Hi, I'm 43 yrs old, female and just been diagnosed with Ashtma. ( just yesterday!!)
It is only because i have gone to my Dr as i feel i cannot breathe, on thursday when i saw him my chest felt so very raw and soo very sore. I felt i was not getting enough air and it also felt like someone was sitting on my chest.
Every time i tried to lay down these strange wheezing noises started in my chest. I was also finding i was breathing fast.
Well the Dr has put me on Steriod tablets!!! and some Penicillan. He said first of all that it may be a small bit of Asthma and to come back again the very next day and see him. If its a little bit of Asthma why would he give me Steroid talbets. I went to see him yesterday and he admitted that the day before he had heard wheezing in my chest but didnt tell me as i had got anxious as i felt so badly that i could not breathe. He has now given me a blue spray to breath in and wants to see me in a weeks time.
I do know a good bit about Asthma as both my kids have suffered with it, but both last night, and right now i find as the evening comes along i start all this wheezing again. I am starting to cough for no reason, and i am finding i am getting wheezier and wheezier. Last night i kept taking the blue spray but got no relief, i kept on coughing and it is a really noisy cough and i found i had to sit up to sleep.
Do i just put up with this horrible feeling in my chest, its sort of tight and constricted, and the wheezing goes on and on until i cough so badly i choke.
Do i just spray everytime it gets like this, i am taking 2 sprays when i feel it is getting too bad, as this is my first time like this i feel it is all a bit intense.
If your blue reliever isn't working it is generally advised you go to the Emergency Room as soon as possible as it is a sign of an impending severe asthma attack. Especially if your symptoms are getting worse.
Last edited by Charlottie; 04-19-2008 at 11:40 AM.
Thanks charlottie, but this has happened for the last 3 nights. I have lay in bed in a sitting position as this seems to help me! I eventually fall asleep after some difficulty and when i wake up it is all gone and i feel fine, but exhausted.
If i go up the stairs now i will be very breathless, and will wheeze as i breathe, it gets worse and worse even at rest, then i will cough and cough and cough until i feel like i am going to be sick, and then it seems to clear it for a while, then it all starts again.
Is this an actual Asthma attack. If i take myself off to the Hospital, where i have been out in the air, itseems to clear my chest a bit, and also when the dr listens to my chest as i am standing in an upright position it seems clear as well. But as soon as i settle down again or lay down it all comes back bad.
I would go to the hospital if you're finding it difficult to breathe, even if it's just while sitting. Explain this to the doctors that are there, maybe they will be able to help you.
Just an update, that terrible breathing problem has now gone, thank God. I still cough my guts up at night then get a bit wheezing. But nothing like i had before.
Are you not on a daily preventive? Flovent, Advair, etc? If not, you need to go see a pulmonologist. You've not been properly evaluated. You need a written plan that you understand that includes what to do in all situations. If you get sick, what changes to make, etc. For example, last summer when Birmingham had 12 straight days of over 100 degrees, I started having trouble breathing when I went to bed (it's harder for asthmatics to breathe laying down anyway). So, I used my albuterol to get me past the little attack and then added one puff of Flovent to my daily routine. When the weather went back into the 90's, I dropped the extra puff of Flovent and all was back to normal. That's the type of program you need to know about.
I'm right there with you on the coughing. It can really wear a person out.
Titchou is correct. You need to make sure you have an asthma plan. If you are having regular symptoms, you probably need some preventative medication as well.
My asthma symptom is a chronic cough. I also have "silent" reflux that has a chronic cough as a symptom.
If you have been unable to get your asthma under control with medications, and if you are going to bed soon after a meal, and lying flat, you should also consider the possibility of reflux and see about getting some testing for that. The acid from reflux can come up and aggrevate your lungs and can cause a cough that mimics asthma. I get both that and true asthma triggers for my cough. Honestly, there are times where I have to go to the doctor to find out which type of cough I am having.
I have been dealing with both types of cough all summer..working with both a GI doc and a Pulmonologist and a PCP trying to find a balanced treatment for both at the same time. It has really made for an uncomfortable and miserable summer for my breathing.
I wish you luck in finding a solution for your cough. Please keep us posted more.
Thank you for your advice, Well, i have not had time to go back to my G.P. as i have a very sick child. I have not had another Asthma attack since that last bad one. But i still do get a bit wheezy at night once i start coughing. I have been on a months worth of tablets to help me if i have reflux, and they have helped. I am not coughing as much now, so i do not know if the night wheezing is Asthma or Reflux, although i do not suffer with any heart burn or anything like that. I am not on any meds at all for the Ashtma, so i hope i never get an attack like that again.
willow, glad to hear you're better. what you described it exactly like me in an asthma flare. you said you had prednisone tablets? those are to control and eliminate the inflammation in your lungs. when i am in a flare i begin to eat less, and sit in hard kitchen chairs instead of loungers in order to reduce the pressure on the diaphraghm. i agree with tichou, although you think you are better now you should see a doc to get a preventative and / or written action plan so you understand this condition, and what steps you need to take. also, many environmental things can affect this, there are many things you can do in your home to prevent symptoms. please speak to a doc or asthma clinic nurse (they can spend lots more time with you) about this. not sure if you have this in your area. my asthma nurse has helped me understand a lot over many visits taking 45min to an hour each time.
i cant quite figure out the asthma / reflux connection. its like asking "which came first, the chicken or the egg". everytime i read something its different.
footsiedee,
From all of the studies I have read, I don't think even the doctors have it figured out. Maybe that is why it is so frustrating for us as well.
mountain reader...yes that what i understand. so i have learned through trial and error, and talking to the asthma nurse-as she can spend the time with me that the doctors can not. THEN when i go back to the doc i am better informed. also, seeing her got me back into the habit of taking peak flow readings.
willow....prednisone is a strong medicine when given orally, and often in high doses short term to bring your breathing under control. it has negative side effects so should be respected and used as little as necessary . it does not sound like your breathing is truly under control even now, so by seeing your doc for preventative treatment so as to avoid another major flare up requiring the prednisone. i am not a doc, but you say your symptoms are worse at night falling asleep, and you have to sit up. during a flare i 'sit taller' to allow more room in the chest area and prevent putting pressure on the diaphragm. this is , i am told, GERD related. raise the head of your bead and try not to eat leff thantn 5 hrs before bedtime. and dont have acidic
