Summer Asthma- unusual for me- any ideas?? - Asthma Message Board

MountainReader · 07-07-2008, 09:21 PM

So I have had an asthma flare-up for the last 8 days. Typically I have major asthma problems in the winter. In the past, I have only had asthma problems in the summer when the air quality was bad from wildfires. Right now, our air quality is OK- no fires. I know humidity can play a role, but we have only been averaging around 18-20% humidity here.

I am frustrated right now because I am not sure what my triggers are for this attack so I can help get it under control.

Here are my suspects- either individually or in some combination:

Allergens: I do have year-round and seasonal allergies, but I have never had allergy induced asthma. So far this spring and summer, my allergy meds and immunotherapy have kept me from really having severe allergies. I've actually felt better this allergy season than I have for many many years.

Dry hot air: We haven't had rain for over a month. My doc thinks this flare-up may be as a result of particulates that may be hanging low in the air because there hasn't been any rain to clear it out.

Acid reflux: I do have reflux. I was on Prevacid 2x/day for years. In May, I went to the Pulmonologist for my asthma. He ran some tests and found I still have some acid coming up and aggrevating my asthma. I have been working with my GI doc to find a new medication to help control the acid. My problem here is that I don't feel any acid symptoms so it is hard to know if it is causing problems at any given point and time. (My acid symptom is typically a cough.) I tried Nexium a month ago and it was horrible. I have been on Aciphex for the last couple weeks.

Current treatment regimine for this flare-up: Asthma- Advair 500/50, Singulair, Albuterol, Prednisone; Allergies- Allegra, Flonase, Astelin, immunotherapy, Saline rinses; Reflux- Aciphex 2x/day, Gaviscon. I'm also beginning Avelox for the next 5 days, just for the heck of it to see if I have some sort of infection.

Anyone out there have any thoughts on what I may be able to help get my asthma back under control? If so, they would be much appreciated.

gcsjr · 07-08-2008, 05:34 AM

I don't know if this helps but I had a similar experience last summer in Lake Tahoe - I can't be sure but my pulmonologist thought that it was probably a combination of the dry air and some irritants in the air from fires that were burning on the West Coast of California 150+ miles away).

It sounds like you're doing about everything possible - hope you can get it back under control and keep it there.

MountainReader · 07-09-2008, 08:17 PM

My asthma cough has gotten worse instead of better this week. I finished a round of Prednisone yesterday and I am already loaded down with the other meds I am taking for this. I have been relying on my Albuterol every 4 hours for the last 9 days. My voice has really gotten hoarse. The doctor put me on antibiotics in case I have some sort of infection that is aggrevating my asthma, but I'm not sure it is doing much. I just don't know what else I should be doing.

To make matters worse, our air quality changed today. We are under red air quality alerts for the near future and our humidity is 9%. I just don't see any relief in sight.

Aside from just hoping I don't have a serious attack that needs emergency care, I feel like my options are limited. This is really wearing me out.

T4T3hell · 07-09-2008, 08:27 PM

I'm up the road from you---in Idaho.
I have intermittent asthma...finally found out that it accompanied sinus infections.
I had real bad problems for more than a year---and a new and much better pcp did a ct scan of my sinuses which showed that I was up to my hip boots in infection.
Do you happen to have thyroid disease?
Thyroid disease can make you more susceptible to asthma problems---and it can also make your voice hoarse.
Just a thought.
Can you go in for a breathing treatment or get a nebulizer???? I've had times when that's what it took for me to get rid of my problems.
I usually use the nebulizer when we get forest fires or inversions.
You don't have to go to the ER---some doctors will let you have a treatment in their office---but if you're bad---and it sounds like you are----definitely see someone.
One ex-doctor accused me of smoking 'cause I smelled like smoke when I went into see him.
I guess he forgot that the forest fire smoke was so thick you could hardly see.
I think the California wildfires are causing problems for all of us around here...
PS: I got put on Levaquin---for 40 days---it nearly killed me---but it did take care of the sinus infection.

MountainReader · 07-13-2008, 10:24 PM

14 days now of asthma coughing. I think it is a combination of the bad air quality, dry air and acid reflux. It's really starting to wear on me. Right now, there is no end in sight in the forcast for our bad air quality so I know I am in for a long haul.

My GI doc has had me on a new medication the last two weeks. It is better than the one I was on the month before, but it still isn't very effective. I check back with him on Tuesday. I am running out of PPI's to take. Over the years, I have been on Prilosec, Protonix, Nexium, Prevacid (I had fewest symptoms on this one, but still had it affecting my asthma), Nexium and Aciphex. My Pulmonologist says he can't do much more for me until I get the acid under control. I feel like I am going around in circles.

Meanwhile, I have finished a round of Prednisone and Avelox. I'm not as wheezy, but the coughing has increased.

T4T3Hell- Thanks for your response. I do have sinus problems at times. I had a CT scan last year. For now, my ENT has me on immunotherapy before he will consider any surgery. While I had frequent infections this past year, I don't have an infection currently. Fall-Spring are my worst times. I have had breathing treatments, and once an epi-shot for my asthma at my PCP's. It is cheaper than the emergency room so I like to try it first. I think the hoarseness was from frequent coughing and Albuterol use. 40 days on Levaquin is really intense. It must have been a doozy of an infection.