Hi, all.

I just found this board today and I'm hoping that someone out there can help me.

I have had asthma for eight years. I'm from America, but I've lived in South Korea for nearly four years now. Currently, I live in Ulsan, which is a highly industrial city. In general, I do quite well in polluted cities...it's that fresh country air that tends to do me in. However, in the past few weeks, we've had our annual visitor from China...the yellow dust.

The yellow dust combined with a nasty cold that will not go away is leaving me breathless every minute of every day. Talking can bring on an attack. This makes work rather difficult as I am an English teacher for children here.

I've been to hospitals. The ERs are quick to hook me up to oxygen and various IVs that I don't even know what is in there. I actually halluncinate under the drugs sometimes. I am sure that they are overmedicating me. Korean doctors don't really know much about asthma. I have yet to find a specialist. In the second largest hospital in this city, they do not have a respiaratory specialist, so they had me see the diabetes guy.

The biggest hospital is so far away that I worry whether or not I would make it without having another huge attack.

So, what I need is to know what kinds of medicines are good and what the possible side-effects are. If I do enough research, perhaps I can find what I need to use. Then, I can just tell a doctor and he will write me a prescription. (They tend to take your word on almost anything here.)

Here's what I KNOW I've tried...Volmax. I was told to take one 4 mg pill twice a day. However, just one pill gives me major body shakes for nearly 24 hours. I feel so shakey that all I want to do is lie down and try to sleep. Try writing on the board when you cannot control your hand whatsoever! I look like a drug addict to Koreans when I'm on that pill.

Other pills I've been taking I can not identify. Korean doctors give the pills wrapped in plastic pouches and the pills don't have a name on them.

Please, everyone, write to me the medication you've been taking, the dosage, the side-effects, and please tell me exactly what problems you have with asthma.

Hopefully, with your help, I can find what I need to be taking and start taking it.

Thank you for your help.

the most important drugs are inhaled steroids usually flovent or pulmicort or asthmacort. that usually involves inhaling them 2 to 3x daily (depending on the drug) there is no real side effect other than occasional voice horseness. also you probably need some kind of a rescue inhaler such as ventolin. that you use as needed. it can make you shakey for a while. finally a long term dialator such as servent to keep you from having asthma attacks. there are no side effects to servent that i have experianced that is usally two puffs a day twice a day.good luck to you

I'm on flovent and singulair, and that has made a difference. plus, I have my rescue inhaler, and a breathing machine if I get worse then the inhaler can help. it took me a long time to finally find the right combo that helped me though