Exercise Induced Asthma and Fatigue
Comments
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However exercise induced asthma isn't related to sports like, say cycling?
Seriously, you're asking on a sports based forum about a condition brought on by exercise. There is likely to be people with EIA and people further along the treatment process than the OPs daughter. There's first hand information on that process to be had from those ahead of you.
This does not in anyway stop you gong to a medical expert. Indeed I believe everyone who's posted positive and helpful comments related to the OP's first post enquiry has also said to see a gp and added helpful advice on that consultation. Some have pointed the op on some things to investigate with the gp or consultant.
Far from being this dangerous, untrained piece of advice MF and Navrig seems to imply. Can anyone seriously say there's been dangerous advice on here?
From what I've read there's been good advice (involving how to get a good outcome through medical consultation) and discussions of personal experience related to the condition or first post.0 -
Navrig2 wrote:Slowbike wrote:
.... we're all thick who will blindly follow what some unknown person says on the internet ...Navrig2 wrote:Because someone, who is not suitably trained, may write something which discourages the use of a GP and .........
If you know what you're searching for - yes - if you're trusting of the anonymous poster of a blog somewhere/somewhen ...Navrig2 wrote:TBH there is probably not much which can be gained from asking on a forum which cannot be found, more quickly, just using Google and tinternet.
In that case visit a forum dedicated to medical issues even one dedicated to that particular medical issue.
If I want advice on wallpaper hanging I wouldn't come to a Bike Forum........ even tho' someone on the Bike Forum may know a lot about wallpaper hanging. The chances are that a DIY forum will yield more reliable and trustworthy results.
Fair point - but I think the comparison isn't that valid because a healthy or optimal CV system is significant in cycling. -
I pay someone to do my wallpapering - its a waste of cycling time !!!0 -
Tangled Metal wrote:However exercise induced asthma isn't related to sports like, say cycling?
Seriously, you're asking on a sports based forum about a condition brought on by exercise. There is likely to be people with EIA and people further along the treatment process than the OPs daughter. There's first hand information on that process to be had from those ahead of you.
This does not in anyway stop you gong to a medical expert. Indeed I believe everyone who's posted positive and helpful comments related to the OP's first post enquiry has also said to see a gp and added helpful advice on that consultation. Some have pointed the op on some things to investigate with the gp or consultant.
Far from being this dangerous, untrained piece of advice MF and Navrig seems to imply. Can anyone seriously say there's been dangerous advice on here?
From what I've read there's been good advice (involving how to get a good outcome through medical consultation) and discussions of personal experience related to the condition or first post.
My son has inherited my asthma - one day he came home from school as he was puffing his blue inhaler at the very least once every 10 minutes. Same day GP consultation - Head GP at the practice did the consultation - took the blue inhaler off my son - held it in front on my sons face and said "Take this inhaler 4 times a day"
Within hours we were in A & E - who game him a steroid inhaler and my sons breathing improved within hours.0 -
Navrig2 wrote:In that case visit a forum dedicated to medical issues even one dedicated to that particular medical issue.
If I want advice on wallpaper hanging I wouldn't come to a Bike Forum........ even tho' someone on the Bike Forum may know a lot about wallpaper hanging. The chances are that a DIY forum will yield more reliable and trustworthy results.
they may be better answers - but do you trust them - you may as well go into the high street and ask... whereas, I "know" you and your posting style and therefore have a view on the trustworthyness of your response.
I do a LOT of internet searching for technical resource, you can build a picture of the type of contributor on the various sites which you then need to assess if it's worth reading more in depth or just try the suggestion (just try isn't always a 5 second thing, it can require quite a bit of work to get to the testing phase).
I don't see this place as anything different to "chatting with your mates down the pub" - or perhaps better "chatting with your mates on a club ride" ...0 -
Slowbike wrote:Navrig2 wrote:In that case visit a forum dedicated to medical issues even one dedicated to that particular medical issue.
If I want advice on wallpaper hanging I wouldn't come to a Bike Forum........ even tho' someone on the Bike Forum may know a lot about wallpaper hanging. The chances are that a DIY forum will yield more reliable and trustworthy results.
they may be better answers - but do you trust them - you may as well go into the high street and ask... whereas, I "know" you and your posting style and therefore have a view on the trustworthyness of your response.
I do a LOT of internet searching for technical resource, you can build a picture of the type of contributor on the various sites which you then need to assess if it's worth reading more in depth or just try the suggestion (just try isn't always a 5 second thing, it can require quite a bit of work to get to the testing phase).
