Interesting read re Asthma

[Digger0]

Popped up in my emails this morning medscape.co.uk/viewarticle/...

[Alberta56]

Hm. So I'm psychologically dependant on my Ventolin. Hope they don't change the guidelines for Bronchiectasis, so I can still get my fix. From reading the comments of people on here who have found MART less than perfect I feel we are all being regarded as human guinea pigs. I wonder if there have been any rigorous clinical trials of this new regime.

[Digger0 in reply to Alberta56]

My post was re Asthma guidelines, not for bronchiectasis.

[Alberta56 in reply to Digger0]

I have mild asthma as well as bronc. I meant to say that from my point of view it would be better if guidelines were not being issued at the moment for the less common disease, so I could still get Ventolin.

[Coughingalltheway]

Thank you for this Digger0.

I was interested to read that a Feno test should be used more. As far as I'm aware, these machines are only in hospitals, not GP surgeries but I'm willing to stand corrected.

My worry, (for other people) is that, in adults, GP surgeries still assume that breathing problems are down to COPD and they don't consider adult onset asthma.

I had several spirometry tests at my GP surgery and they always came back as COPD and it wasn't until I ended up in hospital with my first severe exacerbation that I had proper lung function tests. My eosinophils were 0.7, my Feno test scored 70 and the reversabilty test also confirmed asthma.

Why I should suddenly get asthma when I'm in my late 60s is a mystery than they cannot answer but at least I'm on the correct inhalers now.

[Lee_Scoresby in reply to Coughingalltheway]

You’re not alone - my wife was given a ‘late-onset’ asthma diagnosis by her GP when she was about 66. Just having the diagnosis made such a lot of difference plus she now has a management plan for everyday and emergencies. She had the good fortune to have a good doctor!

[Coughingalltheway in reply to Lee_Scoresby]

Nice to hear about your wife having a good GP, they get a lot of bad press these days. I've beeen informed by a GP that the average wait to see a respiratory consultant is currently 54 weeks.

[Lee_Scoresby in reply to Coughingalltheway]

Not so good for you, sadly. I hope you get better attention.

[Coughingalltheway in reply to Lee_Scoresby]

Thanks.

[LadycroftFlyer in reply to Lee_Scoresby]

Helpful to hear these stories because I too was diagnosed by my GP surgery when I was around 66 with COPD. It was only when I moved 2+ years ago and went to a different surgery that they did a proper spirometry test which said asthma. It was a relief to know I still had 17% flexibility in my airways or whatever.

Think my asthma is somewhere between mild & moderate. When I’m well and the weathers good I might hardly need salbutamol. Other times eg Autumn or when ill or tired or after eating, just walking up the stairs makes me v breathless. I’m using a low dose steroid inhaler morning & evening. It wd be helpful to know exactly what meds other late onset asthma people here are taking?

[Izb1 in reply to Coughingalltheway]

I asked the same question as to why older people get sudden inset asthma and they don't really know. I suspect it's like everything else in your body that gets worn down with age, coughs and colds throughout our lives must put a strain on lungs . Good to hear you are on the correct inhalers now, I am struggling to find anything that works properly x

[Coughingalltheway in reply to Izb1]

Thanks though strangely enough, I've not suffered from colds or coughs before this happened. I didn't even get Covid though my husband did.

I think that I had a fairly strong immune system but its gone into overdrive now. There must be a reason, I just haven't found it yet.

[Rosydays in reply to Coughingalltheway]

I just came across your posts.I feel my situation is similar.No illness of note till 2023.Developed very bad cough and breathlessness.Diagnosed with pneumonia then very high eosinophils and aspergillus.My respiratory consultant diagnosed ABPA.It’s all very odd considering how well I’ve been all my life. Wishing you well.

[Coughingalltheway in reply to Rosydays]

My only thought, which I doubt will ever be confirmed, is that the covid vaccinations targeted the lungs as a protection against the virus. Perhaps our systems were altered in some way that caused our immune systems to over-react when we caught a virus that wasn't covid? We'll probably never know...

Wishing you well too Rosedays xx

[Lee_Scoresby]

My feeling is that this paper needs to be interpreted by professionals, rather than lay people; it’s quite contextual and amateurs could mis-read its implications.

Critically, it states “Significantly, the new guideline does not cover the management of acute asthma or chronic severe asthma” which kind of implies it focuses on young sufferers rather than applying to us.

[knitter]

I remember years ago , children were given Salbutamol inhalers if they were wheezy .

I know mine were , temporary chesty cough , blue inhaler . Dependent ?

The middle one was given liquid Ventolin to swallow , as was my late mother

Glad there is a more rigorous diagnosis process now .