Your experiences with asthma

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’ve had asthma for almost all my life - diagnosed at the age of two, been dependant on inhalers ever since. I’ve known lots of asthmatics of varying types since then, from “got diagnosed, had to use my inhaler twice in ten years” to “am on a nebuliser daily.”

I’d like to, if possible, hear from people all along that range. Just because it’d be interesting.

Had it all my life and it’s been terrible the last few months, so I’d also like to hear from people who have very bad asthma but are beyond the prednisilone stage, and hear what they did. I already do various coping mechanisms like steamy rooms (or putting my head over a bowl with some minty tea in it) to add to the inhalers and steroids and I’m not that into other alternative therapies but if you want to post them then do so.

2

I’m a severe asthmatic but I’m perfectly controlled as long as I take my medication as prescribed. Other than the cost of the meds, it has negligible impact on my life. I’m really lucky.

3

I’m a mild intermittent asthmatic. I rarely have symptoms at all unless I haven’t been taking my daily allergy meds (loratadine during the day, Benadryl at night, and lately also a steroid nasal inhaler, which doesn’t seem to have anything to do with asthma symptoms but is amazing for keeping my sinuses clear). Once every few years, usually I will have a flare-up, usually after an upper respiratory infection, and end up with bronchitis. A few days of oral steroids and/or antibiotics clears me right up.

Do you also have allergies? It wasn’t until my GP told me that treating the allergies would do wonders for the asthma frequency and severity that I got things under better control. The allergist’s suggestions of weekly washing of linens in very hot water, an air purifier, and dust mite-proof mattress and pillow covers have been helpful too, I think.

4

I’m pretty much like Eva Luna. I haven’t had a bad asthma attack for several years. (Just FYI I had asthma as a child and it tapered off with medication; then came back in my 30s, and has been ok for probably 15 years; I’m 68 now.)

My allergies are pretty cumulative and avoiding multiple triggers seems key for me. For instance, I have cats that I love but if I add a second allergen (I used to smoke) gives me attacks. I could either smoke or have cats but not both; being smart for once I chose cats. I have a lot of food allergies that don’t really bother me much on their own but combined with cats I start wheezing and scratching (I also get hives), so I try to avoid those foods.

I took singulair for a long time but since getting a grip on allergies I don’t any more. I take zyrtec in the a.m. and allegra at night (according to my allergist it’s ok to do both and so far it hasn’t killed me).

5

I have mild-intermittent asthma. I previously only had symptoms with exercise or if I had a respiratory infection. However in the two years since I had stem-cell transplant I haven’t used my inhaler more than 3 times. I’m also apparently no longer allergic to cats!

6

Diagnosed at 9, still dealing with it in my late 40s. Sometimes it’s better than others. Cleared up nearly completely for several years after my pregnancies, but then crept up again.

This year was awful. Multiple weeks of Prednisone. God, I hate that shit. Can’t focus, get all depressed. Am thinking about trying Singular to help. Need to talk to my allergist.

7

Moderate persistent asthma. Right now, I take Advair 500/50, Singulair, Claritin (generic), sometimes Sudafed, sometimes Mucinex, and the rescue inhaler PRN. I have a nebulizer (and want one of the little ones so I can treat at work or out without dragging my full-size nebulizer around with me).

Diagnosed at 18 months of age. I’m 45 now. Very bad when I was a child – I remember being home sick a lot. It was the early 1970s, so there were no preventative inhalers, no “asthma action plans”, and really not many good meds for a little kid. It wasn’t the norm to encourage asthmatics to exercise and do what they could. My doctor was different – he told my mom to let me keep doing dance classes and to put me into karate as well. Also to run and bicycle as much as I was able. He wanted to “build up” my lungs, and it seems to have worked: my normal peak flow is 600!

I still had multiple weeks of problems every year, but it was better than it could’ve been. The aim was to keep me out of the ER. I have a distinct memory of freaking out while taking prednisone and being convinced my parents hated me. Luckily, my parents had been warned by the doctor that freaky emotions and paranoid can happen with steroids. I was four or five.

I was hospitalized with status asthmaticus when I was 15. I had a virus, my asthma flared up, and I…ignored it. Because I had things to do. Bad call, haven’t done that since.

Doctors hate that I have cats, but I point out that even when I had no pets, I still had shitty asthma. There was no difference. I also treat my cats with Allerpet-C, and the long-hair gets a bath. They sleep with me. Tough shit, doc. NO difference in the asthma, so screw it.

I have covers on the pillows and mattress to inhibit dust mites. I also have air cleaners, and a couple of humidifiers that run all winter.

I’ve tried every preventative inhaler that’s come out. The early ones didn’t do much at all. Luckily, Advair works well for me. I’m taking the highest dose, after having a bad asthma flare (including the fun of 10 days of a prednisone taper) when I got the flu after Christmas. The other 3 seasons of the year, I take the middle dose.