I don't see this place as anything different to "chatting with your mates down the pub" - or perhaps better "chatting with your mates on a club ride" ...
Totally agree but I know which of my mates to ask for help with a mechanical issue on a bike and who to ask about pension planning. They may not be the same person.
On any forum it's possible to look at someone's post count and their posting history. That will give a feel for their suitability to advise. You are more likely to get better advice on a medical forum with an asthma section than here which is why when I want advice on my Psoriasis I go to PsoriasisUK and not BikeRadar.
However, we digress. To the OP read this thread as there is a lot of decent advice but fundamentally if you are concerned get her to go and see her GP. Simples.0 -
absolutelyNavrig2 wrote:Slowbike wrote:I don't see this place as anything different to "chatting with your mates down the pub" - or perhaps better "chatting with your mates on a club ride" ...
Totally agree but I know which of my mates to ask for help with a mechanical issue on a bike and who to ask about pension planning. They may not be the same person.
- ah - but you're talking going to a specialist site about a known problem - if you're not sure what causes the symptoms - then you need a more general view ...Navrig2 wrote:On any forum it's possible to look at someone's post count and their posting history. That will give a feel for their suitability to advise. You are more likely to get better advice on a medical forum with an asthma section than here which is why when I want advice on my Psoriasis I go to PsoriasisUK and not BikeRadar.
Sounds simple - but never is - unless you've got a GP that has an interest in the issue and has more in depth knowledge of the subject - or is willing to pass you on ..Navrig2 wrote:However, we digress. To the OP read this thread as there is a lot of decent advice but fundamentally if you are concerned get her to go and see her GP. Simples.
for instance - I know how to maintain a bike (as most of us on here do) - but there's no point asking me about a particular headset type which behaves strangely under certain conditions as, whilst I could have a stab at what was going on - I don't have knowledge of that particular headset.... and that could be the same with anyone who's just set themselves up as a bike mechanic - you'd have to shop around till you found someone with specific experience with your headset...
It's like me getting advice from a technical forum if frequent - it's almost always geared towards large corporates - as that is where most of the contributors work/have experience - SMB is under represented - whilst the advice is similar, it's not appropriate to the environment.
and I digress 0 -
Navrig2 wrote:kingrollo wrote:mrfpb wrote:
This.Matthewfalle wrote:send her to see her doctor.
end of thread.
I've got two kids with asthma. Both have had several very hairy moments.
At such times I did not consult an internet forum, I took them to a GP or a&e.
Sure - but I don't see why he can't do both.
Because someone, who is not suitably trained, may write something which discourages the use of a GP and .........
TBH there is probably not much which can be gained from asking on a forum which cannot be found, more quickly, just using Google and tinternet.
I don't think that's really true. I find somewhere like this useful for getting some wider real world experience which then can information decision as to whether a trip to the GP is in order and just as importantly so that I can assess the advice the GP gives and maybe talk about options. I know 2 people, one my youngest brother, who are now dead because GPs failed to spot cancer until too late - in both cases another medical professional spotted it straight away - so I'm not inclined put absolute faith in any one medical professional.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0 -
I had one relative who slammed his car into a solid brick wall instead of making a 90 degree bend because he had very slow reactions and wasn't safe to drive. His gp had noted on his medical files that he believed my relative had a stroke and shouldn't drive knowing full well he still drove everywhere. Plus the gp didn't inform my relative including his wife about the stroke. Negligence.
I had another relative who had a large mole that he showed to his gp. Gp said to go away and come back when it gets bad. Nothing about signs to look for. Two years later he saw another gp at the practise who sent him to a consultant. Skin cancer spread throughout body. Negligence.
Basically the gp is not always great on their own. You need to know how to get a good result out of them. The right questions to ask, when to insist on referral, etc. I'm very bad for that. The few times I felt I needed a referral I got one or a telephone consult the gp had with the expert. Both cases it was the wrong expert the gp consulted it referred me to.
The benefits I see from speaking out on general forums about loosely related subjects (IMHO asthma related to sports is loosely related to cycling sports of that is what you do) is that you might get insights from people with similar symptoms to you and who are further along the consult route. It's not a substitute to gp visit but it compliments it by giving you knowledge and perhaps the right questions to ask. You only get good outcomes from a gp visit if you give the right / good information and ask the right questions. If also pays to write down things before your gp visit.
