Pretty Tricky Question

singer1 · 02-23-2004, 12:14 PM

I am 40 years old. Since 5 years old, I was told that I have Asthma. Now, we know that Asthma is a constriction of the bronchial tubes, but can a person that TRUELY has Asthma be just sitting somewhere and all of a sudden, their breathing feels tight? We are talking just sitting! It's so hard to go to the Dr. and say that you feel tight in your breathing and then they listen to your lungs and they don't hear a bit of wheezing. What then? Sometimes when I get that tightness feeling and I use my pulmonary machine, it seems to almost make it worse a little bit before it seems to start getting better. Sometimes when I am just sitting and watching television or sitting at a desk at work, and my breathing will feel "tight", I just sit there and lean forward a little bit and sometimes it goes away on its own. Do you think that this is truely Asthma? Anyone with Asthma experience this?

I feel so frustrated going to a Dr. (which I have) because they don't know what to do. If I see an Asthma Dr., he assumes it's Asthma. If I see a regular Dr., he sends me to a Pulmonologist. Could this be something else that the Dr's are missing? I have had a sonogram of the heart and it was okay and I THINK an EKG which was also alright.

jerrie97 · 02-23-2004, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by singer1

I am 40 years old. Since 5 years old, I was told that I have Asthma. Now, we know that Asthma is a constriction of the bronchial tubes, but can a person that TRUELY has Asthma be just sitting somewhere and all of a sudden, their breathing feels tight? We are talking just sitting! It's so hard to go to the Dr. and say that you feel tight in your breathing and then they listen to your lungs and they don't hear a bit of wheezing. What then? Sometimes when I get that tightness feeling and I use my pulmonary machine, it seems to almost make it worse a little bit before it seems to start getting better. Sometimes when I am just sitting and watching television or sitting at a desk at work, and my breathing will feel "tight", I just sit there and lean forward a little bit and sometimes it goes away on its own. Do you think that this is truely Asthma? Anyone with Asthma experience this?

I feel so frustrated going to a Dr. (which I have) because they don't know what to do. If I see an Asthma Dr., he assumes it's Asthma. If I see a regular Dr., he sends me to a Pulmonologist. Could this be something else that the Dr's are missing? I have had a sonogram of the heart and it was okay and I THINK an EKG which was also alright.

That happens to me, and from what I understand, it happens to a few others on this board as well. Intrinsic asthma sometimes does not have a cause, whereas extrinsic asthma is usually from an allergen.

Are you on controller meds, like Advair?

jp3892 · 02-23-2004, 03:44 PM

I used to get quite tight for a few minutes after just sneezing!!! Apparently the forceful expulsion of air set my inflammatory sensors off! Little things like this can all cause asthma. U should really explain what medications u are on. Do u take a reliever when it happens? Does it work etc etc..?

PinkBananaz · 02-23-2004, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by singer1

I am 40 years old. Since 5 years old, I was told that I have Asthma. Now, we know that Asthma is a constriction of the bronchial tubes, but can a person that TRUELY has Asthma be just sitting somewhere and all of a sudden, their breathing feels tight? We are talking just sitting! It's so hard to go to the Dr. and say that you feel tight in your breathing and then they listen to your lungs and they don't hear a bit of wheezing. What then? Sometimes when I get that tightness feeling and I use my pulmonary machine, it seems to almost make it worse a little bit before it seems to start getting better. Sometimes when I am just sitting and watching television or sitting at a desk at work, and my breathing will feel "tight", I just sit there and lean forward a little bit and sometimes it goes away on its own. Do you think that this is truely Asthma? Anyone with Asthma experience this?

I feel so frustrated going to a Dr. (which I have) because they don't know what to do. If I see an Asthma Dr., he assumes it's Asthma. If I see a regular Dr., he sends me to a Pulmonologist. Could this be something else that the Dr's are missing? I have had a sonogram of the heart and it was okay and I THINK an EKG which was also alright.

I'm in your position exactly. I don't normally wheeze unless i'm doing really really badly. That's hard b/c doctors don't seem 2 think it's really asthma if you don't wheeze. But my pf's are constantly below what they should be(although some doctors have different ideas for what is "normal" for my height/weight), I'm constantly coughing, and I wake up out of breath and/or barely breathing/not breathing. But my nebulizer really does help, much more than an albuterol inhaler does now. I have allergies to several things, so just sitting around in say a dusty room will get me coughing and my lungs tight. I also am anemic, and have some kind of deficiency with my pulmonary valve(it's very mild..although I suspect that has to do with some of my breathing problems) so that doesn't help my situation. I've got a great PCP who helps me a lot, but I'm really still trying to find a specialist who can help me get to the bottom of all my allergies and will take me seriously.

hc85 · 02-23-2004, 06:36 PM

I get like that all the time. When I was admitted in December I would be tight and ask for a neb and they would ask me what set it off. Well, gee...I have no clue! I was just sitting there! Argh. You deal with a lot of dumb doctors. Sometimes they are like, "You're not wheezing..." But then a nurse listens and says, "Yeah, but she's not moving any air so how can she be wheezing?" LOL Then the doc says, "true..." LOL ERs are no fun.

The only time I ever wheeze is if we open up my lungs enough to allow a wheeze to pass. That is usually documented at around 70% of my lung function and I usually breathe at about high 40s.