Advice on diagnosis meaning

[Turfcare]

Morning folks.

This might be for the medically trained amongst the group.

What does 2 and 3 mean.

[mylungshateme]

So I maybe wrong but you haven't got eosinophilic asthma and haven't got allergic asthma.

[Troilus]

Item 2. Eosinophils are white blood cells that are associated with asthma. Some kind of immune response. Present in varying amounts or not at all.Item 2. A RAST test is a blood test where they look for specific allergies. However, they can’t test for every single thing. (A person can test negative on specific allergens but have a high IgE. In other words you have unidentified allergies.)

Maybe these are things you could chat with your GP about.

It looks a very hopeful report. You have been given a pathway to improve things. Good luck 😁

[Turfcare in reply to Troilus]

Thanks for your reply. The reason I posted it is to gain further clarity on this. Firstly I might add that the only blood test done for allergies was last year and at that time I was told I was allergic to grass (you might guess from my post name I used to maintain turf!) and that I was HIGHLY allergic to cats. This is stated in correspondence from the hospital, my gp was a bit confused, also at the bit saying my asthma was well controlled, and as well as him asking for further clarification suggested I asked the consultant as well.

The response I got is in one of the repl to myself. Confused.... I am!

[fraid]

Cheeky reply but 2& 3 = 5 so if you are 5 stones overweight and lose some it would help your breathing?

[Turfcare in reply to fraid]

Thanks for your response.

If you think that was cheeky have a look at response to me asking if he could explain to me what the diagnosis meant.

Also look at my comments in the responses to those that have commented to get a bigger picture

[Turfcare]

This was the response I got after asking if he could explain what the diagnosis meant.

Response to asking what previous letter to gp meant.

[Troilus]

In non medical terms the response translates to “Bog off. You are not my problem any more.”

Needs a lesson in common courtesy!

[Gwalltarian]

You could ask for a second opinion - to be referred to a different consultant - considering the fact that you do have allergies and your asthma is not under control. Personal experience has taught me that the threshold for response asthmatically to triggers such as allergies is lower under any stress conditions. If the medication you are taking is suitable and acceptable to you perhaps the dose needs to be increased. Avoid allergies - keeping your home environment as allergy free as possible. If you don’t take antihistamines or montelukast then you could try some.

[Turfcare in reply to Gwalltarian]

Thanks for your response. Going through that at the moment. Gp is seeking a referral for a second opinion from another health board as he knows I have no faith in the local health board hospital. I was totally shocked at how rude the consultant was and I think the correspondence copied in the post kind of show that. Totally disgusted by his attitude at a consultation I waited 15 months for, and as for his questioning... 'who told you that you had asthma?'. Even writing that doesn't portray the way it was said. Or 'Why do you take prednisone?', when it was his department's staff that wrote to my GP to put it on as a repeat prescription as part of my asthma plan! Ignored videos taken showing how bad I get by refusing even to look at them, as, in his words, 'it's just your weight'. Well not according to my GP it isn't. I had sympathy for the NHS with all the pressure of dealing with Covid but it's amazing how that has deteriated. It doesn't cost anything to be polite.

[Dpotter in reply to Turfcare]

obviously your consultant fully understands the difficulties in losing weight when you are taking steroids and not as active as you’d like to be if your asthma is not properly controlled…. Not! Hope you get better answers soon x

[Turfcare in reply to Dpotter]

thanks for your reply, and your concern.

[Gwalltarian]

Good luck with your referral. The consultant you’ve seen does seem to have some personal issues!

[Poobah]

Unfortunately, some consultants and surgeons do have a personality that appears to suggest that they've had charisma bypasses at med school; their just not empaths. Taking time to listen and explain makes all the difference and without that approach it just leaves patients feeling that they've been dismissed without any competent professional consideration. It's a horrible experience, especially when one's health is concerned and further treatment is needed.

While you're waiting for your second opinion referral, ask your GP if they can refer you to an NHS health & wellbeing coach (a service that's not widely advertised). I was referred by my asthma nurse in April 2021 and have been able to lose a significant amount of weight and my asthma is so much more controlled. I do have non-eosinophilic asthma and weight can be a trigger for this phenotype, so this may have been what the consultant meant (I'm guessing). There's information online if you want to find out more.

Good luck on your endeavours.