All this doesn't guarantee the right outcome because sometimes things aren't common occurrences for GPs so they're lost and don't know the services you really need to be referred to. I've been there and given up through frustration.0 -
OK. Can we stop now, please? If you have asthma, you have a duty to understand your condition. Please stop talking about "blue" and "brown" inhalers - it makes you sound like you're in kindergarten.
Asthma has two distinct symptoms. One is bronchoconstriction - this is when the bronchii, the tubes that lead into your lungs - tighten up, reducing the diameter of your airways and therefore making it harder to bring air into the lungs (and also to breathe it out again). The other is the excess production of mucous from the lining of the bronchii; this mucous clogs the cilia (hairs) in the tubes, again reducing their effective diameter, and also collects in the lungs themselves, affecting their function and reducing their capacity.
Both symptoms can appear separately, or you can have both together. Both can have multiple discrete or simultaneous causes. Often they are associated with an over-aggressive immune response (allergy) to airborne irritants, like pollen, house dust, cat hair and so on. Diesel particulates are a notable member of this list, especially for city dwellers. But both constriction and mucous over-production can also be stress responses (hence exercise-induced asthma) and result from pathogens - people with asthma are also often prone to bronchitis, which is an infection (bacterial or viral) of the lungs.
There are four basic drug treatments for asthma and asthma-related conditions, and then a less common outlier. These are:
Bronchodilators (beta 2 agonists)- drugs that cause the smooth muscle surrounding the bronchii to relax, opening up the airways. These come in two varieties - short-acting, like salbutamol (Ventolin, the "blue inhaler"), which have an immediate but not especially lasting effect, and long-acting, like salmeterol/Serevent (which is a slow-release version of salbutamol). There are other long-acting beta 2 agonists (LABAs for short) like formoterol, which are usually provided as part of a combined medication (see below). Short-acting beta 2 agonists are only useful for relieving acute constriction; they provide temporary relief, and may be all you need if your asthma is, for example, exercise-induced and transient. They are largely useless as an ongoing treatment regime for allergic or other chronic asthma, except to mitigate sudden peaks in reaction. Note that although beta 2 agonists are usually inhaled using a pressurised spray, they can also be provided in a passive powder inhaler, nebulised (a continuous pressurised supply) or taken in pill form. Dosage matters - the usual dose of salbutamol is 100mcg per puff, 1-2 puffs at a time, up to 4 times a day. If you're taking more than that, or you're routinely taking a SABA multiple times per day, your asthma is not properly controlled and you need different treatment.
Steroids - drugs that have both an anti-inflammatory and an immune response suppression effect, preventing or reducing both bronchoconstriction and mucous production. Asthma is usually treated with topical inhaled corticosteroids - in other words, drugs taken in powder form that you breathe in, with the intention that the steroid effect is restricted to your lungs and doesn't get into your bloodstream; if you're on high doses this is only partially effective and you will get some of the typical side effects (suppressed immune response, skin disorders, endocrine effects) that accompany oral steroid use. Severe asthma (either chronic or temporary) can also be treated with oral (pill-form) steroids. The most common steroid prescribed is beclomethasone/Becotide - the "brown inhaler". Again dosage matters, usually 200mcg per puff, 1-2 puffs at a time, twice a day. But this time what's critical is regularity. Steroids are a preventative, not a reliever. They have no immediate effect - you need to take them regularly over time to achieve the treatment outcome. If you are inconsistent in your dosing you won't get the benefit of the drug. If this next sentence is the only sentence in this whole post that you read and remember, that's good enough: take your steroid inhaler without fail, at the same times every day, or it won't work. There are several other steroids available - the most common being fluticasone (also a brown inhaler, just to confuse you), budesonide (usually only in combination - see below) and prednisolone, which is taken orally.
Leukotriene receptor antagonists - drugs that suppress your body's response to allergens. Maybe. These work for some people and not for others, and are prescribed as an add-on to inhaled treatment. The most common is montelukast/Singulair. Taken in pill form, usually once a day before bedtime (to give maximum benefit overnight) and, once again, dependent on absolute regularity for effect.
Antibiotics - if, and only if, you have a bacterial chest infection - usually indicated by a producing cough with yellow mucous - then you will *also* need to take a course of antibiotics alongside your regular treatment. Which antibiotic will vary depending on the pathogen. You may also need either to up your dose of inhalers, or take oral steroids to help reduce your mucous production and open up your airways while you wait for the antibiotics to take effect. Many chest infections are viral, however, in which case antibiotics make no difference and you're stuck with inhaler and/or oral steroids while you wait for your immune system to clear out the infection.