I don’t like one side effect of Advair – thrush, no matter how much I rinse my mouth. About every 6-8 weeks. Nope, not diabetic. Just not lucky.

However, even with preventative inhaler and Singulair, I still need the rescue inhaler a few times a week. The younger doctors keep thinking we can “fix” that. They’re so cute when they’re idealistic. Snerk.

I have a nebulizer, and it’s really handy to have around. I’m thinking of getting one of the really small ones for travel, and to use when my asthma flares and I’m NOT at home sitting on my butt.

I’ve had multiple courses of allergy shots, and it got to the point they weren’t helping much at all – and in fact, I got eczema during the last course, so I stopped them.

Moving from Florida to New England helped some – partly because my body isn’t allergic to a bunch of stuff here, and a real winter is a relief from the near-constant pollen in Florida. Also, my lungs seem to like the cold, dry air in the winter. Go figure.

When my asthma is really bad, I shut the bathroom door, run the shower as hot as it’ll go, and hang out in the bathroom to inhale the steam. Best to take a paper book with you; the laptop screen can get foggy.

8

My allergists let me take zyrtec in the PM and Claritin in the AM during pollen season. AND Benadryl if I need it. :slight_smile: Great during the weeks of ragweed hell.

9

I see two pulmonologists for chronic bronchitis, but for a while maybe 15 years ago, the allergist I was seeing kept insisting what I had was asthma, not bronchitis. I’d say “but it’s always a cough” and he’d say “asthma can be a cough”, and I’d say “but I have no airway restriction or wheezing” and he’d say “asthma doesn’t necessarily involve airway restriction or wheezing”. So I asked each of the pulmonologists, and they said, “no, you have bronchitis.” We went round and round.

I did a little hunting around and found lots of literature and statements from allergists and allergy organizations that sounded, to me, as though they were trying to claim more and more territory for their specialty. Other than that, I don’t know what was up with the allergist.

10

My complaint: It seems that any disorder must reach to a certain minimum level of severity before you can get any doctor to diagnose it.

For about 15 years, I’ve had chronic bronchitis. Or something. Now, I have near continual, but very minor (ETA: well, reasonably minor I guess), wheezing and coughing, with occasional exacerbations (like, 4 times in the last 10 years) that have put me in the ER. I am beginning to think it’s likely that some such future exacerbation might be what kills me.

I’ve had pulmonary testing a few times (including recently with some brand new high-tech super-duper spirometry++++ machine) and have never gotten a diagnosis. I very much suspect that I have very low-level or early stage COPD that may or may not get gradually worse over time. But I can’t get any doctors to say much of anything in the way of a diagnosis, although it’s clear to me that there’s something going on there.

11

Related thread on inhalers in which many share their Asthma experiences.

My post is # 43.

12

Did anyone send you for pulmonary function tests, or even had you monitor your peak flows for a while?

Chronic bronchitis is excessive cough and excessive mucus production.

Asthma can be characterized by cough, wheeze, chest tightness, excessive mucus production, runny nose.

The best way to know for sure is to have the PFT and/or monitor peak flows. If not one but two pulmonologists say you have chronic bronchitis, I’d tend to agree with them since it is their specialty. You could have asthma too though.
*IANAD but I’m 4 months away from a degree in respiratory therapy and I literally just finished a continuing education program on Asthma Management and Education for RTs - put out by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

13

Pretty bad asthma age 8 to 16, then tapered off quickly. Of course, in those days (1965-1975) we didn’t have any easy, effective treatments, just Primatene Mist inhalers and Medrol Dospaks (methylprednisolone) treatments for really bad attacks. I don’t know if those were used so rarely because of cost or because of side effects.

I remember a single attack in college, one in my late 40s (a decade ago), and then I had something very much like one just before Christmas. I might have forgotten one or two others as an adult.

14

I’ve had asthma for as long as I can remember. My parents told me that when I was a baby, I had some kind of allergic reaction to egg yolk and started wheezing. The doctor diagnosed asthma, then asthmatic bronchitis. Around 1960 I was started on an Isuprel inhaler, which I used multiple times a day. Now I realize I was in danger of paradoxical bronchospasm, but at the time Isuprel was the only way I could lead a semi-normal life. I continued with this until Intal (cromolyn sodium powder, inhaled) came along in the 1970s. This was a big improvement, but I still carried a rescue inhaler (although I didn’t need it every day). Finally in the 1980s the steroid inhalers became available, and they were so much better that I stopped carrying a rescue inhaler. This is still my status quo.

I’ve only had one severe attack. It was in the early 1960s, in the middle of the night. I don’t remember anything about it except gradually returning to consciousness in our house when a paramedic was preparing to give me an injection. This must’ve been a second injection because my breathing was back to normal at that point. They took me to the hospital and I did spend a few days there for observation, but I was fine.

