Is this asthma?? - Asthma Message Board

flhazelnut · 09-24-2008, 09:55 PM

Hello everyone! Thanks in advance for taking the moment to read this.

I know it's long, as this is my very first experience with asthma-like conditions.

About seven weeks ago I started noticing tightness in the center of my chest and it gradually grew into having difficulty breathing and a hoarse voice. Being a teacher, I figured it was the typical back-to-school junk that gets passed around combined with talking all day. I visited my doctor and told him that I basically felt like I was swimming in the deep end of a pool and held my breath too long...that urgent feeling like I needed to take a breath and that I also couldn't take a full deep breath. Just taking a deep breath took a long time...about three seconds. I have no congestion in my chest or sinuses and I have no known environmental allergies. He credited my condition to an upper respiratory infection, gave me a shot, Z-pack, and Proventil inhaler. I got better but after 10 days I relapsed. They called in a seven day steriod pack (methoprednesolone) and a week after that I relapsed again. I saw his nurse practitioner Friday and they gave me another shot, abuterol inhaler, and Advair inhaler. I've been taking the Advair twice daily and abuterol four times and I still feel like I'm having what I guess feel like attacks. Today, after I brought my students inside from recess, I had to go in to my closet to use my inhaler as a rescue because I couldn't breathe or even speak. It makes me clutch my chest. That's the worse it's been and I've never had to do that before. The inhaler helped.

Does this sound like asthma? I am a 27-year old, healthy woman; I don't smoke at all; and I'm active (it has limited my lung capacity while running but I can still make it...I feel rough a bit afterwards...I won't push myself to the point of attack). Being that this is my first experience with this, I am completely ignorant but I don't feel like it's just a URI...not after this long. Does this seem like adult-onset asthma?

Thanks again for taking the time. Any suggestions/advice that you can offer is greatly appreciated.

~April

gcsjr · 09-25-2008, 04:10 AM

It could be asthma but it could also be acid reflux that is mimicking (or causing) asthma symptoms (hoarseness and chest tightness can both be symptoms of acid reflux).

You should probably try to see a pulmonologist to get a lung function test. Asthma symptoms that are acid reflux-related don't always respond well to inhalers and it sounds like you're not responding all that well to the typical asthma medications.

redherb · 10-10-2008, 01:25 AM

There is a possibility of asthma but I think too that maybe it is lung related. Best if you could make an appointment to your doctor to know you condition