Nowadays, the received wisdom is that there is a synergistic effect from combining a LABA and a steroid in the same inhaler, both because the LABA opens up the airways to let the steroid penetrate better and also because of more complex interactions. The two most common combined treatments are fluticasone+salmeterol (Seretide) and budesonide+formoterol (Symbicort). Again, the key here is to take them regularly; you may still need to carry a reliever (SABA, like salbutamol) but shouldn't need it often.
Technique matters with inhalers. If your technique is poor (whether with the pressurised or non-pressurised kind) you will end up coating the lining of your mouth and throat with the drug, and not treating your lungs. If your inhaler includes a steroid, not only can this give you oral thrush, it can also end up with you having some of the side effects of oral steroid use. The best person to teach you effective technique is the practice nurse at your GP (or a specialist asthma nurse at a thoracic medicine unit, but GP nurses are much easier to see). Never assume you know best. A good nurse (and definitely the physios at the thoracic unit) can also teach you special breathing techniques to loosen mucous in your lungs and help to clear them before taking your inhaler. If your bronchii are full of mucous then the inhaled drug ends up in the mucous and less of it will be absorbed - clean lungs make for more effective treatment at lower doses.
Outliers - theophylline/Uniphyllin can also be prescribed. This is another long-acting bronchodilator which is taken orally and uses a different metabolic pathway to relax the smooth muscle around the bronchii - it can have nasty side effects and need careful monitoring including regular blood tests.
Anecdotal background - I have taken *all* of the drugs mentioned above at some time. Yes, including theophylline, whcih was horrible. I am currently on a combined high-dose budesonide+formoterol inhaler, plus montelukast, plus a mometasone nasal spray to control allergic rhinitis. IME this has been the most effective therapy. I very rarely need to use a reliever and am able to lead a very active lifestyle despite living in London and inhaling as a consequence the dirtiest air in Europe. My respiratory function does improve markedly when I'm away from the city, nonetheless.0 -
See! There's no good reason to discuss asthma on a cycling forum. You don't get information about the condition and treatments. You get no good information at all. Hmmmm!
So far we've had a full explanation of asthma and treatment, plenty of discussion of people's experience of the condition / treatment and the excellent advice to see a gp (with added advice that inhaler technique is worth getting right through a specialist or practise nurse based training).
Personally I have been to the gp twice about this, so far,and the above post on its own has given me more information. The only thing this poster hasn't done that a gp can is prescribe me the treatment I probably need.
Now, how true is the post? OK Google the drug names listed. There's plenty of good sites to get information on drugs, their use and side effects. Some I bet your gp will use too BTW. They don't know everything and have to look things up too. I'm sure a relatively quick Google will let you know if the post above is to be believed. My gut feeling until I've done that Google is that it's pretty accurate and useful. Thanks 964cup!0 -
One last point, I've never been told in two visits about my asthma about mucus type. It would seem that's my type or my main type. For example my biggest reason to take Salbutamol (I'll stop using inhaler colour) is when I have a persistent, phlegm based cough. I've never smoked so there should be no other reason for this build up of mucus that doesn't get shifted until I take salbutamol. It goes very quickly after that. If only the gp had explained that I'd have trusted the diagnosis of asthma sooner.
One more point. I've had allergy in one form or another from secondary school age. I've been on most allergy treatments available over the counter (most prescribed first when I got free prescriptions). Over the last 5 years my allergies have been getting worse such that I take loratidine most days. It does also seem to help with the mucus and asthma type symptoms. Perhaps I need to look more at my allergies. Perhaps testing of that.
I got prescribed a peak flow meter but going back to the gp they kind of stopped being interested in seeing any readings I had taken. I'm thinking of going back to the gp again about asthma. Is it worth getting some readings and if it is what's the best way to go about it?
I got told to take one before a dose of salbutamol then another 5 minutes after when it's taken effect. I think that was more to convince me I've got asthma. I've heard taking a reading at the same time each day is good for base line determination. Any advice from those with more experience of living with asthma and getting the right treatment on this monitoring?0 -
How you use PF depends on a number of factors. What you're looking for is both a measure of treatment effectiveness and peak (see what I did there) airway function. Effectively you need to work out your baseline peak flow - what can you blow when your lungs are at their best?
