Advice

[madhatter88]

With asthma is it the peak flow dropping the first sign of an attack?

I had a bad attack last November and have developed ptsd as a result. I now get awful panic attacks at night that leave me feeling like I can't breathe. I struggle to tell the difference between it neong apanic attack or asthma related so I'm trying to find ways to tell the difference.

Because at the moment my anxiety is crippling me and I just think I'm going to stop breathing any second!

Any advice welcome

[Itswonderful]

I feel for you madhatter88 and I'm watching this thread. Best wishes x.

[Homely2 Administrator]

We are all different.

With me the first reliable sign is that my peak flow has dropped. I can get breathless etc, but if my peak flow does not drop as well then I recover quickly.

I, like you, like most of us, find it easy to get panicked when I start to feel breathless. For me the solution is in doing a breathing exercise immediately I feel breathless. I just do a simple bit of pursed lip breathing, look it up on Google. If the issue persists do a peak flow.

I would find out what breathing exercises work for you, as they will give you more control, which will reduce anxiety

I would make sure your asthma plan is readily available, as that tells you what to do.

Also i like my bedroom to be clean, decluttered, with sheets done at 60. My bedroom needs to be arranged to avoid asthma irritants.

Ring the asthma UK helpline on 0300 2225800, to pick up some more ideas.

My consultant is sending me to a asthma physio to help re breathing. You could ask for similar

[Gareth57]

one way that can help to to tell you if it is a panic attack or asthma is to use your Ventolin, if it helps your breathing it is asthma, if not it a good chance you are having a panic attack.

[Poobah]

This is quite a challenge for asthmatics Madhatter, as breathlessness will heighten anxiety almost as an automatic response and nighttime seems to be make us feel most vulnerable as we're not distracted by daytime activities. And anxiety will impact our breathing, it's a vicious circle.

Breathing exercises that can be practiced daily will help, and I would ask your doctor for a referral to a respiratory physiotherapist. They will check for potential dysfunctional breathing and teach methods to counter that and also recommend exercises to help you overcome your nighttime challenges. The more you practice the exercises, the easier it will be to use them at the first sign of feeling that panic. It's about taking back control and knowing what to do. It may also involve changing the way you take your rescue inhaler, technique and timing.

My respiratory physiotherapist checked my inhaler technique first and gave me ways to ensure I could correct bad habits I had developed. I have dry powder inhalers so can't use a spacer for tidal breathing, so it's necessary to overcome poor breathing in order to deliver enough medicine on inhalation. But the physio also gave me exercises to correct my poor breathing. I still practice daily and this has led to better nighttime breathing.

In the meantime, you may wish to discuss your experience and concerns with the Asthma UK nurses in order to prepare you for your doctor appointment, just to help you get what you need from the appointment.

[Girasol16]

I feel your pain, I have anxiety and constantly worry I may be assuming panic but it's actually asthma! I found a really helpful chart on the American lung association website (but sure they have them everywhere!) for 'is it asthma or panic' and I always refer to that, which often reminds me I am just panicking. As others have suggested, I try deep breathing and if that doesn't work I will try peak flow. I often worry an attack will happen suddenly and severely but I don't actually know if this is the case, as I can only refer to previous exacerbations which have not been severe and come on slowly. I have also started doing muscle relaxation before sleep to calm my body down. Hope you can find something to help a little.

[Mandevilla]

My peak flow drops, but I know other people's doesn't, so don't assume you are fine if your peak flow is 'normal'. (Also, make sure you take your peak flow regularly so that you know what is normal for you, because you may differ from the 'average' on the charts)

I agree with the advice to call the helpline. They are brilliant and I'm sure you will feel much more in control of the whole situation after talking things through with them.

[runcyclexcski]

My peak flow rarely drops significantly. I know it's an asthma attack when I cannot breathe in (feels like a rubber band around my diaphragm), cannot breathe out, and my chest remains puffed up. Then I no longer can walk or stand upright and have to sit on the floor. For this reason, I always carry a camping mat with me when I am far from home.

[Snowey03]

Also as well as the great advice from other replies,my ashma nurse told me that evening time the body gently shuts down a little in preparation for bedtime ,this includes a little lung function too!OK for non ashma suffers but I always feel it around 9pm my so if breathing techniques don't work I have a puff of blue inhaler other wise I will have a full blown anxiety attack.Good luck