I constantly get short of breath. I mean all the time, not the kind that’s bad enough to use my inhaler but for an example today I went outside to water the plants and I found myself short of breath, sometimes it gets bad enough for me to grab my inhaler but most of the time I just don’t because it’s not necessary. I talked to my doctor and he said to just make sure I’m taking my inhaler so basically I’m asking if you get this do you have tips to help?
(sorry if there’s any bad grammar I always write these super late at night)
I think you need to see your GP. People with asthma can get short of breath but it should not be all of the time. The aim of treatment is to get us to ‘ normal.”
If you feel you are short of breath, I would use your inhaler - even if it doesn’t seem bad enough. Take your peak flow at the same time everyday and make a graph of your readings. Book an appointment with your GP or asthma nurse for a medication review. Maybe you need something added in, or a stronger preventer. Either way, it is a conversation worth having.
I think it is because your medication etc and environment is just not working well enough. So your system is just inflamed, so anything tips it over.
I generally like being on fostair 100 mart, but I get periods when it just does not work, and I get breathless very easily. I then switch to fostair 200 and if it fails prednisone.
So I think you need to look at whether your basic medications are doing their job or need altering and if everything else is correct, eg is your house dust under control etc.
One thing that helped me recently is my asthma nurse changed my spacer from a compact version to a large old fashioned thing. This just makes my medication work 10 percent better.
Small changes can give big results when you are hovering on the edge of a big asthma attack all the time. So what small things can you do to help.
You don't mention what preventer you're on, but it does sound like whatever it is may not be working so well. I hope you are on some kind of preventer inhaler?
As others have said do try taking the reliever (usually blue) inhaler when you feel you need it, and see if it helps. It isn't a 'last resort' thing for when you're really bad, but you shouldn't feel you need it more than 2-3x per week if your asthma is controlled (and control is about how often you need it not how often you actually take it).
I agree with Troilus as so far your GP doesn't seem to have been massively helpful - you need to go back and discuss this. You could also have dysfunctional breathing but that can happen as a result of, or alongside, poorly controlled asthma - and if your asthma is poorly controlled you need to sort that out.
You may find this post helpful about the different kinds of shortness of breath - not saying you have anxiety but it's useful to know the difference and to know you can have asthma, anxiety and dysfunctional breathing at the same time or separately: healthunlocked.com/asthmauk...
I would also give the asthma nurses a call on 0300 2225800 or WhatsApp 07378 606 728 Monday-Friday 0915-5pm. They can help chat through what's been happening and how to approach your GP.
1) I would suggest calling the Asthma UK helpline - they are always really helpful at talking through options and suggesting things you could do.
2) Does your practice have an asthma nurse? I didn't get anywhere with my GP, and my asthma only started getting properly under control when I had my first meeting with the practice asthma nurse.
3) I used to use my reliever inhaler as a 'last resort' when I really couldn't cope without it, but I found that I then needed it more often because my lungs were so sensitive that anything set them off. Now, I use the reliever as soon as I feel the slightest bit of breathing difficulty, and I don't need it nearly so often, because that early use calms everything down quickly! I remember you posting a while back about feeling embarrassed to use your inhaler in front of people, so I wonder if maybe delaying using it is causing your lungs to become more inflamed and sensitive, so they keep reacting to stuff?
Definitely keep pushing for results - it can take a while to get the right balance of medication, but it's worth it.
I'd reiterate all of the above advice. In addition, do read up on 'controlled breathing'. Its gd to reduce anxiety, slow breathing down but isn't a replacement for asthma reliever.its just a measure that may help x
Hi - I think you need to know what is causing you to be constantly out of breath. Do you wheeze if so that could be uncontrolled asthma.. I also could in part be caused by stress - So really you do need to know why you are constantly breathless.
HI, I just wanted to add - not everyone with asthma wheezes, even if it's severe or poorly controlled. And not all wheezes are due to asthma. It might or might not be asthma, but a wheeze isn't a good way to tell.
Stress can also cause dysfunctional breathing, or trigger asthma, or both (though again not for everyone). So I agree that I_love_dogs needs to find out why this is happening.
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