There is, again, significant technique involved. Get the nurse to show you how to use your meter properly. Poor technique, even failure to hold the meter level (for the cheap mechanical ones) can make a real difference.
Then you take readings at the - to me - obvious times: on waking before meds; after you take your morning meds, giving enough time for effect if you use a SABA (there'll be no immediate effect if you don't, so there's no point in taking a second reading at this point). At the mid-point between doses (oh, and pro tip - don't necessarily take your meds on rising and at bedtime; for most people that's not 12 hours apart, is it? Get your timing right. [although some people think it's better to have slightly imbalanced levels in exchange for peak dosage during sleep. YMMV]). Before you take your night-time dose. Chart those three (or four) readings every day for as long as you can stand it. Note any other symptoms (like feeling breathless) and any correlations (like pollen counts, pollution levels, encountering [gah!] cats), and (for us cyclists) map it against Strava, against FTP tests - more data is better.
Once you have enough data, you'll be able to measure the effectiveness of changes in medication regime; the effect of seasons, pollutants and so on; your level of fitness and so on. It gives proper data with which to validate a feeling that you're not on top form; you can also proactively vary your meds to account for seasonal and other predictable changes. I use more meds in summer (because pollen) than in winter.
To give you some real examples based on me:
I have airway remodelling, so however fit and medicated I am, my absolute max PF is 650 L/Min (as measured on a the usual crappy Airmed plastic mechanical thing - about as accurate as a Park Tools tensiometer, but it's relative values that matter). NB: I'm 6'1", 49 and male - your theoretical PF is dependent on your height, age and gender, so don't compare to me, look it up - and if you want real numbers, go to the consultant and get a proper spirometry test. Note also that the "typical adult" values on the internet are for typical adults - i.e. couch potatoes. If I weren't asthmatic, I would expect to be able to get pretty close to knocking the end off the meter (perhaps less so at my age, sadly). Certainly some of my clubmates who've tried it for a laugh have produced significantly higher figures. Bastards.
Right this second I'm blowing 580, because I'm right at the end of my previous Symbicort dose. At noon I would likely have blown (I'm long past multiple daily measurements) around 620-630, because I'm (in asthma terms) in good shape at the moment, but not at peak fitness and I'm in London where the air is diesel soup.
In pollen season, and/or if I've run across some other allergens, I can end up down around 500. That's my cue to add a third (or sometimes fourth) dose of Symbicort at each end of the day until I'm back to normal. I had a long-lasting NTM (non-tubercular mycobacterium) infection for some years a while ago and was on 4 x Symbicort 400 bd (twice daily) to keep my symptoms under control the whole time, as well as repeated antibiotics. Now I've (finally) shaken it off, I'm down to 2 x Symbicort 400 bd.
If I have a really bad allergy reaction, or an infection, I can end up blowing 350. That'll have me reaching for a SABA. If I can't get over 400 5 minutes after the second puff of salbutamol, I know I'm going to need oral steroids (and possibly antibiotics if there's an infection). At 350 I feel terrible, and certainly won't be doing any cycling.
One other point I haven't made before: once you start using inhaled steroids routinely, you are dependent on them. Your body adapts. If you stop suddenly, your lungs will also stop. This is not good. It's important, therefore, that you carry the right documentation with you so that if/when they find you unconscious in a ditch having been overambitious into a damp downhill corner, they know you need corticosteroids. I use a OneLifeID wristband, but GPs certainly used to issue steroid cards for you to carry in your wallet, and you could always make your own.0 -
OK! You now have me worried. I get any 350 most days. After salbutamol has had a chance (I retest about 5-10 minutes after a double puff) I get up n to say 450 iirc.
When I was younger I could get to about 550 but that was through an air permeable material (a PF meter makes for a very quick way to measure permeability of materials provided you can puff hard enough into it). I think my best readings back then (over 16 years ago I think) I got 600. I was about 30 then and a 50+ year old colleague held the record at close to 700. He was 4" shorter than me but he had a big set of healthy lungs.
I've never been diagnosed with asthma until about 43 years old but it seems I've always had a low PF reading. Probably had asthma all my life from the sounds of it.
BTW I have been trained in PF meter use at my old job. Practise makes perfect and technique can really make the difference. When I do it wrong the drop is 100 or more. They're not very reliable testing equipment IMHO.
