GP says i`ve prob got adult onset asthma - can anyonr reassurre me ?

[fakeblonde]

Ok i started exercising in Dec sand started to get some chest tightness.
So i started to have a puff of dds ventolin first and this helped. Then even that stopped helping. Ive occ used ventolin over the years and gp knows this.
Anyway ive now had 3 chest infections since Christmas. 2 weeks ago my breathing was really tight so i saw gp-unfortuntely not my own. He gave me a peak flow diary to keep for a week and a salbutamol inhaler of my own. Its now 2 weeks just gone and i cant get an appt. until wed at 9 10 but its getting worse. I cant even climb the stairs without getting breathless. My peak flows vary from 370 to 250. I seem to average around 320 and last night i could hear my airways literally whisteling ! I am quite aware of my breathing and dont want to get it mixed up with a panic attack which i am also prone too-but my peak flows are down ? When i cant get my breath is it normal to also feel like your heart is beating really loudy ? Sorry for so many questions but i dont want to start treatment for asthma if i havent got it, anf likewise i feel like my chest is getting worse and i need to see gp sooner than wed !

Thanks Kerrymumx

bump

Hi Fb...........Ive got it. Started in my early 20's. gave up smoking and decided to start exercising .

First exercise class nearly ended up blue light to hospital. Refered to chest clinic and now 18 years later still on daily steroids and montelukast which is a tablet I take in the evening.

Also need to use ventolin if I do execrcise. My problem now is Im 3 stone heavier and ddont do any exercise so I am really trying to change that!
Your peak flow is very low.........mine is up round the 450 to 5oo mark. I would say you do have Asthma and should be on a steroid of some sort.

I have all sorts of allergies as well.

hi there
what has happened with your peak flow?
is it lower in teh morning than the evening?
what is the best reading you've managed?
what is it right now?
are you coughing up stuff or have a fever or chest pain?

I have athsma but I've had it since I was 7. I use a brown becotide inhaler and salbutamol when I need it. If I use the medication properly you wouldn't know I had athsma at all. I probably use the blue inhaler once or twice a week.

Not that terrible honestly.

Sounds like you need to be seen earlier than wednesday tbh.

Are you a smoker?

You may need a dose of steroids.

You may beable to see an asthma nurse sooner.

I agree with ggirl. You need to see someone asap. It might well be athsma and the sooner they start treating you the better. The loud heart beating sounds like panic attacks to me - well the ones I've had in the past. I know that excessive use of salbutamol can cause heart racing but it doesn't sound like you've been overusing it.

ok not sure if you are still there
yes if your peak flow is lower than normal and you are breathless getting to the top of the stairs you have prob either got an infection triggering off your asthma or an exacerbation of asthma and need be seen today.

call the gp and ask for emergency appointment (they should do this - if not ask to have telephone consultation with gp today)
you may well need oral steroids plus/minus antibioitcs

keep taking ventolin inhaler in the meantime

good luck

I developed asthma in second pregnancy

you need to get on steriods (the brown inhaler) .. your peak flow is too low .. get an emergency appointment

if you take too much ventolin / salbutomal you can get the shakes just to be warned .. but still take it when you need it

what is your healthy peak flow? mine is nearly 600 so when I'm down to 350 I feel shockingly bad

try calling asthma UK nurses (there's a helpline on their website)

Same diagnosis here fakeblonde.
I was told mine was due to smoke damage originally.
Have since been told it is due to allergies.
I have blue and brown inhalers and now on daily dose of montelukast.

hoping that she's got an appointment as she's not around...

Using a 'spacer?' helps to reduce the shakiness ime.
Agreed, do see gp.

Hi
Wow thanks for all your replies.
It was when i read mummypoppins peak flows that i realised it was prob quite bad.
I didnt really know what my peak flow was meant to be.Its never much above 300 and im exhuasted.
Anyway-got a telephone appt with gp at 6pm and he has started me on a steroid inhaler and am seeing him Wed at 9 10.
Its quite scary really-esp last night when i was wheezing so much .Tend to imagine i`ve got some horrid tumour or something !

Any idea how long it takes to see my breathing ease and my peak flows improve ?
Thanks x

well it depends
it might be that you need a course of oral steroids just to improve things - they work in about 6-8 hours, inhaled steroids more like a few days
BUT if things get worse, you have a fever, cough up nasty green stuff, chest pain or breathing gets worse then don't wait till wed - see doc before or call nhs direct

get well!

I was on many preventative inhalers along with my ventolin, found that Flixotide did the trick. Went from chronic twice yearly hospital case to controlled asthma. Also if I'm wheazy (am a smoker) I concentrate on my breathing making sure my exhale is several seconds longer than intake. It really works and can open your airways enough so the ventolin actually works. If you are too wheezy to sleep then get yourself to a doc or call that NHS line.

Briliiant FB thats a start. I was really bad with it before I started on all the drugs and it soon settled down.

I too was exhausetd and lost a lot of weight ( not all bad then ! )

swimming is good becuase it is regular breathing pattern.

