Asthma after 20 year remission

[cinematic]

Hi all, am 43 and had an asthma attack just before xmas that landed me in hospital. Last attack was 20 yrs ago with no inhalers in that period. Since then ive been on different inhalers but still a bit uncontrolled. Back on prednisolone. I don't really wheeze, even with a bad attack - which seems to confuse doctors until they do obs in A and E and realise things are bad. I didn't take the warning signs that seriously until a nurse told me that i was close this time to ICU admission. So it seems asthma affects people differently. I did have it as a child, but i had more wheeze back then. I had an odd reaction to Fostair pink inhaler, seemed to make me worse, yet it gets some great reviews. Whi knows! For now, just trying to get it under control

[ChrissieMons]

Unfortunately, because asthma is so different for different patients, a good deal of prescribing is trial and error: 'let's see how you get on with this' kind of thing. You might need to keep an eye on things, such as testing your peak flow - if it dips significantly, call 111, or an asthma nurse at Asthma UK, but don't get obsessed with it: once a day would do, then if it is settled, only when you feel rather worse. Talk to your asthma nurse at the GP's surgery and get an asthma action plan if you haven't got one already. Best of luck and I hope it all stabilises soon.

[cinematic in reply to ChrissieMons]

many thanks... good points, and reassuring. Very good to know about the asthma nurse helpline - twice this week i couldnt get a hold of my own nurse at my GP - the first time because the systems were down due to the ransomware virus and the second because it was a day off. So knowing there is back up advice from independent specialists is great.

[Hidden]

Hi cinematic ,

Sorry to hear you haven't been well. As already mentioned on the thread, please do give our nurses helpline a call to talk through how you're feeling, you can reach them on 0300 222 5800 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm). You can also download an action plan from our website bit.ly/2qcy3Ge to help you manage your asthma.

Take care,

Dita