Recovering from asthma attack -tired, confused and can't work out trigger

Hi

First post here..(sorry its long!!) Basically I am 42yr old female.. Been diagnosed with asthma for years but, like some others here, I never (or v rarely) wheeze. I cough.. a lot and peak flow is never great. Things with my chest seem to have got progressively worse over past few years.. esp the winters.. I get frequent chest infections.. last winter had pneumonia and have since been seeing resp cons. Had CT scan in Nov which was clear.. but bcos of symptoms and growing nasty bugs in sputum I am being treated 'as if' brochiecstasis and on prophylactic antibs.

Anyway until this past year i had only ever had one asthma attack.. Have had 3 this past year.. all involving hacking cough which just won't go away.. Last 2 I could work out triggers.. But yest I had an attack at work (in open plan office) which resulted in me going to a and e.. hideous.

It started with coughing which just wouldn't go away.. took inhalers as 'my plan'.. prob took too much as I got v light headed and tingly.. Just wouldn't get better.. Paramedic eventually came and I got a couple of nebs which did seem to help.. But then it all started up again and I got another neb at hosp.

For the life of me I cannot work out what happened yest.. I ran at lunchtime.. I am a regular runner.. and for me yest was 'mild' weather.. It was a short run but I guess everyone at my work now thinks running is BAD. I have been under considerable stress but the past few days have actually been v chilled..

Today I am exhausted, and chest is sore. Saw asthma nurse who has given me 7 days of pred. Scared of another chest inf.. but touch wood am ok..

What happened? What if you can't work out the trigger? Scared of my asthma taking over... Also scared that work are scared as this is the 2nd ambulance in 6 months..

sorry for long post......x

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mandymands,

Hi and welcome.

Sorry your asthma is playing up.

It can be like a needle in a haystack trying find out triggers .

Weather etc but you could ask to have a allergy test done and Rast test to try and find one or two.

Work will be ok with you its just panic at the time but if you and your office

have a plan eg if a few puffs not helped be ready ring 999.

I work in a school and if I am having a bad go not just a bit puffed that I can sort out.then

I have to tell office ring 999.

My work friends are all first aiders like me and would just get help and some one stay with me.

Good luck and try not get to stressed and glad you went see your nurse after .

love Glynis xxx

[angievere]

Welcome to the forum. Glynis is right that finding triggers can be quite difficult and everyone is different. Do you think your lunch time run triggered your attack? In which case, perhaps reduce the running until you feel better.

Certainly lungs can be sore and 'grumpy' after an asthma attack, and can take a while to recover. Try to rest as much as you can and take things easy.

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HI,

For got to say your doctor can send you for them tests I didnt know.

I asked my consultant and he said will let me have one next time.

Next time came and saw his understudy and I asked him for one and

he said my consultant hadsnt put it in my notes and couldnt have one.

So when I told my doctor he said he can do that and sent me for them.

just thought you might like to know.

love Glynis xxx

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Hi mandy,

My asthma has become a lot worse this winter too and my guess is a mold spore in the air called Alternaria. I just read a study which is saying it can cause asthma to become worse in autumn and winter. And the UK has high counts in the air during that time as well as high yeast counts in the early hours of the morning. Most people with this problem have allergies as children and can develop asthma later in life. I was diagnosed with mold allergy as a very young child although I don't know for which mold. I am a 44 yr old female and never really had asthma symptoms until I moved to the UK from the states about 8 yrs ago. I was tested a few years ago for aspergillous mold but that came up negative. They didn't test for alternaria which is present outside and can also be found indoors and/or comes in from outside. I'm up right now writing this because I couldn't sleep from coughing so much. My brown and blue inhalers don't seem to be helping much. And I just got over a chest infection and frightened of picking up another bug. This probably hasn't helped much but I don't really know what to do either. Let me know how it goes or what you think.

Annette

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thanks for replies, really appreciate it. Might be worth gettimg mpre allergy tests.

Does stress make your asthma worse?

thanks again, have good day.