossible to avoid but saying that we shall just have to both be patient, positive and optimistic that once Coronavirus has been dealt with we will both be properly diagnosed and given the correct amount of medication so that we can and will feel better again. Thanks I hope you stay safe and well too..... Happy Easter for tomorrow.
Hi, I hope you had a good Easter weekend! Unfortunately it does seem that the pollen is making my symptoms worse but I have been prescribed montelukast today by my GP so I will see if that helps. The asthma UK helpline has been invaluable and I’ve had lots of good advice from them but my GPs have not been as helpful.
I have other chronic conditions so I’m used to this kind of ‘research then bugging my dr until they agree to help’ cycle!
Hopefully we will both be able to see specialists in the next 6 months or so and manage with the support we can find online until then.
I had a good Easter weekend thank you especially as this 36 year old (but at the moment I feel like a 63 year old due to my asthma symptoms!) was given chocolate Easter eggs and my favourite: Cadbury Cream Eggs as you are never too old to relive your childhood well that is my excuse anyway, hehe! How was your Easter weekend?, did you receive or buy any Easter eggs for yourself? and I hope it was as exciting as mine was?
Ha! I should have kept my big mouth shut shouldn’t I have Birch_ because by the sounds of things you are as allergic to pollen as I am, because only this year: 2021 during the beginning of this month I have found out that pollen is now triggering my asthma symptoms as during the night for: 1 hour and 50 minutes I had a typical asthma attack which felt like my body was trying to get me to cough up my lungs even when lying down, as that was the only way I could possibly get rid of the pollen inside and after taking: 2 doses, 5 times of my Ventolin reliever inhaler I could only just manage to sleep it off as by then I could just hear myself breath like Darth Vader from: Star Wars, due to my very narrow airways but this has taught me a very valuable lesson to not keep my big window open during the Spring and Summer time otherwise I will pay for it!!
Thank you for mentioning about the montelukast tablets which your doctor prescribed you even though you did have to twist their arm so to speak didn’t you unfortunately as it is very much appreciated!, because I used our best friend: Google Search and the NHS Website did say that montelukast tablets are supposed to prevent the symptoms of asthma and asthma attacks by helping to stop your airways from narrowing (caused by inflammation) therefore it makes breathing easier.
It can also help people with asthma who have breathing difficulties when they exercise (exercise-induced asthma) and seasonal allergies (like we both have sadly:,() such as: sneezing, itchiness and a blocked or runny nose (allergic rhinitis). If you take it for asthma it's important to take it even when you have no symptoms and montelukast tablets are used alongside inhalers or other asthma medicine, but sadly it can take 2 weeks for the medication to start to work:,(
Funnily enough montelukast tablets are also sometimes given to people without asthma to treat hives (urticaria) that last for a long time (more than 6 weeks). So when I get in contact with my doctor which will probably be next week now due to the pollen now triggering my typical asthma symptoms and thanks to your research I can now ask my doctor/s advice about the possibility of being prescribed montelukast tablets and for your sake I do hope that your prescribed montelukast tablets work for you, so good luck Birch_!
So pleased for you that the asthma UK helpline has been invaluable to you and have received lots of good advice from them but sadly your own doctor has been a complete nightmare and remember not to allow any of your GP doctors to treat you like a second class citizen! I am sorry to hear that you have got other chronic conditions and of course the last thing you need is to add asthma to your medical condition collection!
We have all been there and done that haven’t we when it comes to doing our research and then bugging our doctor/s for the medication that we sometimes so desperately need and hope that they will say “ow go on then here is your new prescription”! Ow please don’t say that we will both need to wait another: 6 months or so to see specialists as that is so depressing isn’t it, but yeah you are right as I would not be at all surprised that Boris’s (our PM’s) scientists have told GP Surgeries and Hospitals to reopen fully once they have scientific evidence that the vaccines are working properly and are actually protect us all even from new mutated versions of Coronavirus and yes I whole heartedly agree with you that we shall all need to manage with the support we can find online until then and to also help each other out at the same time.....
Thanks Birch_ I hope you take care as well and please let me know how you get on with your prescribed montelukast tablets as of course I am interested in finding out if they really do work for us Hay Fever sufferers, who have typical asthma symptoms.
The aim in asthma treatment is for the patient to live day by day with little or no asthma symptoms. However, this isn't always possible and even being on a range of medications asthma may continue to be problematic. But you're not their yet and there is still much to explore - as you say, delayed due to the restrictions in place because of covid.But your dizzy spell etc that you describe does appear to be something that you should discuss with your doctor. It may be prudent to get your blood pressure checked. Asthma meds can affect blood pressure in some patients and treatment may be necessary. Have a look at the patient leaflets that come with your meds and check for side effects before you talk to your doctor, it may help pinpoint the culprit, if relevant in your case. It may just be a one off event, but may be a sign that your BP is creeping up.
