New to this :/

Hi all :) I had been ill for a few months and was originally diagnosed with a chest infection, given antibiotics by my gp but it didn't help. Next time I was given prednisolone and a ventolin inhaler, with antibiotics again before finding out I had asthma after a few checks by gp and practitioner nurse. Now have a shiny new red inhaler, blue one and pred tabs to see how i go. Cant sleep as just had an attack, i seem to be getting an awful cough with every attack and from what i can see this is normal. Was shocked i had asthma but reading posts on here the last few days has really helped. Just wanted to post to say hello and thanks.

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  • Hi Steve and welcome!! :-)

    I'm pretty new to the forum too but have found it full of useful information and lovely supportive people who understand properly.

    Hope your asthma settles down soon, sometimes it takes a lot of 'tweaking' of meds to get the right combination.

  • Hi Steve and welcome!

    Sorry to hear you've now joined the 'lungs hate me' club, but the forum is a good place to be, very friendly in general and some very good info. I have learned a lot about asthma since coming on here; we have all levels from mild through to brittle and severe stopping off at 'non-severe but awkward and a pain in the ****' (yours truly and some others). Chances are, I've found, there's someone who's had a similar experience with things. (Though obviously sometimes you need to be asking dr etc)

    What's the red one? Symbicort? Can't think of any other red ones except Intal which is red and white but I doubt they would try you on that yet (because it's an old one and meant to be less effective than steroids for most people).

  • Hiya :) Yeah the forum does seem very supportive and welcoming :)

    Its beclometasone, usual by the looks of it.

    Yeah, meds seem like they take a while to get right, i am just using the ventolin inhaler a lot at the moment, especially in the night when i am rudely awoken by tight chest and struggle to breathe.

    Lots of things are very good reading on here for a newbie like me, brilliant to have such a network :)

  • Hi Steve and welcome. Sorry to hear you are unwell, dont forget to keep checking back with GP as medication often has to be tweaked to find out what suits the individual . Asthma can be very variable which is why it can sometimes be difficult to treat. Hope you feel better soon.

  • hi steve

    welcome, new to the asthma thing, i was ill for 5 months and eventually they said it was asthma, so here i am, learning every day something new about asthma, this site is brill, if i m not sure about something , no matter how silly , i always get a kind word and a reassuring reply, thats all it takes sometimes. i have good and bad days, like everyone on here, so share them with us, we will always listen, best wishes x

  • hi steve, welcome, i see i am not the only one with a cough :-( im newish to this site but find it very helpful, didnt realise i have very little knowledge about asthma but after about 6 months feel i ve found the right treatment for me, i had tests for allergies which you might find useful as i was worse on a night and put on montelukast at night ( i was allergic to dust)

  • Hi Steve,

    I too am new to this asthma business - started at the beginning of the year following pneumonia. As you can see am still off work hence the late hour of this post! Bit of a shock when you get the diagnosis isn't it and have already been hospitalised 3 times in the last 7 weeks! Still at least you get to make friends with the men in green suits...i too have the horrible cough - I'm sure the neighbours must hate me:-)

    Hope us newbies get to grips quickly with what to expect from this nasty monster and this site seems like a really good place to get some support. Its good to know that there are other people out there who are at all different stages of the journey and who are willing to share their thoughts and experiences - looks like I have been lucky in getting a diagnosis so quickly...

  • Hi Steve

    I too am a newbie n find all this a shock since I got mine asthma x I started like you with chest infection had two courses of antibiotics n three steroids courses and had three inhalers till my admission to hosp were I still am . It all confusing for me and so want to be well as we all do x

    Great to know we not alone and get bit support or advise if needed

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