Struggling to breathe episodes!! asthma?! Hayfever?!

[Sunniestsunflower]

Feeling a bit confused!

I’ve had bad hayfever in the past. It was controlled by fexofenadine and salbutamol as I was wheezy from it. I’m not asthmatic.

I’ve noticed recently that I keep getting episodes of struggling for breath (I’m not having an episode at the moment). Dust and exercise and laughing all seem to trigger it! I can still breath but i feels as if when I breath in, I can only breath in a little bit and then I physically can’t breath in anymore, as if I can’t get a good full breath. It feels sort of tight. I think I’m wheezy when it happens, but I’m not sure if I actually am. I don’t hear any whistling sounds when I breath, but there’s a husky dry sound when i breath, especially when I breath in- it almost sounds like I’m breathing through my teeth but I’m not.

Each time I have one of those episodes, I take my salbutamol and after about 4-5 puffs I start to feel better and the symptoms go. But then one of the triggers set it off again and I have to take salbutamol all over again. I had 3 episodes yesterday and took my salbutamol inhaler 16times in total over the course of the day. Exercise seems to be the worst trigger for it

I can’t get through to the doctors and I’ve been busy at work and University so it’s really hard to get through. What are these episodes?! I googled it and all I could find was asthma, but I don’t have any whistling wheezing and I can still breath during the episodes, it’s just difficult but it’s not impossible and I always thought asthma was more serious than this. Is it just really severe hayfever?

Sounds like asthma to me. I am asthmatic and rarely wheeze. If Ventolin relieves it, then it's asthma.

If you are strugglingvto breathe, or have a peak flow monitor and your peak flow is low ( there are lots of online charts), the go to a and e. If it's not that bad, please get a gp/ asthma nurse appointment tomorrow and they will give you proper advice and can prescribed a preventer. If you tell the receptionist that you are having unpredictable breathing difficulties, you should be dealt with as a priority.

Asthma sounds very likely. I'm asthmatic and never wheeze. If you're using salbutamol 16 times a day you're in asthma attack territory. I had to take 16 puffs in a day before (8 were my Fostair which is my preventer inhaler with a long acting reliever) and went to urgent care who prescribed oral steroids for my asthma exacerbation and antibiotics for a chest infection which caused the exacerbation.

Honestly I'd go to urgent care or A&E if I were you.

I know someone who wasn't diagnosed until she was hospitalised with an asthma attack as a student.

I'm 99% sure it's asthma, as the parent of a 3 year old with these symptoms, and you need a preventer. You don't always have audible wheeze when your sats are low. When DS was last in hospital the audible wheeze cleared and he still wasn't able to leave for another 24 hours.

Assume you have tested negative. How is your temperature? Can you access a heart rate monitor and oximeter? Many people have them now due to covid.

I will give a different view based on my experience, assumed asthma but turned out to be a chest infection. Only knew about it Ince temperature kicked in.

Breathlessness is an emergency so when you get through (or call 111) let them know.

• emergency = higher priority not that you are at immediate risk

You have all the symptoms of asthma. You are taking a medication for asthma. This medication eases your symptoms. Join the dots OP. You have asthma.

I’m asthmatic and your symptoms sound like asthma to me. My asthma also started in adulthood, it definitely isn’t just a childhood illness. It sounds like you need a preventer inhaler to use with your current reliever inhaler. Preventer inhalers deliver a small dose of steroids directly into your lungs which over time prevents them over-reacting to triggers. Everyone’s triggers are different, (horses & oil seed rape pollen are two of mine) so try to work out yours and try to avoid them. If exercise is one of yours, ease off until your asthma is properly controlled.

Being unable to breathe properly is serious so don’t ignore it. See your GP asap.

Sounds like asthma, but you need to see a gp.

Also agree that it sounds like asthma and that with 16 puffs of sulbutamol you are in asthma attack territory and need an urgent review. Don’t go anywhere without the sulbutamol, if you find the reliever doesn’t relieve symptoms after ten puffs call 999. Get on to the doctors for an urgent call tomorrow and don’t be fobbed off. Asthma can and does kill.

Sounds like asthma, could also be covid or disoriented breathing pattern.

That's exactly how my asthma works right down to the allergies and fexofenidine. The ones triggered by laughing are the most annoying for me since it turns a good time into a dangerous one and ruined my move of stand up comedy.

Talk to your GP so you can be prescribed a preventer inhaler which helps stop attacks from happening in the first place (the blue one is just to treat it once it already happened).

My preventer inhaler cut down my attacks by over 95% so really helped a lot.