My last attack was a mild one, a couple of weeks ago. I had gone out to run a short errand, and when the very cold air hit my lungs, I developed breathing difficulty. I decided this was because my steroid inhaler didn’t deliver a full dose earlier. I went home, used my inhalers, and went back out.

15

((ScifiSam))

Is moving away from London to the country an option for you?

16

I was just diagnosed a couple of months ago with having asthma at age 60. I’ve been wheezing while sleeping for about 4 years, but lately it got worse. The doctor put me on Flovent HFA and the wheezing has gone away. I need to do a better job of rinsing my mouth afterwards as my throat gets raspy at times.

I do a lot of heavy breathing during aerobic exercise. I have noticed a little wheezing but not really shortness of breath while riding my bicycle fast. I’m hoping that the Flovent HFA helps my cycling.

17

I’m on the opposite side of the spectrum from most of the posters. I apparently have “exercise-induced” asthma, and it really only bothers me when it’s cold outside. I’ve had the same inhaler for two years and have used it maybe 4 times.

18

I’m much like August West. Breathing very cold air, especially when I exert myself, will trigger an episode. I’m very sensitive to chemicals and dust. If I’m careful, I don’t have many problems. If I do get started on a cycle, it’s more like uncontrolled couching and sometimes wheezing. I have an Advair inhaler and if I use it for 7-10 days, that seems to clear it up.

StG

19

Not sure whether I’d be classified as severe or moderate: I require a somewhat high dose of inhaled steroids, but am not remotely “brittle” in that I don’t go downhill suddenly, and my flareups tend to be caused only by respiratory infections.

I was diagnosed over 50 years ago, as a 2 or 3 year old. For whatever reason, they had trouble diagnosing me which makes me go WFT - I mean, asthma was NOT unheard-of even in the early 1960s. Apparently they tried a bunch of different medications on me - which is probably why my teeth are hideous (dentist things tetracycline was at play).

Mom used to send us outside to play. Apparently I’d get so exhausted from not being able to breathe, I’d lie down in the snow. :eek:

By the time I was old enough to be aware of things, I was on a regimen of frequent allergy shots, plus a liquid medication for attacks. This was before any kind of inhalers were common, and certainly before steroid inhalers were in use.

My asthma got much better by age 12 or 13 and I was largely in remission except for the rare case of bronchitis. At one point the doctor tried me on a pill to help with it and that sent my heartbeat racing to 130 so that was the end of THAT.

The asthma redeveloped when I was in my mid 20s - when we got cats. It was badly controlled for several years - steroid inhalers were becoming more common but doctors still didn’t trust them much. I got into trouble with it a few times - no ER visits but one time I came close.

Late 1980s, not long after I moved to the DC area I stumbled across a book on asthma at B. Dalton - and it was life-changing. It gave me the information the doctors didn’t know, or didn’t bother to explain; it validated some medication regimens I’d been given; it gave me the power to understand and control the asthma. And I’ve never gotten into the same kind of near-ER trouble since.

Cats have been gone for 25+ years, and sadly the asthma is still with me. My regimen has been much the same for all of that time - tried different inhalers a time or two. Right now I’m using Flovent (fluticasone), a low dose of theophylline (out of habit as much as anything), and occasional puffs of the albuterol rescue inhaler.

I do have a couple of other conditions that can “mimic” asthma (acid reflux, and sinus issues); they make me hoarse and cough and feel like things are tight, but testing including full-on pulmo testing has shown the asthma is not flaring. Addressing those issues (e.g. better reflux meds) helps the symptoms. Cold air used to be a major trigger for me but is much less so now - maybe because of better control with the steroids? Exercise is still an issue; I have NEVER been able to run or jog more than a few paces.

My son has “asthma”, as in if he gets something like H1N1 flu he’ll need inhalers (that was 5 years ago). My daughter has asthma as well - between the heredity, her being a preemie, and having had RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) as a baby, this was not remotely a surprise. Fortunately she can mostly get by without daily meds but we keep steroid inhalers for her; for a couple years she was on a low dose on a daily basis, and we make sure she restarts them if she gets a cold.

She managed to put herself in a bad situation this past summer - was starting to cough as we took her to a summer program, and during her 3 weeks away she was NOT responsible about taking her meds. Argh.

20

I’m mild, I guess, but I have certain triggers and can end up using my rescue inhaler more frequently if I encounter the triggers more often. The triggers are bleach, some cleaners, cigarette smoke, wood smoke and some scents - perfumes/colognes. I just use a rescue inhaler but I used to be on singulair. I’m also on nightly zyrtec both for chronic dust allergy (that’s another trigger) and chronic hives.

I saw this thread earlier but I didn’t post so of course someone came in to work wearing some weird scent that started me coughing so I had to use my inhaler.