hi im new needing advice please

hi im very new here had asthma since 3 days old im 31 now.

peak flow for a decade has been 440 plus now its 290

allergys are dust/mould/damp and stress. and rhintis

rhitnus was that bad as a child i had my ears nose and throat done ie addnodes(xcuse spelling)removed tonsills and groomts

i have been so very ill started with a terrible cold/sinuses then a chest infection ,then came the asthma attatcks

I been to hospital twice and doctors 4 times and twice doc has been out to me.had urgent xrays and blood tests

i have my own nebuliser at home now which i use several times a day.

omron make excellent !! little portable one

the end result is my left lung has colapsed and i have defainalty got puenmonia.

so i have had a huge increase in wheezing etc which then hurts my left lung even more.

have had two lots of antibiotics three lots of steriods,

daily i have co codamal every 4 hours(they dont seem to do much tbh any one had these?)

4 th lot of steriods third lot of antobiotics,increased all my inhalers all three,increased the strenght of the stuff which goes in the nebuliser,been given a tablet for the asthma which numbs the receptors of the lung and sineses(ie confuses body into thinking i dont have allergys) ,singluar i think its called i have antisickness pills as i been vomiting.been prescribed build - up milkshake type drink as i lost loads of wieght'

so i cant lay down as i start coughing so im propped up with pillows

i was in tears with the pain and constant coughing et\c

my asthma hasnt been this bad for 20 years

any advice suggestions,ideas would be very much apprecated

thank you for reading excellent site

take care caz

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Hi cazpro,

Welcome to Asthma UK, I'm sorry to hear that you're feeling so unwell. I hope you'll find us a good source of information and support.

Whilst we have a lot of experienced asthmatics who can share their thoughts on many different aspects of the condition and treatment, one thing that we can't really do is give medical advice in an emergency. It is not safe or possible for us to properly assess you over the internet without being able to see you or having access to your medical records (please see the Terms and Conditions of use of this forum for more information).

It does sound like you are quite unwell at the moment, and that the treatment that you have been put on is not really working for you. In particular, I am concerned about you using escalating doses of nebulised medication at home - this is a strong medication which should only be used at home in very specific circumstances and under the supervision of a hospital respiratory consultant. Over-use and over-reliance on home nebulisers is associated with an increased risk of death due to an acute attack. There is a very real danger that using a home neb will give you a false sense of security about your asthma and cause you to remain at home when you should be going to hospital. By the time nebulisers are not working, that is a sign that you are really very unwell and need to be in hospital very quickly.

I would urge you to seek urgent medical help by contacting your out of hours GP service, ringing NHS Direct or dialling 999. Asthma can be fatal, so please do not take any chances.

One other thing that strikes me is that you should not be taking cocodamol four hourly - it is a paracetamol based medication, and the maximum safe dose of paracetamol is 4g daily, or two tablets four times a day. If you take too much paracetamol, you are risking liver damage.

Hope this helps and you recover soon

Take care

Em H

(forum moderator)

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thanks

thank you for your reply and welcome

the doctor has been out to be and prescribed me differnt painkillers and more pred steriods,i was under a lung spelist when i was younger and doctor is going to make me an app asap.

regarding the co codamal i meant to put every four hourly from 8am through to ten pm, not all night as well sorry about that ,im aware thus you cannot offer medical advice im mainly looking for asthma control tips ie we have pulled all the carpets up ,changed pillows etc,kept windows closed

doctor said im am only allowed to use the neb 4 times in 24 hours if this isnt enough then my partner must call 999 asap,

this site is so informative

thank you for readintg take care caz

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Hi cazpro,

I'm glad that you have strict guidelines on using your nebuliser at home, that is very reassuring. As I said, over-use of home nebs is a risk factor for death from asthma, and it is something that I feel quite strongly about, so I'm afraid I do tend to go on about it rather a lot. Please do stick to your guidelines, and if you are getting less relief from your neb than usual, please do get emergency medical help. You may read of other people on here who use their nebulisers far more frequently than you have been advised to - these are usually people with very extreme asthma symptoms who are being very closely monitored by a respiratory consultant with a specialist interest in difficult asthma.

