ASTHMA,GERD or ALLERGY - Asthma Message Board

petersiva · 01-15-2008, 06:13 AM

for the past couple of years I have suffered with asthma as diagnosed by my doctor.Around the same time as this started I began to lose sense of smell and taste.I was coughing up a lot of discoloured phlem at that time.Anyway it was decided I was asthmatic.For a couple of years before my "asthma" I used to get bad indigestion and was put on LANZOPROZOLE (15mg) but because I never got indigestion all the time I just took it now and then.For the last 2 years though I have been getting constant chest infections and have had at least 16 courses of PREDNISOLONE and various antibiotics which clear it up but over time seem to becoming more resistant.For my nose I feel as though I have post nasal drip and I'm on antihistamines and nasal spray.For my asthma I'm taking seritide,salbutamol,montelukast but apart from the prednisolone and antibiotics,nothing seems to work.I have recently had FESS for my sinuses but not sure if its made much difference to my condition(one doctor did tell me that having FESS might improve your asthma).I have been admitted to hospital 4 times because my breathing was so severe but each time they discharged me with pred' and antibiotics,however,on one occasion they quadrupled the dose of LANZOPRAZOLE for a week for my acid reflux and it cleared it up but not sure if it was all the other medication which helped.I never understood the reason for this until I saw this board about GERD.Right now I've just finished a course of steroids and antibiotics and I'm starting with a cough again and theres an awful METALLIC taste in my mouth again.DO I HAVE GERD and if so what should I be taking.I live in the UK

gcsjr · 01-15-2008, 11:57 AM

Based on everything you describe, the answer is probably not as simple as Asthma, GERD or Allergy because it could be a combination of the the three (and the easiest one to address in the relatively short term would definitely be the GERD).

Some of the research is pretty new but doctors have identified acid reflux as a significant asthma trigger and contributing factor to chronic sinusitis in some people - the fact that you have had issues with indigestion makes it a likely contributing factor. Dealing with the GERD may not address all of your symptoms but may help get the asthma and sinusitis under better control (it definitely did for me).

I'm not sure what's available in the U.K. - my doctor put me on 40 mg of Nexium - Prilosec is now available over the counter here in the states as well (at half of the prescription strength). If you can get either of those in the the U.K. it's worth a try - it only took a week on Nexium before I noticed some slight improvement - but my asthma and sinusitis symptoms continued to slowly improve for about 2 months until they got to a point where they're very manageable. You definitely need to take it every day for several weeks before you'll know if it's having an impact. Whatever you take for the indigestion be sure it's a proton pump inhibitor - a normal antacid won't be strong enough to give your esophagus time to heal.

The other thing you should definitely check into is allergy testing (although I've read a couple of posts that indicated that they're harder to get in the U.K.) - if you have allergies the testing will help identify what you're allergic to so that you can try to avoid it - and it can rule out lots of things (which may make life easier).

petersiva · 01-15-2008, 01:26 PM

thanks for the reply but one thing I forgot to mention is that I HAVE had some allergy testing and food intolerance tests.
It was concluded that I have an allergy to grass and pollen(skin patch test)and an allergy to "timothy grass"(blood test).
Before all of my problems started I used to get hayfever during the summer but I don't get any of those symptoms since I had the breathing/sinus problems.
The food intolerance test stated I was intolerant to wheat,yeast and milk,however,the allergy test contradicted this.

gcsjr · 01-15-2008, 02:24 PM

The allergies are probably contributing somewhat to both the asthma and the sinusitis, but it's certainly worth getting the GERD under control (and keeping it under control) to see if helps alleviate some of your asthma issues - the issue with GERD and asthma is the stomach acid actually irritating the mucus membranes in your throat and increasing the inflammatory response that is an underlying symptom of both asthma and sinusitis.

Even if the GERD clears up keep taking the meds (and be sure to be taking the full prescription dose, not the OTC dosage) - some people can have acid reflux with minimal or no symptoms.