As to what I should be at, well I saw a chart but being 6'5", mid 40s and male I was off the chart. Or rather there wasn't a line for my height. I estimated about 650 max reading but a good day with antihistamines and salbutamol assisted I think I sometimes get 550.
This thread (which I seem to have hijacked, sorry DeV) has got me thinking more about my asthma. I'm planning on taking pf readings for the 2 weeks it'll take to get a doctor's appointment. Then I'll take the readings to her and see what comes out of it. Reading what you've typed makes sense. I believe most of my asthma is mucus based and allergy related. The reason I'm certain it's allergy related is because my breathing sometimes gets better with just antihistamine dose kicking in. Add in salbutamol and my airways feel clear (but still low reading for my size, age, gender). I reckon they'll give me the brown inhaler (sorry but I can't recall the steroid thats in it). My partner gets that with a plastic tube thing to increase its efficacy. She uses it certain times of the year or when she's getting a cold. Not optimal but those are the times she's at risk of chest infections. It was a bad cold that triggered truly bad nights breathing for me and led me to get help and the diagnosis. Scary when you're kept up because your can't breathe. Antihistamine dose was the only thing I had to help.0 -
From the sounds of it your asthma is not being properly managed. You should definitely see your GP, and you should ask for a consultant referral. The consultant should do a scratch test to identify your allergies, and take a mucous sample to culture for pathogens. You should also have a full lung function test - 350 at your height is very low. You'd do well to learn mucous clearing techniques from the physio, too - there's a breathing cycle approach (called ACBT) that works well, albeit it's time-consuming.
You might want to see if they'll nebulise you so you can get a maximum read on the PF (or spirometry) - to give you an idea of what you should be able to achieve if properly medicated. If you've had undertreated asthma for all of your life, you probably have some airway remodelling - a variety of physical changes to your bronchial anatomy that will restrict your ultimate airway capacity. Most 40+ asthmatics will, frankly, because asthma treatment in our childhood was shit. In the case of my early years, a combination of oral salbutamol (great as a cycling PED, but not very good for you) and Intal (sodium cromoglycate) which as far as I can tell is entirely ineffective in the treatment of asthma. And a lot of physio, which was deeply unpleasant - it really makes me sympathetic to anyone with cystic fibrosis, since they have to do it all their lives. I used to spend an hour a day lying on my front with my head lower than my feet while my mother pummelled my back to loosen the mucous and I continuously coughed it up. [Sorry for the graphic image].
The plastic tube thing is a "spacer" or "volumiser" - it helps the dry powder in the inhaler disperse into the air you're inhaling so that you get more of it into your lungs, and removes the need for good inhaler timing technique. They're pretty well obligatory for kids these days, and useful for adults, but neither convenient nor easily portable.
If they prescribe you a steroid (probably beclomethasone) then use it religiously, but also measure your PF and if you don't see a sustained improvement, go back and ask to try a different drug - fluticasone or budesonide, and preferably in combination therapy with a long-acting beta 2 agonist.
Pro tip: the more you learn about the illness, and the treatments, and the more authoritatively you can talk about it, the more attention you will get and the more likely you are to get a useful response if you feel your treatment isn't working. That's why I try to steer people away from the whole "blue inhaler" thing - do that and the doctor automatically puts you in the "numpty I can patronise and get rid of quickly" box. I'm not a doctor, and doubt I'd be much use in a discussion about treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, but I am fairly sure I know more about asthma than some GPs, which makes it easier to bully them into the dosage, or consultant referral, that I want.0 -
964Cup wrote:The plastic tube thing is a "spacer" or "volumiser" - it helps the dry powder in the inhaler disperse into the air you're inhaling so that you get more of it into your lungs, and removes the need for good inhaler timing technique. They're pretty well obligatory for kids these days, and useful for adults, but neither convenient nor easily portable.
Personally I've always hated the spacer since I was a kid. It's probably largely psychological (like a surprising amount of my asthma symptoms) but it never felt like you got the 'blast' of relief and it always seemed to settle around the inside of the plastic. I've seen some incredibly poor inhaler use in the past but I can't see how the technique is especially difficult but then I've been doing it since I was very young0 -
Just had a go on my daughter's Mini-wright peak flow device and blew about 640 which is what their website says is about right for my height and weight - tried taking a few puffs of salbutamol and trying again 15 minutes later but made no difference. My 17 year old son was about his predicted peak flow too.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0
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A very good indicator you've got no asthma. Salbutamol only affects breathing if you've got asthma I've been told. That's why I got a prescription for the peak flow meter to test before and after dose readings. Big difference in my case.0
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So this is me coming at it from a different angle. Firstly, I'll admit that I'm no doctor and have very little experience with chronic medical conditions, however, I had seen this topic before and recently, for the first time in my life, I had a feeling of a tight chest and had no idea what was causing this. I went to the GP and didn't make much progress "take a few days easy" sort of thing. 3 weeks later and the chest still feels tight, however, during that 3 weeks, I started getting worked up about the condition, thinking there was something seriously wrong.
