Hi, I have been diagnosed with asthma following an attack on New Years Day. Not being able to breathe was the most frightening experience. After phoning 111 for advice they sent an ambulance. I was told I had a chest infection. The paramedics were fab doing a nebuliser and arranging antibiotics from the out of hours Dr. As a teacher I then began worrying about going back to work at the beginning of term. I phoned in sick on the Tuesday but felt really guilty. I the visited my GP who says I have asthma. She prescribed a 5 day course of prednisone 30mg and salbutamol up to 10 puffs 3 times daily. I have to wait until all the steroids and antibiotics are out of my system before I can go for the spirometer test. It has been a week since I started the treatment and I am due to return to work tomorrow. I still get wheezy when I talk for any length of time and am still very tired, on,y just beginning to sleep at night after a week or so. Just looking for reassurance really that the way I am feeling is normal lol.
Newly diagnosed late onset asthma - Asthma Community ...
Newly diagnosed late onset asthma
Welcome to the forums.
Having an asthma attack is downright awful and scary and unfortunately can take a while to recover from especially if you are battling infection as well. Feeling exhausted is very common after an attack because you body has had to work so hard to survive its running low on reserves. To equate it to people without chest problems, its like them trying to breathe through a straw - a lot harder then people think and very taxing on the body.
I would be very careful and cautious with work as going back too early could trigger a relapse but at the same time I understand the guilt of not being there. Please be very careful and listen to you body, if you need to sit down then sit down don't try and push through it or you will undoubtedly make yourself worse.
Its unusual to be diagnosed with only one episode so its good you are being sent for tests. If you don't mind my asking do you have a history of chest problems or has this been a singular event?
Hi I am going to pass on something I was told recently. I have had a few asthma attacks and they are frightening. It is natural to keep your mouth open while you are straining for breath but I never thought of something as simple as breathing through your nose instead.
I do this now and it works and my attacks are a lot less scary. x
Yes I remember bring told this before. The problem is I'm so often congested that I have to breathe through my mouth 😔
Yes I understand that. I make a point of being able to nose breathe especially when I go to bed but sometimes when you wake up suddenly like this it doesn't always happen. x
Hi. Glad you're feeling a bit better. I work in school and was off sick 6 weeks with a flu bug and asthma exacerbation (needing treatment you're describing)until I felt less exhausted and started to feel confident walking outside any distance( once started on a new inhaler) . I was very croaky even when I went back to work so I kept a drink near me ( and ventolin inhaler just in case ) because talking for any length would set me off coughing and my voice would go altogether! Thank goodness I listened to my body(and still am) as I think that has really helped to recover quicker...I also had flu jab and pneumonia vaccination once better. Take it easy...its hard to rest once you go back and don't risk picking any more ' bugs' up from the children!
All the best x
Thank you. I feel very tired this evening. My little ones were so sweet and pleased to see me today. I explained what had happened and they kept coming to me asking if I needed my 'puffer'. Keeping germ free will be the tricky bit.
You have been newly diagnosed with asthma following a chest infection. The response of the medical profession is worrying. This is because you are in danger of being addicted to asthma medication rather than the medical profession giving you advice on what can happen with chest infections.
Your post is a bit patchy on details so I am making guesses which may be wrong. When someone has trouble breathing they try to breathe in. This can lead to problems if the rib muscles are too tight and the shoulders are raised. This state of affairs can happen because of a chest infection and after the chest infection some form of physiotherapy is needed to get the rib muscles to relax and the raised shoulders to drop.
It is important when there is a problem breathing in to breathe out. The atmosphere has a pressure of 14lbs per square inch. The atmosphere will force air back in after when breathing out occurs. Where as in the case of forcibly breathing in you can reduce the diameter of the airways because of a wrong breathing pattern.
What I have said above is worth investigating to see if you can avoid a lifetime of needing asthma drugs.
Hope I have been able to be helpful.
I have a history of wheezing with hay fever which I did not associate as being asthma. My gp has been my gp for many years abd knows my history. My gp listened very carefully to my chest and could hear how tight It was and how much I was wheezing. I have experience of dealing with children with asthma in my work and am I no doubt that the diagnosis is correct although i thank you for your thoughtful reply.
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