I was wondering if it was possible to have a false negative methecolene challange. Prior to the test all of the doctors were convinced I had asthma, and even after the test the still left me on a quick relieving inhaler (briconyl). I have all of the symptoms and a chronic cough. I am especially bad when I walk into the cold wheather. I immediatly have coughing fits, almost with my first breath. I can't run properly without being winded and I am a very athletic person. I have come to understand that I do have asthma but it bothers me that the test was negative. I have only had to go to the ER once and my peak flow was below normal.
one more thing, after the test, my asthma has become much worse. I was wondering if a repeat of the test would prouve to be sufficient
thanks, Nicole-Brittany

Hi
I think if you are still worrying then you should go back to your doctor or asthma nurse who can explain things to you. If you are coping with brycanyl and the doctors are still giving you the meds you need then you don't have a problem. At the endof the day if you are getting syptoms then maybe you have very mild asthma which is excersise induced. Try to relax and stop worrying about it too much.
Take care and I hope you get it sorted soon.
x x x

I haven't had the methacholine challenge specifically, but i've got a lot of things that point towards asthma as it is. I was born with very severe skin allergies to everything, and suffered from it (it was just about untreatable it was so bad) until I was 12, when things calmed finally, all on their own. A few years later, my allergies were back..they had settled in my nose(eustachian tube) and lungs. Apparently I had a 50% risk of developing asthma, 70%+ for allergic rhinitis from the start, and it's common to develop that after it seems like skin allergies have calmed. Plus allergies and asthma are rampid in my family. I have had pulmonary function testing which showed little obstruction(within normal range), but then again I had recently been on prednisone and was doing great that day. For some reason I had no increase that day also in taking a ventolin inhaler(at a specialists). But a few weeks earlier, I had been given nebulized albuterol & had a 23% increase. Also the fact that my symptoms coincide with low peak flows & exposure to allergens is a big sign. I often will have a full out body allergic reaction, including rashes/hives, allergic rhinitis symptoms& coughing/shortness of breath. I won't do the methacholine b/c they stop the Advair & other allergy meds for toooo long(10 days!).. I would be covered in rashes/hives, very sick from the allergic rhinitis/ETD symptoms, and also coughing and not breathing. I literally can't live without Advair, I stopped it once for a week and I couldn't stop coughing & being short of breath.
So through all this mess, I know it is asthma. I'm trying to find a good asthma/allergy specialist who is knowledgeable in all areas of allergies and asthma, but for right now, my asthma is pretty controlled by my meds.
oh yeah I have heard it can produce false negative results. all tests can, you can repeat it, but no telling it will be right this time or no.

I haven't had the methacholine challenge specifically, but i've got a lot of things that point towards asthma as it is. I was born with very severe skin allergies to everything, and suffered from it (it was just about untreatable it was so bad) until I was 12, when things calmed finally, all on their own. A few years later, my allergies were back..they had settled in my nose(eustachian tube) and lungs. Apparently I had a 50% risk of developing asthma, 70%+ for allergic rhinitis from the start, and it's common to develop that after it seems like skin allergies have calmed. Plus allergies and asthma are rampid in my family. I have had pulmonary function testing which showed little obstruction(within normal range), but then again I had recently been on prednisone and was doing great that day. For some reason I had no increase that day also in taking a ventolin inhaler(at a specialists). But a few weeks earlier, I had been given nebulized albuterol & had a 23% increase. Also the fact that my symptoms coincide with low peak flows & exposure to allergens is a big sign. I often will have a full out body allergic reaction, including rashes/hives, allergic rhinitis symptoms& coughing/shortness of breath. I won't do the methacholine b/c they stop the Advair & other allergy meds for toooo long(10 days!).. I would be covered in rashes/hives, very sick from the allergic rhinitis/ETD symptoms, and also coughing and not breathing. I literally can't live without Advair, I stopped it once for a week and I couldn't stop coughing & being short of breath.
So through all this mess, I know it is asthma. I'm trying to find a good asthma/allergy specialist who is knowledgeable in all areas of allergies and asthma, but for right now, my asthma is pretty controlled by my meds.
oh yeah I have heard it can produce false negative results. all tests can, you can repeat it, but no telling it will be right this time or no.

for the methecolene you were suposed to stop the meds for 10 days?!? i think i only stopped them for 1. I was on the track team and couldn't miss more than one practice. Maybe that is the reason...Also, track starts up again (it started last week) are there any s pecificly excercize medicine? my asthma is excercize enduced (and induced by a lot of other stuff) but i am still finding it quite dificult to run.

I only stopped my meds for 24hrs.

for the methecolene you were suposed to stop the meds for 10 days?!? i think i only stopped them for 1. I was on the track team and couldn't miss more than one practice. Maybe that is the reason...Also, track starts up again (it started last week) are there any s pecificly excercize medicine? my asthma is excercize enduced (and induced by a lot of other stuff) but i am still finding it quite dificult to run.

yup..but like I've said..that, and other things, were red flags that this doctor is not for me.I don't know why he said 10 days. But I wouldn't have made it till then, or even close, thats for sure.
Track is a bit tricky b/c running is one of the number one things that sets off eia, and it doesn't help that it's done outside, among pollen,cold, and hot weather..etc etc..
During gymnastics I just kept my inhaler nearby at all times, premedicated, and never hesitated to use it if I needed to. Towards the end I found that doing nebulizer treatments(Xopenex) before practices helped me a ton. I don't know if this is an option for you..but that's what kept me alive during the last few weeks of gymnastics. Also singulair helps a ton 4 eia! It really does..and are you on a long acting bronchodilator like Serevent or combination inhaler like Advair? That helps a lot also.

Oh my yes, false negatives are very common with the meth challenge, which is why it's not a reliable test to use. I've heard it called the 'Gold Standard' of asthma testing. No, it isn't. Your symptoms definitely point toward asthma, no matter what the test says. What my husband's doctor always says is - If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, and sounds like a duck, guess what? It's a duck.