Good luck and keep us posted.

MP

Well i saw gp this morning-it was a crap consultation really because he wasn`t feeling well !
Has put me on a 5 day course of steroids-he said if nothing else thats to prove that i have asthma because i questioned it.

Anyway-i`m not wheezing that much-not at all when he listened to my chest-very briefly ! Is is normal to feel short of breath but to have no wheeze ?

You see i was all set to go in and ask for a chest x ray ect because im worried that its something else ? Suppose ill just have to wait and see what the steroids do-if my peak flow goes up dramatically i`ll feel much more reassurred.

I did manage a 420 last night which was an improvement but 340 this morning.

But a reduced morning peak flow is symptomatic of Asthma. At least you have some steroids now so should see an aimprovement. Keep taking your peak flow measurements and mark them on a chart.

oh dear thats a shame, sorry about thet crpa consultation.
mummypoppins is exactly right
do a peak flow measurement first thing in morning and again in evening, before inhalers.with asthma you get typical dips in the morning so it'll look like a sawtooth pattern. however if you are on a short course of oral steroids then it can dappen that down so may not be as obvious (this is a good thing as it'll help the asthma)
it does sound like late onset asthma but this can be mild so try not to worry.

i think the best plan would be to measure your peak flow am and pm and see if you get better with steroids, use ventolin when you feel breathless and see how you go. if you don't get better or develop any signs of infection (fever, worsening productive cough with green sputum or chest pain) then go straight back to gp - same day appt.

HTH (am a GP on mat leave by the way)

luvaduck hi and thanks.
Ok i have been taking prednisalone 15 bd and also on inhaled steroids and ventolin.
My peak flow isn`t really an obviuos up and down in the morning and ventolin has made no differrence.

I dont feel particularly SOB now but did look at my peak flow at our gym when i joined last year-it was only 360 then !

My peak flow this morning was 370 and was also last night pre and post ventolin and steroids.

I have a mild cough clear sputem and no temp-although i think its been up a little some evenings.
I do have a nagging ache in my back-sort of to the right where bra strap and ribs are-where i would imagine my lung is ! I mentioned this to first gp weeks and weeks ago,i mentiond it second gp (reg ) a few weeks later and to my own gp. He said i WOULDN~T HAVE A TUMOUR ! mmm reassurring.Wasn`t implying i had fgs just thought i should mention it as it came with my noticing i was out of breath.The pain is a little worse but i may just be more aware.
Anyway-i shall go back next week with my peak flows to show him what a differrence the steroids have made or not .
If not is it normal to have a peak flow of 370 (and lower ) and not have asthma.Sounds daft but could it be anxiety ?
Believe it or not i worked on an acute medical ward in Birmingham for years before training to be a midwife-perhaps a little bit of knowledge is far too much in my case ?
Enjoy your maty leave luvaduk as it all goes too quick x

Hi fakeblonde,
I've had asthma all my life. One thing you get used to is that the more stressed you are, the worse it will be.

I might be a bit of a hypochondriac, but I'm sure I can just think about the prospect of an asthma attack (say if I'm going to see friends who have horses, which I'm allergic to) and my breathing gets worse. Sometimes I also feel my heart pounding a bit after my inhaler, but then if you pay attention to it, it seems to get louder and louder.

The best advice I could give would be to try and relax. Stress definitely brings on asthma, or makes it worse. Other, non-medical techniques I find work well are haivng a hot bath or doing a steam inhalation. If you're caught short, a strong black coffee may help (but it might not help your heart racing!).

I'm not saying not to be aware of changes, but try not to think about it too much. Try losing yourself in a really good book for a few hours and see if, when you forget about it, it actually improves.

Once you get the brown inhaler, you should feel better. I barely have to use by blue one at all these days and it is a great improvement. All the best x

I developed asthma at 19 after moving to live with my Gran who smoked a lot.

Most of the time I am fine but I woke up this morning struggling a bit to breathe and had to use my inhaler.

I have a cough and cold coming so it may be linked to that.

fakeblonde
(am taking a year thanks!)

oik so its difficult with seeing you
but how old are you?
have you ever smoked and if so for how long?

if you don't have a morning dip asthma less likely BUT steroids (pred takes about 6-8 hours to work could have dampened down this effect - but it would improve your peak flow which it looks like it hasn't)

there are lots of reasons for having a low peak flow - its the dipping which is characteristic, and also it should improve with salbutomol

pain - could be due to chronic coughing - does it hurt when you press over the area but agree you need to get it checked out

what i would do: go back - same doc when hes well or diff one you like
take peak flow diary and explain no better w salbutomol
a chest xray sounds like a very reasonable course of action, and if that doesn't help maybe a referral to chest clinic

(there are LOTS of things that cause breathlessness - i know you are worred about a tumour - other things MUCH more likely)

if you aren;t satisfied with the consultation then see another doc

good luck!
(acute medical wards - urrgggggghhhhh - used to be a med reg now wouldn't go back if you paid me millions - you prob feel the same!)