Upon subsequent visits to the doctor, i've been diagnosed with a form of health anxiety, wherein the worry (even subconscious worry) about the symptom is itself bringing on symptoms, including fatigue, shortness of breath, tight chest etc; It doesn't feel great and so far has been hard to push away from. The interesting thing is even Asthma in a mild form can trigger this anxiety, and the increased subconscious stress can induce symptoms of fatigue and other ones, while also making the original symptom worse.
I even picked up one of those oxygen saturation testing devices (pretty cheap) to verify my paranoia of whether my lungs were working and even at intense exercise levels when the lungs feel bad, the oxygen saturation is always 97%+ (generally higher on avg).
So, if it is the case that your daughter is having worries about these sensations, it may be worth looking at this from a mental health perspective as well. Because the root cause may no longer be due to the symptoms, but other stresses. The effects of anxiety (even if you don't know you have it) can be brutally overwhelming and intense. Then, any negative experience or underperformance etc; re-inforces this belief, causing you more stress and it becomes a perpetual cycle.0 -
Well as an update I got her to go to the doctor and the upshot is an appointment with the asthma nurse - we'll see what happens from there.
Re. health anxiety I suppose it's possible but I wouldn't know where to start with that.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0 -
Possibly with a deep breath and relax! Oh, let me find my salbutamol first!
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Update, asthma nurse has doubled steroid inhaler dose and sent her for a blood test. Dr has rung up to make an appointment to discuss blood test findings so it's obviously turned something up - fingers crossed it's nothing too serious.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0
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Well she's anaemic - apparently she's 7 and she should be 15 - 7 what I don't know. They've given her iron tablets and said come back in a month.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0
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Wow - first page of this thread, what a bunch of internet d!ck swingers!
Bit of a difference asking a very general question to seeking medical advice.
Plus, go to the GP?! Great as many GPs are, in many specialised areas they are no more experts than the people posting on here...0 -
CptKernow wrote:Wow - first page of this thread, what a bunch of internet d!ck swingers!
Bit of a difference asking a very general question to seeking medical advice.
Plus, go to the GP?! Great as many GPs are, in many specialised areas they are no more experts than the people posting on here...
I wouldn't quite go that far. By quite why people have so much confidence in them I can never quite fathom. IME they have around 6 minutes to work out what is wrong and what course of treatment to give - then they are now under pressure not to refer unless you have life threatening condition - plus there is a big push from the NHS to move away from surgical treatment (can't think why !!!!)
its worth googling your ccg's Procedure of limited clinical value/priority - to see what isn't available any more
Hernia repairs, knee and hip scope, even ear syringing is gone in some area's.
IMO do you research before you go to your GP - this decreases the chances of being fobbed off.0 -
CptKernow wrote:Wow - first page of this thread, what a bunch of internet d!ck swingers!
Bit of a difference asking a very general question to seeking medical advice.
Plus, go to the GP?! Great as many GPs are, in many specialised areas they are no more experts than the people posting on here...
Well it seems that is what happened and they now have a diagnosis (which appears to be non-asthma related) so I don't see the issue?
Edit - not that I have a huge amount of faith in GPs after they took months to refer my daughter to a specialist with what was subsequently diagnosed within minutes as a brain tumour!0 -
DeVlaeminck wrote:Well she's anaemic - apparently she's 7 and she should be 15 - 7 what I don't know. They've given her iron tablets and said come back in a month.
Good that they've given a diagnosis, hopefully they'll get to the bottom of the cause.0 -
Or more likely just treat the symptoms and leave it at that. Is that being too cynical?Pross wrote:DeVlaeminck wrote:Well she's anaemic - apparently she's 7 and she should be 15 - 7 what I don't know. They've given her iron tablets and said come back in a month.
Good that they've given a diagnosis, hopefully they'll get to the bottom of the cause.
I hope it works out for your daughter deV0
