Asthma
Kitty
Posts: 2,844
Anyone have it? I'm not diagnosed with it but doctor gave me a inhaler. Now I'm wondering if I do have it, normally it just bothers me when exercising and when I'm pushing myself, but from time to time, like now, I'm sat still and I can't catch my breathe properly. It's strange, it makes me cough and is worse when I have a sore throat.
For those who have it, what's it like for you?
For those who have it, what's it like for you?
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Mine started off after a chest infection - had a cough for about 2 months which wouldnt go - the doc noticed a wheeze when he was listening to my breathing. I have no history in my family of asthma, and never really noticed any problems breathing just thought I was unfit (which to be true, I am a little!), he gave me a blue inhaler to take two puffs twice a day and see if it makes it any better.
Went back later was given peak flow and it was lowish (borderline 550 I think). They then put me on the steroid inhaler to take 2 puffs twice a day and things got better, they gave me a peak flow meter and chart to do every day to see if it got better or worse etc.
Averaged out about 580, so was told to keep using the inhaler.
Recently I have all of a sudden it got much better - peak flow was between 650 and 700 which is great! Quack still thinks I should take one puff twice a day to see if it drops again, which it has to between 600 and 650 again.
Sorry to ramble on, but for some reason I find asthma interesting, mainly cause I never realised I could have had it - always thought it was something you grow up with!
Have a read of: http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/forums/vie ... t=12598323
There are plenty of others of us on here - most a lot worse than me so am a lucky one 8) its just the rest of my body that lets me down!!!
Good luck and keep breathing!0 -
I went swimming a different pool to usual this summer, and then went to the docs with chest pains and shortness of breath a few days later. After many tests, we put it down to asthma caused by the excessive level of chlorine in that pool, local environmental health dept confirmed this after the manager of the pool told me I was mistaken, so I made an official complaint.
I now use a steroid and long acting bronchial dilator inhaler twice a day. peak flow has currently maxed out at 560, which they seem happy with, was as low as 280 back in august. The figures are not that important as they will vary from person to person depending on age, sex, and height, what is important is to measure your peakflow twice a day for a month, and see how much they vary. It shouldn't vary hugely, but anything over about 20% from reading to reading more likely points to asthma, and poorly controlld asthma at that, The ideal is under 10%.
having asthma hasn't stopped my from running, swimming and cycling, so you should be fine, just learn to know when you need the ventolin inhaler (blue one) and you will be fine. Exercise induced asthma, usually 1 or 2 puffs about 15 mins before exercise.
This cold weather gives me rtouble, dry sore throat, so keep sucking on antiseptic lozenges to prevent this, and wearing a buff over my nose and mouth to keep the cold air out, and able to breath warm moist air, better for the lungs.
Anything you need relating to asthma go here http://www.asthma.org.uk/applications/discussion/
What I would suggest is ask the doctor if he can do a spirometery test, this is the recommended test to confirm non fixed air way obstruction (asthma)
Hope this helps, and do keep doing what you do.
Chris0 -
I had my first real asthmatic episode in 25+ years over Christmas.
For the first time since I was 14 or younger, I've been prescribed an inhaler. Grrr, so annoying. I was on a course of steroids for a week or so. As for peak flow, I scored 350 this morning. That's really pretty low - about what a 75-year-old woman should expect; I'm a 40-year-old man! I should be scoring more like 600.
Anyway, I've lived with a tendency for asthma bubbling under for a quarter of a century, and most of the time it only really affects me in cold, damp air, or in smokey conditions, or when I have a cold. As far as day-to-day life goes, I'm almost unaffected, so I'm pretty lucky. I just hope I go back to that once this episode passes. If you have exercise-induced asthma, cold and damp bike rides are quite likely to trigger it (going by my own experience only), but you can pre-empt it with an inhaler if you have one. As I said before, I haven't carried an inhaler for 25 years; if your asthma is mild, I think it's perfectly possible to live with it without much or any additional help.
Make an appointment with the asthma nurse at your local GP clinic. S/he can do a bunch of tests and give you a better idea whether you have athsma (sounds to me like you do), and give you advice on how to manage it. You can ask for a peak flow meter on prescription or just buy one. That'll help you monitor your breathing capacity and take precautionary measures.0 -
im asthmatic and been really struggling with the cold as this is my first winter in years! ive been putting loads of olbas oil on my buff neck warmer thingy on the last few rides and its made a real difference!!0
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Ouch Agent57 350 is V.Low!
think the lowest mine went was 490ish and thats when I felt proper rubbish.
One thing that did make me slightly cross about my GP though was when they diagnosed me with asthma there was not one mention of how Ibuprofen can cause an attack.
It was only after buying some along with my other nasty pain killers from Boots that the pharmacist mentioned she had been flagged up on the screen that I was asthmatic and that she has to tell me about the problems.
Now if I hadn't have bought them from the pharmacist and just from the shelf I would never have known, becuase when I first ever took Iburpofen, I read the box and at the time didn't have asthma - so it never bothered me.
Surely it would be a good thing for a GP just to mention the things to be careful of?0 -
Ibuprofen only actually affects a small number of people with asthma, and it is an either/or thing. Either it will affect you or not, so if you have ever had ibuprofen (since you were diagnosed with asthma) and been fine then you will always be fine with it, if you have ever had ibuprofen and it made your asthma worse then it always will.
It has an effect on cytokine release so will tighten up your airways if it affects you but a few extra doses of your blue inhaler should see you right.....0 -
Am lucky - it doesnt affect me - but just made me a bit cross that I wasn't warned...0
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it's one one those that they don't tell you. I found it out for myself, but luckily i'm not affected anyway. It only causes problems in a a few people, other things like cold weather are more common.0