Thank you for the reassurance that the aim in asthma treatment is for the patient to live day by day with little or no asthma symptoms and I shall look forward to the day where Coronavirus has been dealt with so that both GP Surgeries and Hospitals can properly reopen again to officially diagnose their patients with whatever medical condition that they have got therefore they will be able to get the proper medication that they so desperately need and deserve.
I have mentioned to my doctors that I get dizzy spells and even Labyrinthitis symptoms once or even twice a month where the room or outside space spins anticlockwise making me feel nauseous and needing to lay down so that I can get rid of it which normally takes me: 30 minutes to do so, their response was “these are typical symptoms for people who have got asthma or bronchitis (COPD); because the body is working twice as hard to not only oxygenate the body properly but to also give the bodies red blood cells enough oxygen to keep the body well maintained, therefore the blood pressure will always be highly elevated sadly; so the only thing you should be worried about is if your body cannot get enough oxygen in to it!”
Luckily my blood pressure was checked at my hospital but they just said “although your blood pressure is high all we would be concerned about is if it causes you to have a stroke or a heart attack” so fair enough I suppose?! Thanks I accidentally came across what you said about asthma medications can affect blood pressure in some patients and treatment may be necessary by using our best friend: Google Search Engine, but when I checked both medication leaflets luckily there was no mention about high blood pressure side effects. Happy Easter.....
It's possible the symptoms yesterday were not actually asthma related, given you were wound up by stuff on TV (been there ha ha!) With pounding chest and so on as well as dizziness it could quite possibly be a stress thing, which can cause people to breathe strangely (unknowingly) and that causes dizziness, or can do. It's hard when it's all new (or even when it's not but things have changed) not to think everything is linked but so many breathing issues are not asthma - although many things look and feel similar.
For now, I think you need to try not to worry about asthma as being a dangerous thing because underlying anxiety will either be causing symptoms that seem like asthma but aren't (perpetuating the cycle) or might actually cause asthma issues as in some people that is a trigger. I know it's easy to say don't worry about it so apologies for that because it's not easy but you are on preventer medication for asthma so it is being managed. I know you're waiting for spirometry but that may not give you the answers you want anyway - very often the results are normal because asthma is variable so some days it's ok and others it's not.
But, to get the medication right (which can take a while because of the time needed for things to become effective and see the impact - and because it's all trial and error) one also needs to make sure other factors are also being managed as it's very common to have asthma alongside breathing pattern issues and anxiety (both because of having the asthma). But no asthma drugs will deal with those things. So maybe doing breathing techniques and that side of things would help while waiting for the spirometry as then they should be able to jump straight in with sorting different asthma treatment (if needed) when you've had the tests. Otherwise they'll end up saying oh we need to do this for breathing patterns which delays things. Sorry that's a bit rambly but it might give you something to focus on while you're waiting - it feels like you need to be doing something about it (which is not surprising after all this time!)
This site is really good (physio recommended, free, easy to follow):
The breathing rectangle I find particularly good - it kind of helps regulate breathing so might help if you feel dizzy as that's often caused by breathing too fast.
Of course do contact your GP at any time though - they'd rather hear about concerns and be able to reassure people or check them out than for people to get worse because they didn't want to bother them.
My turn to ramble haha! as I do appreciate what you are trying to say to me but as I said to Poobah that I have mentioned to my doctors that I get dizzy spells and even Labyrinthitis symptoms once or even twice a month where the room or outside space spins anticlockwise making me feel nauseous and needing to lay down so that I can get rid of it which normally takes me: 30 minutes to do so, their response was “these are typical symptoms for people who have got either asthma or bronchitis (COPD); because the body is working twice as hard to not only oxygenate the body properly but to also give the bodies red blood cells enough oxygen to keep the body well maintained, therefore the blood pressure will always be highly elevated sadly; so the only thing you should be worried about is if your body cannot get enough oxygen in to it!”
But I do agree with you that stress can be a horrible pain in the backside especially because this in itself can cause so many symptoms including some that seem like asthma but aren't (perpetuating the cycle) and I am really glad that I am not the only one who can be wound up by stuff on the TV haha! You can say that again that “It's hard when it's all new (or even when it's not but things have changed)”, when it comes to having asthma or even bronchitis symptoms as not only do I wish that I could go back to my healthy self again before the age of: 36 years old! As I feel like a: 63 year old already instead so I am grandpa Road_Runner1984 hehe!;-), but I hate change especially because of needing to now give up certain good causes by fighting for a good cause or causes due to ill health.
Thank you for your concern but I am not worried about having asthma or even bronchitis which is looking more like asthma now due to the symptoms that I have been displaying, because I had a new school friend for: 2 weeks in: 1994 who not only had severe asthma but also had type: 1 Diabetes as well poor kid! Who gave my old school friend a puff of his Ventolin inhaler and sadly had to leave our school because he was being transferred to a proper asthmatic school; I do not know if they still exist especially as we are now in the millennium!?
