Constant breathlessness

[paul9298]

I am a 55 year old man. Ive recently been diagnosed with Asthma but I wondering if Ive been correctly diagnosed, I seem to be out of breath all the time not with attacks like Asthma. Ive had a chest xray and heart checked out ,both ok. Been given several courses of antibiotics and ventilators which are not helping much. I have suffered from acid reflux for some years. Does constant breathlessness sound like Asthma. I also have a pain in left chest

[hypercat54]

Hi sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Asthma means you wheeze and easily get out of breath especially walking up hills or running. Have you had a peak and flow test at your doctors or a spirometry one? They are the definitive tests for asthma.

Asthma attacks vary from person to person. I am mild for example and get one about every couple of months where I usually wake in the middle of the night unable to breathe but it passes very quickly.

Unless you are more severe you shouldn't get many if any that require hospital treatment. An asthma attack is something which triggers off your asthma ie dust mites, pets, cleaning products, aerosols etc. You will find your triggers in time. x

[5050russ in reply to hypercat54]

What is all this about the Wheeze, I've had Asthma and Allergies for over 50 years and I don't wheeze, I never have, I don't have COPD, I get out of breath/short of breath/lack of breath/unable to breath, just generally out of breath.

Sorry about my rant but not everybody wheeze's

[hypercat54 in reply to 5050russ]

Ok fair point. I will change it to many wheeze. x

[DotPro]

If your chest looks okay and your heart is fine; then it could be reflux or some stomach issue causing the ache you feel on the left. (Somach is poised towards left below rib cage)

You could have a rolling hatial hernia causing breathing issues.

Also check for any other issues that cause breathing problems, like doing Thyroid function test.

[paul9298 in reply to DotPro]

Thank you for your feedback , I do have a hatial hernia and did a blood test which had my thyroid count as low and limp nodes on neck as enlarged.

[DotPro in reply to paul9298]

So it seems you have all your answers already.

Low TSH means Hyperthyroidism which can present with shortness of breath. I was diagnosed 2month ago and have been able to get off Salbutamol for that whole time. Unbelievable!

I used to wonder what kind of asthma I was treating for 2years with no end.

Secondly, you already know you have a Hatial Hernia, that will also cause problems with breathing especially at the diaphragm. If it is not resolved, you will keep on having interfered with breathing.

It is good you already know all that is happening. Now you need a plan to handle the issues.

For the lymph nodes, please check for inflection or inflammation issues. I hope there is no cancer involved. I guess your doctors will check to be sure.

[Hidden]

It is possible that the acid reflux is causing either upper respiratory problems or vocal chord dysfunction (vcd).

The fact your inhaler isnt working much is a pointer, you should regularly check your peak flow (buy one online they are cheap) and when you are having breathing problems check if it is affecting your peak flow.

If the peak flow drops it is probably asthma if the peak flow doesn't drop it is possibly something else.

[paul9298]

Thanks for your reply . Yes I did consider this but an not so sure my problems is the reflux as I have a Linx implant , am on the tablets and a recent endoscopy to look at my Barretts was ok.

[Superzob]

Paul. The diagnosis of asthma should only be given with a reversibility test, since asthma is an allergic or autoimmune response which will be reversed by something like salbutamol. If you've not had that sort of test, then the asthma diagnosis may simply be an expedient conclusion because it's relatively straight-forward to treat compared to other lung problems. However, wheezing is a red herring, as I also don't wheeze but have late onset asthma, reversible with treatment.

It is entirely possible, of course, to have more than one condition which may cause your symptoms, and a lot of these have been discussed in previous posts. I have a condition called "fixed small airways obstruction" though, at the moment, that doesn't cause breathlessness, but no doubt could with some people. Mine was diagnosed with a CT scan; I'm not sure a simple X-ray will pick it up, but you might want to investigate further.