My asthma has been poorly controlled for over a year and I have been hospitalised 5 times through ambulance, ED, GP etc. 2 weeks ago, I had my worst asthma attack yet and ended up in resus with a magnesium drip. They asked questions such as 'have you ever had to be intubated' 'have you been on a ventilator before' which I know they have to ask and I completely understand- but of course from my point of view it was absolutely terrifying! Fortunately, the magnesium drip and back to back nebulisers managed to stabilise me so this wasn't needed, however as you can imagine it was traumatising for me as I have never ended up in resus before even with prior ED trips and ambulances- it has always been managed in majors or by crew etc. The most treatment I had before was a steroid injection alongside nebs too so a drip was a big step up! I am sorry if I sound dramatic and I know other people have it a lot worse but I am only 22 and it was very very scary for me. I am now home and recovering (with my 5th course of steroids this year!!) and I am due a phone call appointment with the consultant next month. I had an exercise test and a bronchial reactivity test months ago which I am assuming I will receive the results for from my consultant, but as the appointment has taken so long (I had the tests in May), but I am worried I am expecting something from the appointment I wont get- it is obvious my current treatment (fostair, spiriva and some antihistamines) isn't working, and I have heard a lot about biologics. I would really like to try them as my asthma is ruining my life at the moment- I cannot work or go to university and without the extensive support of the university I would have had to drop out/defer my studies. How can I make the most of my consultant appointment? How can I make sure I feel ok about it afterwards?
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Bolt21
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I would suggest ringing the helpline and asking to speak to one of the asthma nurses. Quite apart from any practical suggestions they might be able to give about preparing for your appointment and managing your condition, it can be really helpful just talking to someone who 'gets' it. Asthma can be very isolating, especially if those around you don't understand how you are feeling, so talking to someone who understands can be a real boost to your mental health as well as making you feel more informed. And sometimes, that can be half the battle. Just getting some facts and a bit more understanding can make you feel less like everything is spinning out of control.
I hope you get some help soon - you're very young to be dealing with so much. Sending you my very best wishes.
I was referred to a new consultant after a string of hospital a and e.
He moved to stabilise my Asthma with four weeks of prednisone and ordered lung function, x-ray, blood and feno tests. He would not accept results previously done.
He later on added alvesco to my meds, so I was on alvesco, fostair and spiriva. This, to some extent stabilised my Asthma.
He found out I had low eosonophils, if I had high eosonophils he would have referred me for biologics. The blood tests also said I was allergic to dust and grass and tree pollen, so there was a lot of things for me to avoid.
So I would expect your consultant to check your asthma is stable, then do whatever is necessary to prove it is asthma, and what type of asthma, and not another lung issue, then adjust your medication and consider if biologics will work for you. This process takes time. So do not expect an instant solution.
Definitely pre the appointment ring the asthma UK helpline on 0300 2225800. The nurses will help you prepare for the appointment, in a way, that I cannot.
Also think about what is triggering your asthma, my asthma hates damp, perfume, dust and pollen. If I was regularly exposed to say, damp, I would be in and out of hospital. Keep an asthma diary of all your attacks, look for the patterns. Air purifiers help me a lot.
I'm a lively 73 yo and am in hospital at the moment. I've had asthma all my life and it hardly bothers me.
For the past three months I've had shortness of breath and my peak flow is at 280 whereas 350 was my normal. I have spiriva which I'm not sure works... Also Relvar Ellipta, ventolin and an easy breath.
I have been on a nebuliser 3 times a day with Salbutamol and that is superb.
I may get discharged today if my peak flow goes back to 350 with no nebs.... I doubt it
I'm on 35mg of prednisolone and that is up from my 7mg maintenance dose...
I'm not sure if any of my info helps but looking back on my life I have had a superb time and expect more years to come.
So sorry to read this Bolt21. It's totally reasonable to find an experience like that scary and to have a lot of emotions around it! And it's clearly affecting your life a lot. I also tend to worry about my response being 'too much' somehow but there's no need. It doesn't matter if other people might 'have it worse'. It's completely natural to feel this way - you don't have to feel guilty about it (I'm such a hypocrite, I do this all the time but it's way easier for me to see that it's a reasonable response when it's other people and not me.)
I completely agree with the other messages to call the helpline for a listening ear to prepare for your appointment. I also agree with Mandevilla that this can help you feel more in control - and just having someone listen can help. I used to call the helpline a lot because a lot of doctors I saw in person didn't really explain things to me or were dismissive -though not all. I'd often call after an appointment too just to discuss where to go from there.
My first admissions weren't scary in themselves, but they were scary for what they represented for me. Especially when I'd been told before my asthma wasn't that bad because I hadn't been admitted. and then I had two admissions in 3 weeks.
Then my third time I was in resus for the first time, just after I'd moved and started a new job - great timing! I wasn't bothered by the magnesium because I'd had it before and hadn't really thought of it as anything major, because I didn't know any better then. Plus it worked amazingly well for me.
But the first time in resus was a bit scary. I'd literally just walked in to the urgent care, been sent to A&E without asking for it, and then got worse over the evening. Plus I was kind of left by myself a bit in resus because they had an emergency. Totally understandable and they explained, but to be honest it also wasn't great to be overhearing them fail to resuscitate someone next to me. (Not due to asthma so I wasn't worried it would be me, just that I was in a place where that happened and overhearing that happening to someone).
If it helps, I've been in resus many times since then and I think of it as a sign they're taking me seriously and they're right there and on top of my treatment, and if I needed more then they would be there to do it quickly. I don't know if it helps you to think that way and I obviously hope you don't keep on needing a lot of treatment for attacks - but this may be helpful if you're in resus again.
Re feeling more in control, it might help to arm yourself with some knowledge about biologics. I'm not sure how much you know already but there are different criteria for them. You can meet the criteria for attacks no problem with how many times you've needed hospital and steroids, but for some of them it also depends on whether you have allergies driving your asthma, or a kind of blood cell called an eosinophil that can cause inflammation for some people with asthma. There is also one called Tezspire now where you don't need any particular kind of marker as it seems to work across multiple types.
I know being in A&E forany reason is scary, but you need to focus on today, not catastophising about what might be. Your post sounds as if you are panicking, which is bad for asthma. There are all kinds of new treatments for asthma, and your consultant will find out what is best for you, but headline grabbing miracle cures - which are only for certain issues anyway - don't help. As well as the brilliant asthma nurses, you might like to find someone you can speak to who is calm and has time to listen to you, to help you into a more peaceful frame of mind. I am not criticising your panic - I've been there - but I do know that having someone you love who understands and who will soothe you and look after you is a wonderful blessing.
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