One thing I didn't say to you in response to your first post, which I usually say to all new board members. This board is for everyone affected by asthma, but it inevitably attracts a disproportionate number of asthmatics at the severe end of the spectrum. You might read accounts of poor control, multiple medications, frequent hospital admissions and even Intensive Care admissions. Please don't be frightened or put off by reading some of these extreme experiences, and please don't assume that they will happen to you - that is unlikely. These sorts of experiences, whilst unfortunately common among users of this board, are rare in asthma as a whole. The vast majority of people with asthma - perhaps 95% - can be completely or almost completely controlled, with little or no interference with their day-to-day lives, once the right combination of medication is found. I know that you are struggling and having a tough time at the moment, but there is no reason to think that things will not improve a lot once you have found a combination of medication that suits you. The goal of treatment - at least up until the relatively unlikely event that you have seen a difficult asthma specialist and all treatment avenues have been exhausted - is to control your symptoms to the extent that you can lead a normal life.

I'm glad that you appreciate that we cannot offer emergency medical advice on the boards. We do, of course, have a lot of experienced asthmatics who are usually happy to discuss almost all aspects of asthma treatment and care, but when someone is obviously acutely unwell, as you are, it would not be safe or wise to suggest anything other than that you get urgent help. I realise that you are being closely monitored by your GP, but if in doubt, please do get more help.

There is no overwhelming evidence that allergen avoidance techniques are particularly useful in asthmatics as a whole for reducing symptoms, but ancedotally there are some groups for which the techniques are helpful. You should bear in mind that a lot of the changes recommended are expensive and inconvenient, and that there is no guarantee that they will help. If you use the search facility on this website and search for 'allergen avoidance' or 'house dust' you may find some information.

The main focus of allergen avoidance is usually the house dust mite (HDM). This mite lives in everyone's house dust and is a powerful trigger in most people with atopic (allergic) asthma and allergies. Some of the things that are suggested to eliminate the HDM are: taking up carpets and putting down laminate flooring, which should be hoovered very regularly with an allergy-approved hoover; removing curtains and replacing with blinds which can be regularly damp-dusted; removing soft toys and cushions; covering mattresses, pillows and duvets in HDM-proof fabric; airing the bed with the covers back every day, as HDM thrive in dark damp warm environments and will do less well in an aired bed. Sheets should be washed at 60 degrees - not very environmentally friendly, I know, but kills the dust mites - and duvets and pillows can be put in a bin bag and put in the freezer for 24 hours, if you have a chest freezer - this will also kill the mites. Of course, it goes without saying that if you have someone else who can do the hoovering, dusting etc for you, this will be better for your asthma, but if you have to do it yourself, it helps if you have an allergy approved hoover with a HEPA filter. You can get face masks with a HEPA filter too, although the little fabric face masks sold in most DIY places are of little practical use.

In terms of avoiding pollen, there are some good tips in the threads on hayfever in the Medical forum. If you are not on a full regimen of antihistamines and other hayfever meds, and you are getting symptoms of itchy, blocked nose, sore itchy eyes, sneezing and so on, then it's worth talking to your GP about increasing your hayfever medication. The montelukast (Singulair) that you have been prescribed by your GP helps with hayfever as well as asthma.

As you have an infection, it may be that all these allergen avoidance techniques will not be very helpful to you. Clearly, until the underlying infection is under control, you may well go on having problems. Have you given a sputum sample to your GP to send to the lab to determine what is causing the infection? This can be very useful to try to determine what sort of antibiotics are needed. If you have not sent one, it may be worth asking about this, although it's less likely to pick anything up now that you have already had several courses of antibiotics. Presumably you have had a chest X ray? Does your GP have any plans to repeat that to determine whether the infection is improving?

I am glad to hear that you are being referred to a respiratory consultant. They have more experience in treating more severe asthma, and have access to more tests and treatments. Hopefully you will find that it makes a big difference to your asthma.

Do let us know how you get on.

Take care

Em H