*disordered

It’s not a continuous problem, it just happens throughout the day when something triggers it. The salbutamol always helps and I can always breath albeit with difficulty (asthma in movies is always shown as being completely unable to breathe so I think that’s what I was basing it on)

When I’m having an episode I can still breath it just feels tight and like I can’t take a deep, decent breath. I can definitely hear a husky dry sound too when I breath, it’s not a whistle it’s more like a very very exaggerated breath through my teeth even though I’m just breathing normally

I hoped it wasnt asthma and was just wheezyness from the hayfever. That’s the reason I got the inhaler in the first place, because I’m not asthmatic but I was wheezy with hayfever so I thought it had maybe got worse

I’ll try and get an appointment with a GP or nurse. These episodes started 3 weeks ago and are getting worse and I feel physically tired from struggling to breath when they happen. I don’t want them to keep getting worse

Glad you are going to get a dr appointment. Asthma doesn't have to be continuous, there used to be a condition called "winter asthma " as you only got it in winter (cold air and going from cold to warm rooms were the triggers). The modern thinking is that winter asthma doesn't exist - you have permanent asthma but the symptoms are too mild to register during the summer months.

Get it sorted now as anxiety can make episodes more difficult to control

www.nhs.uk/conditions/hay-fever/

It’s the asthma that causes the wheezing

Glad you're getting an appointment with a GP as it does sound like you need to be checked over. Agree with the PP who suggested a pulse oximeter too so you can keep an eye on your oxygen levels. I assume you have ruled out covid?
There's apparently a high pollen count this year. If it's happening at home maybe a HEPA filter might help?
Hope you get it sorted and feel better soon, it sounds horrid.

Does anyone know if the pharmacy would be able to help? I can’t get through to the gp unfortunately, the phone lines are just so busy! No online or email services unfortunately just the phones

When I had breathlessness w covid the salbutamol gave v little relief so if you find your breathlessness is responding I would think asthma - which can be triggered by hayfever.

You've got asthma. If you have wheezing because of hay-fever then it's the pollen that is making your asthma worse. If you can't get through to your gp you need to ring 111. If you've been having these throughout the day then that is a sign it's getting worse. Please don't dismiss it as being nothing, people die every day from asthma.

I have severe asthma, only diagnosed 2 yrs ago. If I had what you are describing the gp would send me to hospital and I'd end up on a course of steroids. Please see someone asap.

Wheeziness from pollen/hayfever is asthma and you need a preventer inhaler. I was diagnosed last year and just need to use the preventer in my high pollen season, not all year.

If you can't get a GP appointment soon, or want an easy option, the online prescribing services can do an e-consult and prescribe and post to you.

Hayfever often triggers mild asthma. Even mild asthma can be disruptive though - if the attack continues during the night you won't be able to sleep, for instance. Get a couple of ventolin inhalers from the GP for the few weeks a year this happens.

Gosh. Erm OP not to alarm you but I would be calling 111 as I think you may need some steroids to just open you up a bit and help the tightness.

Pharmacy can't prescribe inhalers and will tell you to see your GP or go to urgent care/A&E.

Does your surgery do eConsult? If so, fill one in. I did one for chest pain post Covid and a GP called me back in about half an hour.

If not I would honestly go to urgent care/A&E. They can give you oral steroids to help calm your airways and can check for anything else underlying like a chest infection and give you antibiotics if needed. They can also put a note on your medical records. I don't know if they can give you a preventer inhaler or not but the steroids will help and then you need an urgent GP appointment.

I went to urgent care last year with a kidney infection on a bank holiday and my GP could see I had been the next day.

You could also try 111 who may be able to get you an out of hours appointment but will probably direct you to A&E first as breathing difficulties are an emergency.

If needs be call in sick so you have time to stay on hold to GP for an appointment.

Also, bear in mind that 3 people a day in the UK die from an asthma attack. This is serious and absolutely an A&E matter. Asthma kills and needs to be treated.

I had to fight for my diagnosis and only got it because I had been given a preventer inhaler and salbutamol to help me through a bad case of bronchitis. My symptoms were awful on a holiday and I had to use my salbutamol several times a day, to the point DH and I looked up where the hospital was and how to say 'this might be an asthma attack' in Italian, just in case I got worse.

When I got home I was referred for an asthma nurse appointment and was promptly diagnosed. I was also told off for not going to the hospital in Italy.

It took a while to get my asthma under control, I needed Fostair (a preventer with a long acting broncholidtor) and Montelukast to bring it under control.

The sooner you get help, the better. I didn't realise how bad my breathing was before I had inhalers until I got my asthma under control.

Sounds like you're asthmatic.

Allergens can trigger it, as can exercise, laughing (as it's similar movement to exercise) and you might need a preventer inhaler as well.

Are you using a spacer device to ensure you take it properly? I've lost count of the number of people who I see not sealing their mouth around the inhaler or immediately breathing all the medication back out again. Everybody should have a spacer.