Anyone else struggling

[Erin001]

I love the snow because it means I don't have to go to college but it hasn't been good on my lungs though I'm a brittle asthmatic and the dramatic changes in the weather has definitely made this week hard

I had paramedics out last night for nebuliser and wasn't taken to hospital because I didn't feel like it was necessary and so I went to GP this morning because they suggested to and I was and am wheezy still she suggested to go home take some of my rescue pack of prednisolone and go back later to see if it works

My question to you guys is how you finding it this week?

[Pentreath Volunteer]

I decided to stay indoors - no point in taking the risk of the cold, icy pavements etc. Here in Cornwall it should be easing up by tomorrow but other parts of the country will still having severe weather. I live in a great community and have a number of people who will get things for me if I needed anything.

[Yatzy]

I’m like Pentreath and staying indoors, I’ve been caught out in the cold before. Trouble is our heating is off so sitting far too close and too long by an open fire. Got my fingers crossed 🤞 and running my air purifier....got a sore throat and headache though 😨 🙄 Good luck for a quick recovery.... if there is such a thing for us lung folks...I’m usually out for a month, constantly hoping next week will be better!

[CDPO16]

Hi,

I haven't been out of the house since Monday but I am struggling with increased SOB on the slightest exertion. Haven't needed medical attention or felt that my emergency pack was really needed either, just getting by with extra doses of Ventolin and hoping the weather (& me) improves soon.

Hope you soon improve too.

[Erin001]

I didn't leave the house on Thursday and still managed to have an asthma attack and then yesterday GP called an ambulance to take me to A&E and I'm now sitting on AMU ward so the weather really didn't like me even though I only went out Monday , Tuesday and Wednesday because I had college/placement and my area wasn't that bad it only got really bad on Thursday

I hope you all ok x

[Hidden in reply to Erin001]

Oh just read your message..so sorry Erin..hope you feel better soon..💕

[CDPO16 in reply to Erin001]

So sorry to hear that you are in hospital now, but hopefully the best place to get you back on the road to recovery.

Wishing you well

[Hidden]

Hi Erin

I think we are struggling too 😊 you do well to take your rescue pred. Prevention is the key.

Keep that scarf on your face if you go out and do take your reliever 15mn before you go out or as you need.

I had taken 2 puffs Ventolin and 2 puffs Atrovent as I am supposed to but yesterday as I was walking and carrying my shopping I had to stop and take some more. I was hyperventilating. So I stopped under a doorway, took my meds with the aerochamber, paced my breathing and regained control. Sometimes we are afraid to take more or too much so we struggle on but when you think that only 10% actually reaches your lungs, it can only help.

Take good care of yourself xx

Fran

[Yatzy in reply to Hidden]

Very good advice, Fran, I too hold back sometimes from rescue meds, hoping things will right themselves. It rarely works but I still do it...aversion to meds I suppose.

Good luck, Erin, glad you're now receiving treatment and hope you'll recover very soon, and be back home xx

[Hidden in reply to Yatzy]

Yes my dear Penny probably self-censorship due to defiance of long-term effects, and contamination from all the “clean” propaganda which would want us living “in a hole in a ground” again 😂

Was that John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin? I loved that episode..

Did you see Gogglebox last night?

[Yatzy in reply to Hidden]

Very well put, Happy Fran 💞 I think you're right. We're sometimes our own worst enemies, though with best intentions

Yes to both. I recognise your words from the Monty Python gang 😂 (so often perfectly hitting the nail on the head!) and I did see Gogglebox last night! xx

[Hidden in reply to Yatzy]

Thought you would 😃..humour goes a long way xx

[Yatzy in reply to Hidden]

Agreed 😀 wholeheartedly ❤️ xx I also saw Mum...the humour, mixed with astute personality traits, verges between hilarious and tear-jerking....I've been there so many times!! 😂 😢

[Hidden in reply to Yatzy]

I laughed at Giles: #Gogglebox “Sugar in the petrol tank, that’s what Brexit has done to this country.” Priceless!!

I loved the elderly ladies..Octopus Energy!! The number of times we get those stupid phone calls at unduly hours!

And when the poodle growled at the haunted house. I like Steven and his Mum..

