I've had a flare-up recently and still have more asthma symptoms than usual during the night and early morning. The symptoms do go off during the day, but I'm finding it difficult to last the course without napping, due to lack of sleep 😴 I was off work Tuesday and only work Mondays and Tuesdays anyway. I feel like I should be able to be ok on Monday but I think that might wipe me out.
Does anyone else find themselves taking time off work because of fatigue due to asthma symptoms, rather than directly due to the symptoms themselves?
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porthos06
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Having severe asthma symptoms or a flare up is definitely tiring. Trying to fight to control breathing is horrible. Also if you have taken any medication then that also may affect you. Personally I would say if you need to nap in the day when previously you didn’t then that indicates you aren’t ready to return to work yet.
Yep - as Bevvy says it is tiring. If I've had a bad attack and needed hospital I need to rest afterwards even though the treatment has helped my asthma. If it isn't hospital level but is 'limbo' it still wipes me out and I have to cancel things.
I'm freelance and did not rest properly after an admission 2 weeks ago because I got sucked into thinking 'oh but I don't have to go anywhere my desk is just there I can just do a bit.'
But I should have rested, I was so tired all week because I didn't rest enough and once I had started to tell my clients I could work I didn't feel like I could say actually no I can't (this is possibly freelance paranoia as they probably would have been ok in this case). If I had still been employed I probably would have taken a couple of days off - though I had to learn to do that and learn that I wouldn't function well at work if I tried to go straight back.
Part of that is that hospitals are just tiring and bad for sleep/rest, but part is also the asthma. I also find it very tiring if I have a trigger I can deal with at home - it often wipes out the day for me if it really stirs things up. If you're not sleeping well due to asthma it is exhausting.
I hope your work is understanding but please rest when you need to. I swear half the battle I get is with my own head saying I don't need time off unless I'm heading for hospital but that is absolutely completely wrong and I would never say it to anyone else. Take time off if you need to rest.
Also I hope you've seen someone about the asthma symptoms and have a plan to manage them?
I'm so sorry you've had such a rubbish time recently! Hopefully things are getting better for you now.
Mine really wasn't that bad this time - just a five day course of steroids and no visit to A&E, which puts it streets ahead of the past couple! But it's absolutely wiped me out... I wonder if there's also an element of me being very cough-y this time, so my back and chest muscles are really sore.
Teaching is a sucky job to take time off from. All of my colleagues are super-proud of their attendance and it puts a lot of pressure on. My sister's freelance so I understand that's a bit of a poisoned chalice when you're ill: you can take the time off work easily but you don't get paid if you do!
I have an appointment with the asthma nurse tomorrow so will discuss this with her. I'm not sold on the Symbicort to be honest, but neither my nurse, the respiratory nurse or the consultant want to change it. I think it's a bit of brand loyalty 😂
Thanks! Yeah freelance is tricky but it has also been much better for my lungs overall... The 2 weeks of limbo before was even more annoying - the admission was in a way a welcome resolution!
Coughing and not sleeping properly is definitely exhausting. Your colleagues need to remember that better attendance and being lucky enough to have better health so they don't need time off doesn't make them morally superior. (And if they're not healthy and pushing themselves just for the sake of perfect attendance, they need to adjust their attitude for their own sake as well as everyone else's!).
I hope your appointment goes well tomorrow. If Symbicort doesn't work for you it doesn't work - these things are rarely one size fits all (maybe point that out?) I was on Symbicort and it was ok but my consultant is obsessed with Fostair Nexthaler so switched me. I get tired of his 'this drug good this drug bad' attitude but luckily the Fostair works well for me. It's fine particle so more gets in, and I find it easier to use than Symbicort personally. Worth asking as it may be easier if you have a specific preference rather than 'something else'.
If you have time before your appt you could try calling the asthma helpline for a quick strategy discussion/overview of the options? They're good at the practical side/how to talk to drs usually.
Oh, I'm so terrified of having a hospital admission... I haven't had one as an adult so have no frame of reference. I'm glad you started getting some answers though.
I have done the works with inhalers and none of them fit perfectly. At the moment, I have a Symbicort Turbohaler most of the time but have a pressurised version for when I'm having a flare-up because my chest goes too tight to make a Turbohaler work properly. I've had Relvar, Fostair and Seretide in the past and none of them were ideal... Sigh.
I had a good chat with the nurse on Monday and she booked me in for another chat with her and the respiratory nurse tomorrow, so hopefully more answers then...
>>>If it isn't hospital level but is 'limbo' it still wipes me out and I have to cancel things.
When I was in no position to skip work (or else I would have lost my visa), I would take ~20 espressos per day just to make it w/o napping -- all due to asthma. Got pretty addicted to caffeine. I guess I was young and "strong" back then.
It's probably the thing I found hardest to adjust to - realising/accepting how much even a minor flareup can wipe you out. And realising that 'pushing through' the tiredness and keeping going does not work!
You're way ahead of me there! I still keep trying to push through and the logical part of my brain knows it's stupid... I think working part-time as well, it's hard to accept that I still sometimes need to take time off.
I do think as well that it's actually trickier to accept that a minor flare-up can wipe you out... I feel like I should be over it by now because I've managed to keep prednisolone down to a minimum...
Have you considered an allergy to something in the house, mould, bed linen etc? As it seems it's much worse at home there may be a trigger there though asthma does tend to be worse at night as our lungs are less active so get more congested. As a raving insomniac with M.E I understand how essential sleep is! 🥱
It sounds like you're not having a very good time at the moment - I hope things improve for you.
One thing I'm pretty confident about is my triggers - the key one is always a viral infection. As soon as I get a sore throat/runny nose, I know this is coming. It makes me a bit of a germphobe, which isn't great for an infants teacher 😂 I think my main problem is that my asthma causes me to have a lot of yuck in my chest even when I'm well, and it's even worse as soon as it flares.
That said, I do react to dust and I don't think it can have helped that I haven't had the energy to clean my room since I've been ill for the past two weeks...
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Missing time off school :(
work and asthma 
