Severe allergic asthma

[okkjh]

Hi guys I just did my a levels and in September I went on a trip to Switzerland and when I came back I had this terrible cough. I was prescribed antibiotics and pred. Later that day I had an asthma attack and was admitted to a and e. I spent 24 hrs in resus as I was extremely short of breath and was kept in hospital for 5 days. After 2 weeks of rest I returned to skl and by the end of the day my cough was back. I went to the gp the next day who took 1 listen to my Chest and immediately gave me a nebuliser at the gp then sent me to a and e. After another 4 day stay in hospital I had another asthma attack in November but was fine after 1 nebuliser and sent home. In December I went to my gp again with the cough and chest tightness and yet again he sent me to a and e and I was kept under observation for 48 hours. Since September I have attended a and e 10 times with asthma attacks treated with prednisolne and salbutamol and ibuprofen nebulisers. I have been switched form clenil 100 to fostair, but that caused tachycardia and tremors. Then to flutiform 125. Then to flutiform 250 which caused muscle cramps, headaches and tremors. To relvar elipta and now onto trimbow. I tried montelukast which caused severe insomnia. And spiriva gave me blood in my mucus and jitteriness. I have had nearly 15 courses of pred since September and am just fed up. This cough is still ongoing and I hv a flare up just about every 2 weeks. My gp just gives me pred now as he says I don't know what to do as I am running out of options. My peak flows are at best 450 and are usually around 380 or 360 on the daily. My spirometry is normal. I have high igg Aspergillus but my consultant says I don't meet the criteria for ABPA. I also hv high ige of over 1200. I get chest tightness at times even as I'm writing this now but it's not excessive. I always feel I am breathing really fast and am genuinely exhausted. This has causes me to miss 3 of my a level exams as well as I had an asthma attack just b4 I entered the exam hall and had to get wheelchaired out the scho and straight to A and E yet again. Even the consultant has said he's run out of options of what to do and has referred me to guys for consideration of biological agents for my severe asthma. I still have difficulty sleeping as the cough is always disrupting my sleep. I have many allergies especially grade 3 to grass and a grade 6 allergy to house dust mite. I also have chronic headaches but I am allergic to all the medication and nsaids such as ibuprofen so he says there is nothing he can do. Thank you for making it to the end ans plz share any experience or advice I would be eternally grateful as I hv no options now..

[Jamesd1234]

I’m really sorry to hear you have had such a stressful time. I can relate with severe allergic asthma , but not quite as bad as yours. It sounds like you are doing all the right things but keep pushing for biologic treatments, which seems to have been a game changer for people on here who have very bad asthma. There are some that target the allergic kind.

in the meantime , it might be good to try and find out what your triggers are. Get yourself a steroid nasal spray prescription , lots of antihistamines, an air purifier and maybe change of bedding to target dust mites. For me personally I’ve found that layering on stress makes my asthma even worse, so trying to remain calm (which is hard when you’re sleep deprived).

I also take 500mg quercetin / turmeric Curcumin extract with extra vitamin d3/ omega 3 supplements alongside asthma medication, and drink 2 litres of water a day to help with mucus removal. A PPI medication is also beneficial if you are known to have acid reflux that can also affect asthma and post nasal drip. I would try to discuss all of this with your gp if you haven’t already.

It sounds like you meet all the criteria for biologics , so definitely try to push for that. Remember your health is priority. Try not to worry too much about exams and career stuff which you have plenty of time in the future to re-take and focus on when you’re feeling better. Speaking with your school about that might help ease some of those worries.

I hope you make some progress soon

[Jamesd1234 in reply to Jamesd1234]

P.s , I would also reccomend joining the asthma community forum too which seems a lot more active and has plenty of asthma experts on there too

[okkjh in reply to Jamesd1234]

Thanks for the reply. I've heard alot about biological agents and they can be a real game changer. I hv so many triggers hay-fever, perfumes, fumes, smoke, cold weather pretty much any asthma trigger I have it. I hv been given a steroids nasal spray that I used for 5 months. I didn't have any nasal symptoms so the Dr said to only use it when I do. To be honest I didn't see any improvement when using it. I take fexofenadine twice a day due to my many allergies and severe hay fever. I'm still waiting on an appointment letter for the severe asthma clinic at guys and St Thomas even after being referred nearly 3 weeks ago.

[Jamesd1234 in reply to okkjh]

Sorry to hear that . I know these things can take time. You could always try phoning the hospital to ask what the waiting time is and be asked to be put on a last min cancellation list and also see if your gp can write to them to help speed up the process. Good luck

[okkjh]

I have finally received my referral letter and my appointment which is supposed to be urgent is at the end of September. I Don't know how I'm going to cope the next few months