I was only diagnosed with asthma 2 years ago after years of brutal chest infections. It has always been relatively well controlled with flare ups only when I have a chest infection, which were always resolved with my blue inhaler. Last Monday I started having asthma attack symptoms so rang 111 who told me to go to A&E. They then sent me straight through to Meijers where I had IV fluids and nebulisers. After this. I was sent home and told to contact my doctor as I have tested positive for RSV. When I saw the doctors they sent me straight back to hospital through admissions luckily so I was straight onto bed and was put through all the same tests again and they kept me for three days. It was horrible. I am now home and it’s been about a week and I’ve had another round of antibiotics but I’m still feeling awful. My chest still wheezy and I have a chesty cough. I felt better yesterday after weeks of feeling rubbish so decided to go on a walk only five minutes to get my prescription. Today I woke up and felt like a bus had hit me. I’ve had no energy and no motivation and I’ve spent most of the day asleep. I feel drowsy confused and quite spaced out. I completely understand recovery can be a lengthy process but I’m getting super frustrated. I am a uni student who is in the first year so as I’m sure you can understand I’m feeling incredibly isolated and lonely as everyone else around me is going out having fun playing sports. You name it. I honestly just don’t know what to do anymore. My uni luckily is very supportive and they have put in a support plan to cover my attendance and things when I am not feeling well. I just feel very lost and confused and upset. I’m on fostair four times a day, salbutamol 4 to 5, times a day and montelukast at night. I am experiencing a lot of body shakes, and it makes fine things very hard to do as my hands shake so much.
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Bolt21
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Hi, sounds like you’re having a tough time. I would consider speaking to your Dr again- especially if you finish the antibiotics and are still wheezy/chesty coughing. I usually need a different antibiotic, the standard amoxicillin doesn’t do much for me. I would ask about the MART (maintenance and reliever therapy,) way of using Fostair. It can be taken as a reliever too. Too much Salbutamol can give you the shakes. I really hope you start to feel better soon.
Recovery, after you feel “normal “ again at rest, can take weeks to get back to usual levels of activity. Be kind to yourself and try not to push yourself too much. I am terrible with this and as soon as I feel vaguely ok I totally over do it and knock myself back .
When I was at uni, smoking was still allowed everywhere. I am allergic to smoke so socialising in pubs/ student union/ other peoples homes was almost impossible for me- I understand how isolated and left out you must be feeling. I tried not to focus on that and instead focused on studying and met people with common interests through clubs, then ditched the clubs.
I wish you all the best and hope things improve soon. x
You poor thing, if you were my offspring I'd be on the motorway to look after you , make sure you eat, drink fluids, take your temperature and if it's high back to a&e but then my 3 were only about 2 hours away. The shakes and feeling spaced out sounds like a fever to me, untreated can lead to pneumonia. Have you any covid testing kits? I've no wish to alarm you however, I've been where you have with endless infections, now experienced I don't except anything less than two weeks of antibiotics , sometimes a course of steroids are given to help with the inflammation of airways.
Do please call the helpline first thing tomorrow 9am, 0300 222 5800 or copy & paste your above post to their WhatsApp 07378 606 728 with your contact details. They are fantastic for advice, support and guidance.
When you're better come back here for tips on going forward ie I always cover my nose & mouth in cold weather plus avoiding anyone else's bugs, for me a virus would quickly become bacterial with mucus trapped in lungs particularly when resistance is low. .
I'm pleased for you that uni are supportive at least. You're not alone now you've joined this forum, kindest regards.
Recovering from a big asthma attack takes a lot of time, with the chance of quite a few relapses. Personally I would take it slowly and target getting back to health in January, rather than trying to rush things.
Medically on Monday morning, I would ring the asthma UK helpline and chat through your meds with a nurse. Bear in mind it can take a month or so for some meds to become fully effective. The nurses are super helpful and will just chat it through with you.
Re isolation just ask somebody to do one or two small things with you each day.
Long term, have a think, is there anything setting off your asthma, that you can avoid or mitigate. Also see if you get access to a decent Asthma nurse at the GP practice.
I agree with what others have said. It sounds really frustrating even if your uni is being good (though I'm glad they are!)
RSV can be nasty with asthma (I've had it and it definitely stirred things up afterwards with my asthma, though it didn't turn bacterial like it sounds yours did).
There are further options for treatment beyond what you're currently on routinely for asthma, and I would say that if you're not already seeing a consultant you might need a review at this point to see if it's the best treatment for you. Sometimes if you're admitted with an asthma attack the hospital team will arrange that.
I definitely agree with the suggestion to ring the asthma nurses tomorrow: Call us on 0300 2225800 or WhatsApp 07378 606 728 Monday-Friday 0915-5pm
They can chat through everything and make suggestions about what to discuss with your GP, what your options are etc.
As others have said - take it easy, though I know it's frustrating! Asthma attacks and hospital admissions are tiring even without adding the infection side of things.
I think that if you have to use Salbutamol for four to five times a day, your asthma is not well controlled.
I am on Relvar Ellipta 92/22 which is all that I need (one inhalation/day). I have a Salbutamol inhaler at home, but never have to use it. Over here in Spain, where I now live, Salbutamol is used only as a "rescue" inhaler when your normal inhaler is not keeping your asthma at bay.
If you have to use Salbutamol every day, it suggests to me that you should pay a visit to your Asthma Doctor as it seems that the Fostair is not enough for you. I hope that you can get the help you need. Winter is not the best time of the year to suffer from asthma.
Its true you may need Fostair 200/6. Just see Doc. These platforms are fine but amateurs advice should be regarded with care. We all have different needs.
Hi Bolt21.I am 62 and have had asthma since I was 2. I've been where you are so many times and I do sympathise. I agree taking salbutamol 4 or 5 times could be giving you the shakes as it's a steroid. If you need it as often as that something isn't right in your treatment. If your chesty cough is loose ie coughing stuff up)and not tight that's a good sign. I've had as many as 7 lots of antibiotics once before I got rid of my infection. At that point I was refererred to the severe asthma clinic where they put me on carbosisteine tablets 6x a day for copd. This has been a game changer for me. I am on montelukast too (great tablet) Fostair& tiotoprium preventative inhalers and a maintenance antibiotic in the winter.
I would definitely go back to your gp for reassurance at least. Patience is the key at the end of the day (with the right treatment too of cou but it still takes time) sorry to say there is no rush with these things.
Sorry to be that annoying person but to avoid confusion for anyone else reading: salbutamol does give people the shakes due to how it acts in the body, but it isn't a steroid.
Totally agree on the rest though, especially with needing salbutamol frequently!
I would definitely get in touch with your GP, or ring the helpline (who are amazing). All I can advise is that I had pneumonia and people told me it took them 9 months to recover. I know it isn't pneumonia that you have but I literally went on bed rest and didn't do anything (I have 2 kids) and my recovery was 2 months, and I put that down to bed rest rather than trying to do what I could manage which I feel would have extended my recovery.
Hi Bolt hiw are you now? I had RSV had 2 lots of antibiotics and course of steroids. Feel still no energy my specia asthma nurse said it will take 6 ti 8 weeks to feel better. I've had 2 lots of vovid this year it's kind of feels like that hit my chest more.
hi, I am the same at the moment, out of breath walking, trying to hang out washing, change bedding etc can’t do without being out of breath and going a bit light headed. I have an asthma review Monday so fingers crossed I will have some more support, however they’ve said that it is likely to need to go to a consultant for higher threshold meds, not sure what this entails!
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