Ah you did!! How does she keep that lovely smile on her face!! Kelly and her Easter eggs? I was laughing in my bed holding my ribs with my heating pad!! 😃

Try Hold the Sunset if you haven’t, you warm up to it! 😂 xxx

[Yatzy in reply to Hidden]

Giles's sugar in the petrol tank # was the winner for me!! 😂Yes, priceless! And true, unfortunately!

And Kelly and her Easter eggs!! No wonder you were in hysterics!! I went back to series 1, episode 1, to catch up on this series I seem to have missed, Kelly provoked such uncomfortable hilarity on Dave's funeral day, in that episode!! As you say, Mum's immoveable pleasant smile says so much. Oh the pathos!

Speak soon, dear Fran 🌺 It must be coffee time now, in sugar in the petrol Britain!! I expect its long gone in Paris ☕️☕️ xx

[Hidden in reply to Yatzy]

Speak soon!! Yes ☕️and 🥐 xx

[Yatzy]

Sorry for diverting your post, Erin. I came across a friend!

Do hope you're feeling better by now. These exacerbations are so worrying and miserable. A day at a time, you'll get there 🌺 You're in good hands.

[Erin001 in reply to Yatzy]

Hi still on AMU had 2 nebs today I think I'm having them every 4 hrs or so

I've been getting breathless just walking to the toilet and back so don't know how I'd get home without having an episode so I think I will be here a while longer

And dw it's nice to talk to an old friend again it looked like a good conversation which is always very nice to see

Take care thx x

[Yatzy]

You’re moving slowly in the right direction, Erin, you can’t rush these things, I’m afraid, so that’s good. The only tricks I know are to slavishly take your regular meds and respond very promptly to any sign of trouble with breathing. For ages, I held back on the steroid tablets and antibiotics in my rescue pack I kept at home, but learnt in the end that there was no benefit in doing this, it just takes longer and longer to make a comeback....from quite a dangerous place.

Don’t think about going home until your breathing is back to normal. If you rush it, you’ll be at home arguing with yourself about whether to go back to hospital or not, and eventually be forced back. It drives us all mad! Once you’re through this, your consultant or GP will consider whether your regular meds are enough, I’m sure, or whether this exacerbation has just been a bit of winter bad luck.

Stay strong 🏋️‍♂️🏋️‍♂️. Let us know how you’re getting on 💕

[Erin001 in reply to Yatzy]

I'm waiting to be discharged because I'm totally clear (which is a miracle) but am worried about exerting myself

The reason I didn't want to take my rescue prednisolone is because I have the synacthen test at the end of the month and I didn't want it to be pushed back

Thx for all your support in the last 24 hrs or soo your great help having people to talk to outside the hospital but have the same issues

I've hated being in hospital bed because I've just wanted to get up and help the staff because I'm in college studying health and social care level 2 because I want to be a nurse and the admission has let me see different things that I will need to know but I just wanted to get stuck in

Thx a lot for your support again x take care

[Yatzy in reply to Erin001]

So pleased, well done! Keep warm and take things easy for a few days. Oh I see about the synacthen test...bit of a pest setting that back, but not worth dying for lol! And it’s always a possibility with we asthmatics.

Good luck with your recovery and your very important career....hope you’re in my hospital if I, unfortunately have to visit 🤗

[Hidden]

Ditto here Erin, this week has been pants. I’m severely asthmatic but not brittle, but very cold air & a persistent chest infection have totally zapped my breathing. I’ve avoided A&E but only cos my GP upped the pred to 50mg & am using 4hrly ventolin nebs. Even at that dose my pf is only 70% its usual level so I’m not out of the woods yet. It’s a bit scary isn’t it? Glad you’re out of hospital but hope you’re monitoring your breathing carefully. Things can change so fast with asthma! In an ideal world I wouldn’t hesitate to go to A&E but my local hospital is the pits

[Erin001 in reply to Hidden]

It is scary for us asthmatics I've struggled to walk to the bathroom without getting breathless so I'm worried about exiting the hospital but I will give it a go and I will definitely keep an eye on my breathing I haven't got neb at so doing nebs at home wouldn't be possible but chances are I be doing the same just with my ventolin inhaler

And yes and can change really fast mine even more because brittle asthmatic is where it can change so rapidly I can be fine one day and in hospital the next

Thx for the lovely supportive message x