Managing asthma

[ThingOne]

Since I've been ill (cancer, chemo, complications, surgery, nearing end of six months chemo now) I've found I've had more trouble with my previously mild asthma. I'm having regular reviews with the asthma nurse but it's still gone a bit haywire after a chest infection and with a cold. For the first time I've been given steroid tablets (prednisolone). Basically feeling a bit pants.

What do the rest of you do to manage your asthma long term? Any hints or tips to stop turning into a coughing spluttering wreck?

Things that help DH/DD/my dad/my grandad

Stay in an even temperature when your asthma is delicate
Reduce dairy products - full fat milk etc can thicken mucus
Get a physio to teach you how to clear your lungs of mucus
Use your ventolin it isn't rationed
Reduce carpets & soft furnishing
Dust with a damp cloth
Check if you are allergic to pets/pollen etc & avoid if possible (my dad is majorly allergic to tree pollen so he stays in as much as he can when they are in bloom)

DH & DD have responded well to 'singulair' but my dad it had no affect

I found going on a Seretide inhaler made a HUGE difference to my asthma. I went from being on steroids once or twice a year, hospitalised from time to time to being totally wheeze-free. I only take half the dose and it's like I don't have asthma any more. If you haven't already tried it, I'd really recommend it.

Alvesco inhaler works well for me, it doesn't seem to be frequently prescribed, but I was having problems with inhaling and losing my voice on a steroid "preventer" inhaler (Becotide).
Alvesco just seems to get the steroid preventer straight down into my lungs. Bonus: I take a minute dose and I am well controlled.
Would also recommend getting a spacer in case you don't have one already as it helps to stop the medicine landing in your mouth and throat rather than lungs. I've even been known to use it when taking Ventolin.

this looks like my spacer which is an "aero Chamber". If you haven't got one, you can stuff many types of mouthpieces into this model.

also wouldn't be too hard on yourself

is incredibly common to end up on steroids with cold/chesty thing, especially when you're at the stage in your asthma where you're getting your medication right

once you get your inhalers right, hopefully those sort of incidents will get less

my kids use those aerochambers, they are great

DD swears by Singulair, it's a tablet. We found for her, it worked miracles but for DS it was useless (since been told that seems to be the way it happens), she's also swapped onto Symbicort rather than Flixotide.

BIG DR SEUSS EXCITEMENT!! WE HAVE JUST DONE THE TRIPLE LADIES!!!!!!!

Ok - our house is pretty dust free as DH has a bad allergy. Hard floors, blinds, a small ration of cushions on the sofa, only carpet is on the stairs, any dusting/floor mopping already done damp, sheets washed at sixty. Have been considering getting highly expensive vacuum for bed (new) and think I'll now go ahead with this.

I've been on a daily anti-histamine for just over a year. My indentified allergy is perfume but there are some tree pollens which freak me out. I've been on anti-allergy eye drops for about five years.

I'm on seretide 125 (250 when chesty) twice daily and singular/montelukast at night. This has been working relatively well, and I managed a chest infection before Christmas and ten days of this one (which I thought had pretty much gone). It's great stuff and I've also been evangelical about it .

GP mentioned a spacer. I'll call the asthma nurse and ask for one.

Oh God - the even temperature . The GP banned me from going outside this week! We have had a lot of snow. I went out today as it was warmer and my cabin fever was bad.

Dairy products - can't bear milk as it makes me feel I'm choking. I need to stop eating chocolate, don't I? Sob ... I do eat yoghurt but low fat and tbh really need that for my rubbish gut.

Good point about physio bit - I still have my instructions from post-surgery and will practice that. Do you do that every day, every day in the winter, or just when you think you need it?

Thanks so far - any more?

Blimey that spacer's huge!

I'm not being hard on myself, honest. I'm just sick of being ill/crap and want to do whatever I can to be less ill less often. And it hurts to cough so much .

lol cat. Drawn together by asthma.

thing, sounds like you may still have an infection if it's hurting? have you thought about going back to GP? Sometimes these nasty chest infections need more than one antibiotic effort.

sounds like you're doing everything you can

Agree, pain on coughing sounds more like chest infection, would definitely ask GP to have a listen to your chest and give you a different antibiotic.
(Yes spacers are enormous and clearly for Small Children and Old People, but they work really well for me!)

Everything Katymac said.
What really irritates my asthma is damp weather. When I'm in a warmer, dryer climate it's bliss for me.

Just spotted you are on Prednisolone as well. TBH one session of this made me very determined never to take oral steroids again, as I felt very achey when coming off them. That is why I am somewhat religious about inhaling my steroid and ensuring (the much tinier doses) get to the right place. There are so many products out there and when you say X is working "relatively well", I would definitely use your asthma nurse to get to the place where X is working "pretty damn well actually, thanks for asking". You could see if they have any word of mouth recommendations for new stuff from the chest physicians at yr local hospital for instance. But if you are getting niggly problems with your meds, eg if your cough pain ISN'T an infection, if it's a side effect from your current drugs, then its really worth exploring alternatives in medication.
It's crap when your chest is playing up and I too have every sympathy. Get that hot water bottle going, dressing gown on and look after yourself in this cold weather.

I am on a second course of ABs! I found it strange that the asthma seemed to be set off by the cold - and not a particularly bad one - rather than the cough. I think I have a lot to learn.

I will book myself in with the asthma nurse asap.

The pain is two things - one I think I've bruised myself from coughing on the lower right hand side and two - from a complication from surgery (due to be mended quite soon) in the pelvic floor area. I can't really blame the asthma for that but the reverberations from coughing make the temporary repair ouchy. This one's unique to me and I hope will be history before next winter. Still makes it hurt though!

Interesting that the pain could be from medication. I've never had to see a chest physician but I'll ask to see one if I can't keep it calm once I recovered from the chemo.

Tbh, even though I was diagnosed twenty years ago I've never really paid much attention to it so I am a bit of an ignoramus. I need to educate myself and you are all helping a lot, thank you.

ThingOne hope you are feeling a bit better this morning. (Just to clarify one thing, I have only ever had pain from the meds when the inhalant was hitting the back of my throat, ie my throat then hurst a lot when I coughed. Pain further down your chest cavity sounds like something different)

DD (18) has suffered from recurrent pain after bad bouts of asthma, it's been due to the inflammation of the cartiledge between the ribs, the pain radiates from the sternum but I can't for the life of me remember what the hell the condition is called...it'll come back to me.

Costochondrosis! (I knew it would come to me as soon as I hit submit.)