Ill and fed up

[lucia_m]

Hi all. Hoping to get some general living/coping advice, please.

I have quite bad (step 4) asthma - I’m not sure if this qualifies as ‘severe’ as I seem to respond quite well to the medication at this step. However I do feel as though my asthma is fairly serious and still capable of making me quite poorly from time to time. In fact it’s a constant worry as I’m very susceptible to colds and viruses, and have to be careful they don’t turn into infections. I’m always worried about taking too much time off work and therefore tend to keep going even when I don’t feel well, which more often than not will end up with me getting really ill. I also feel quite restricted in my social life as I need to spend a lot of my spare time resting/getting over illnesses.

Can anyone offer some advice/support on dealing with work and/or keeping your spirits up when you’re frequently ill, please? I’d really appreciate it.

[Asthma-girl]

There’s lots of information on Asthma UK website, I’m sure you’ll find it very helpful.

Also, the Asthma Nurses helpline is excellent.

[ChrissieMons]

I also think you should talk to the asthma nurse at asthmauk, but you seem to be worried and it could be the worry is making it all worse - it's a bit of a vicious circle, this worrying. Talk to the nurse about your worries as well as your medical symptoms.

[lucia_m in reply to ChrissieMons]

Thank you both - appreciate the advice and support. I’ve just been to see the gp who also said I seemed very anxious. I think calling the nurses is a good suggestion.

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador]

I agree - if you haven’t already ring the asthma uk team - they’re really nice and helpful.

Just wondering if you’ve been referred to a resp specialist at the hospital. They have a lot more options available and different ideas than the GP and can refer you further if needed.

Hope that helps x

[lucia_m in reply to EmmaF91]

No, I haven't been referred so far. Not sure what the threshold for referral would be. I do bother my gp a lot with my asthma so they might suggest it at some point!

[EmmaF91 Community Ambassador in reply to lucia_m]

If you’re currently struggling to get/maintain controll it could be worth asking if your GP thinks it’s worth being referred to a specialist

Or else if you’re worried about it in general either ring asthma UK or book a asthma review (with a nurse) where you can discuss you’re worries and just have a general chat about coping mechanisms and your asthma.

Personally I’ve learnt to keep calm when my asthmas flaring (especially when I’m in a ‘safe’ place - GP/hosp/home neb) which does seem to speed up my recovery and I get ‘listened’ to more - I have a ridiculously good PF best and can be accused of having a panic attack when my PF is below 50% because my 50% = 80+% PF the expected best 🙄

Work wise have you explained to HR the situation? I’ve learnt from experience that 2-3 days off at the start can prevent a long slow recovery with multiple relapses. Don’t know what you do for work... home/office/computer/active etc but possibly suggest doing some work from home if you’re ill so you can have recovery time but still keep some income?

Hope this makes sense (I have a hydrocortisone head on atm so apologies if not 😅)

[lucia_m in reply to EmmaF91]

Yes, very helpful thank you. I’ve since spoken to work and they were very understanding- probably should have done it a long time ago, but I’ve had bad experiences with former employers so was a bit wary. We agreed that I’ll work from home when the pollen count’s high and/or I’m a bit under the weather, and it also seems that they’re not to worried about my absences, which is a relief.

I’m working on ways to calm myself when my asthma’s flaring. It’s a bit easier said than done but I’m prepared to put the work in :-).

Thanks again for all your help.

[Hidden]

Hi lucia_m

You can contact the Asthma UK nurse team on 0300 222 5800 (M-F, 9-5) or via WhatsApp chat on 07378606728.

Take care,

Dita