Also one of my cousins doctors thought that they could have Asthma and just gave them the Ventolin inhaler as they were only: 10 years old at the time and also gave them the then massive plastic spacer which even an adult could not hold properly to use! but it turned out that they had childhood anxiety and stress which made them continuously cough due to nervousness; as that was their only symptom - bless them.
Bless you, there is no need to apologize at all twinkly29 as I understand that you are only trying to reassure me that there is no need to become stressed, anxious or worried as for now I am being given the right kind of medications for asthma so I must think positively still! even though it has almost been: 1 year since my partial diagnosis now. Hu! thank you very much for boosting my moral you are so kind, not! haha! - but on a serious note I do understand what you are trying to say to me twice now on two of my threads because as you said that asthma is variable; therefore a Spirometry Test will not necessarily give you a negative reading, to say yes you have got asthma just like your doctors and yourself predicted!
You can say that again! because when I was taking my Ventolin inhaler at the very beginning I could have sworn to anybody that the inhaler did not work at all!, but when I accidently missed just one dose I could not stop myself from having a small asthma attack until I decided to take that missing dose and then I found out that it did dampen it down as well as stopping my airways from hurting - which felt like they were burning!
My doctors are very good at diagnosing my medical conditions and I doubt that they would confuse my breathing problems with other medical conditions apart from having either: asthma or bronchitis, especially as I take: 50mg of Amitriptyline for my nerve pain (that can also treat: sleeping problems, anxiety and depression) and: 10mg of prescribed hay fever tablets.
Please don’t apologize for rambling on because as you have probably gathered by now that I am also a rambler and not the walking kind either hehe! although my friends are much ruder to me and say that I have got ‘Verbal Diarrhea’ whenever I talk to them, but if I started to talk to them like they talked to me they would be asking me if I was okay?! so you cannot win can you really:’(
When it comes to you saying “maybe doing breathing techniques and that side of things would help while waiting for the spirometry” 1 month before I joined this forum, as fate had it I happened to come across the: Asthma UK Complementary therapies and asthma webpage which links you to your website address called ‘Breathing Freely’ so I have automatically been breathing through my nose slowly and also using diaphragmatic breathing at the same time especially as Oneness Blessing (that is India’s version of spirituality) also covers this, but they call it: Adham Pranayama.
Sadly though, although this helps me whilst sitting down, meditating and walking slowly it does not help me when I walk quickly or lift heavy objects, because it seems to give me a horrible dry throat which stops me from talking until I have a few sips of water, starts to kick off my hay fever and can also actually narrow my airways making me breath like Darth Vader from: Star Wars. But yes as you said “it feels like you need to be doing something about it (which is not surprising after all this time!)” and I shall go into more depth when it comes to your very helpful website links which tells you how to breath, so that it can either help to limit or even prevent me from having some asthma triggers thanks twinkly29!
The ‘The breathing rectangle’ breathing exercise sounds very interesting especially as it can help regulate breathing therefore it may help if I feel dizzy thanks and thanks for letting me know that it is okay to contact my doctor at any time as they would rather hear about my concerns and be able to reassure me or check them out than for me to get worse because of not wanting to bother my doctor, as in my case I personally think that they have got more sicker patients to treat rather than my stupid ailments!
100% echo what twinkly has discussed above really. I highly recommend the breathing pattern self help link as once ref to hospital thats what they'll suggest and will delay things, so at least you can say you've started the process 🙂.
Also please don't pin everything on spirometry as twinkly stated may not be the results your hoping for, quite often isn't as asthma is variable (been there done that 🤣).
Yes news.. I've switched all notifications off from my phone for most current topics as was causing me to become quite emotional at times. Also rarely watch news anymore personally I was finding it too depressing and feeds into the cycle. 🤣😂 that's just me though only have room for positivity to help my misbehaving lungs! 😁
I take a fair whack of medication however I'm symptom free most of the time... however one thing they haven't managed to iron out is the persistent chest infections requiring antibiotics.... they tell me i will have to just get used to that
As someone else has said don't get hung up on spirometry it isn't the be all and end all, I've had *lots* of tests including:
Echocardiograms
EGG'S
CT
Cario Pulmonary exercise tests
Tons and tons of blood tests
Spirometry
Full lung function tests
Methacoline challenge test
all that came out of all of those tests was.. im allergic to loads of stuff, I had fat around my liver (from being a bit overweight), I have been fitter previously (I showed signs of deconditioning during the exercise test) and I *probably have asthma*
They did suggest stopping everything as a test... I did and it ended badly was told we not to do that again as it might not end as well next time (and I walked out of the doctors surgery with 10 prescriptions and a serious telling off for leaving it that long)
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