Long term asthma concerns

Right, I'm some what concerned with my current situation. I'm 24 and I've had asthma since I was about 5 and have always been on a brown preventative inhaler and a blue reliever inhaler. Although saying that I've never wanted to feel reliant on them and have gone without taking them as much as I can in the belief I'd be better off because of it, but after some recent reading I dont think that is the case.

Over the past year and a half or so I've had a fairly persistent cough. I've been to my GP about it, he referred me to a chest clinch, They xrayed me (several times), did a spyrometer test, analysed sputum samples and conducted a CT scan, they found no cause for it and wanted me to see an ENT doctor to have a camera look around to see if they could spot anything, the referral for this never came however and I never cased it up because I'd kind of given up on finding out what was causing it.

In the last week or so it's been quite bad so I've done some reading and come across something called airway remodeling. I am very concerned about this and am worried that it might be the cause of my problems. I am concerned because I've seen this condition described as irreversible and I'm in the process of becoming a police officer.

I'm unsure if this is whats causing it though, my asthmas never been terrible and I've gone about 10 years without taking my preventative inhaler. I would like to know if any one has any experience of this condition, and what treatment options, if any, there are. I would also like to know if it was airway remodeling that was causing it would that have shown up on a ct scan or any of the tests that were conducted?

Thanks in advance

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Heya and welcome!!

Are you currently taking a brown and blue inhaler? Have you had any hospital admissions? Courses of steroids? Any periods of worsening asthma? Needing to use your reliever more than a couple of times a week?

If your answer to these is NO then I wouldn't panic about things such as airway remodelling to be honest!! It shouldn't happen if your asthma isn't overly severe. Not that I am dismissing it, its REALLY annoying and I can remember being younger and REALLY resenting having to take any asthma meds.

I had a discussion with a consultant whilst in HDU last week about how I was hoping to eventually step down treatment ,,, he spoke about airway remodelling and said that I was unlikely to ever go below step 4 or this reason, but not being reliant on steroids (so step 5) or control would be desirable.

HTH, Laura

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Thanks for the quick reply

I currently take my blue inhaler as I need it, but am not currently taking the brown, I don't even have one in the house. I've put in a repeat prescription though and will get a brown inhaler tomorrow, which I plan to start taking again. I've not been admitted to hospital for my asthma since I was first diagnosed (when I technically died for a minute or two lol), not that I can recall have I ever been on a course of steroids. And I have been using my reliever more than a couple of times a week now and again lately.

Yeah I really resent taking them, as stupid as that sounds.

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I would suggest making sure you religiously take your preventer, and if you have to take your reliever more than twice a week see your GP!!

I am really badly controlled, really resent it BUT take all my meds - wouldn't be here if I didn't! Very frustrating having to rely on regular meds ... but after all its a quality of life thing ... better to take them and not have loads of symptoms etc than be symptomatic all the time!!

You shouldn't really ever get to the level a lot of us on here are at, but you don't want to either ... a way of avoiding is to take the meds advised and keeping control

Laura

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Yeah I know it's stupid to not take them, when I was younger the medical guidelines for getting into a police force were different than they are now, it used to be something about how recently you'd been on inhalers so (having always wanted to be a police officer) I made myself stop taking them in the hope my body would learn to cope on its own instead of relying on them, and it worked to some extent. But I will definitely start taking them now. Medical guidelines are different now anyway, your asthma just has to be controlled.

The cough I have at the moment doesn't really feel like asthma, if that makes sense. It feels like something on my chest ( rather than the feeling I get when I know my asthmas bad, if that makes sense) its really hard to explain that to a doctor lol.

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Ah cool, are you a police officer then? A bit stupid really though of them wanting no inhaler usage!! Better to be controlled on ics than risk an attack LOL

Perhaps you have an infection or are allergic to something? I can always feel the difference between them and asthma, although it always sets off my asthma anyway ... really annoying!! Go see gp