Diagnosed with uncontroled Asthma

Gatling

After a pretty serious asthma attack today(never hospitalised before),I had a lung specialist diagnose me uncontrolled asthma despite been on ventolin since I was 12, thought I had grown out of it she now reckon's I'll need to take steroids and 2 inhalers replacing the ventolin ,has anybody had there asthma suddenly become so bad practically over night

Bits_n_Bobs

I do know that quitting cigarettes can bring more or less dormant asthma back on very suddenly.

You might consider asking your GP to point you in the right direction to get some tests on what's triggering the attack - dust mites, pollen etc.

I would not accept accept a diagnosis of 'uncontrolled asthma' and a pile of steroids all of which will have significant side effects. Call the hotline of the Asthma Soc of Ireland and speak to the very helpful nurse, who was significantly more helpful and insightful than several supposedly highly regarded consultants who were extraordinarily unhelpful and keep pushing your GP for options of treatment.

happygoose

What consultant did you see as a matter of interest?

mathepac

I am not a medic and this is not medical advice.

After years off the fags my childhood asthma flared up again suddenly. I thought I was going to die as the asthma attack seemed to trigger a concurrent panic attack.

This is "uncontrolled asthma" or "poorly controlled asthma" where no drugs or the wrong drugs are taken. It doesn't mean the asthma cannot be controlled it just means right now it is not being controlled.

Steroids IME are used to dilate the airways fast and with my asthma were used in combination with antibiotics short-term to help clear a chest infection. Also IME, the steroids are only prescribed short-term e.g. in reducing doses over 7 days.

I use two inhalers, a preventer morning and night if no symptoms are present, and the ventolin if symptoms are present. I rarely use the ventolin these days and at my last appointment with the asthma-team nurse my asthma was described as "well controlled".

HTH

steffifandler

Ok - again not a doctor - but would just be interested in knowing if you eat a lot of wheat or dairy - or have recently increased your intake? (anything from bread, biscuits, pizzas etc to yoghurts, ice creams - i'm sure youre well aware what wheat and dairy are but a lot of people discount a lot of items without thinking about whats actually in them..)

Gatling

Finally get back to this thread ,bit of an update not long after posting I stuffered another attack that left me hospitalised added to the complications of picking up 2 hospital Bourne infections and pneumonia ,that quite nearly killed me now the asthma,
Been using ventolin since I was 12 so that's what I didn't get that's the asthma is uncontrolled ,since my op I've been using symbicort preventer inhaler twice daily ,and have a fairly well balanced diet our apartment is pretty clean and dustfree as it can be thought its not nuked cleaned ,
I'm under the care of Dr Alexander in tallaght hospital I believe she's a respitory specialist ,

mathepac

Glad to hear you are recovering after some very serious medical problems.

I was advised to practice breathing - in through the nose and out through the mouth. The nasal passages have hairs and mucous membranes to trap foreign bodies and impurities and stop them being inhaled into the lungs. People with breathing problems can tend to be "mouth breathers" and thus can suck in lots of junk from the atmosphere, flies, spiders, dust, dust-mite ****e, etc. that can cause problems - nasal breathing will trap most of those as well as certain micro-organisms.

Stay healthy and ask your doc about being referred for food-sensitivity testing.

Well done and welcome back.

steffifandler

Gatling wrote: »

Finally get back to this thread ,bit of an update not long after posting I stuffered another attack that left me hospitalised added to the complications of picking up 2 hospital Bourne infections and pneumonia ,that quite nearly killed me now the asthma,
Been using ventolin since I was 12 so that's what I didn't get that's the asthma is uncontrolled ,since my op I've been using symbicort preventer inhaler twice daily ,and have a fairly well balanced diet our apartment is pretty clean and dustfree as it can be thought its not nuked cleaned ,
I'm under the care of Dr Alexander in tallaght hospital I believe she's a respitory specialist ,

Wow, glad to see youve recovered, but that was quite an ordeal!

Anyway, i know you said you've a "well balanced diet" but you need to scrutinise it so you know every molecule youre eating...

Just another question - are you fair skinned/haired?

Gatling

steffifandler wrote: »

Wow, glad to see youve recovered, but that was quite an ordeal!

Anyway, i know you said you've a "well balanced diet" but you need to scrutinise it so you know every molecule youre eating...

Just another question - are you fair skinned/haired?

Food wise everything is fresh meat ,chicken ,fish ,various vegetables no processed foods at all and I'm not the biggest dairy eater bar cereal and a small drop of milk with tea,
No fizzy or flavoured drinks ,
Fair skin with dark hair ,

I'm thinking of allergy testing when this settles down ,
In the process of replacing all the bedding too

steffifandler

Hi....

Ok, so you're eating cereal and probably other wheat products - if you have an allergy to wheat it can trigger a whole series of health problems...just so you know Ireland has one of the highest incidences of coeliac disease in the world:
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Irish-at-higher-risk-of-getting-celiac-disease--81468552.html

Also - you can read some articles about how wheat allergies can trigger health problems - and one of the main ones is asthma...
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/wheat-allergy-symptoms-in-adults.html

I'm not saying what you should do - but I would research this fully and possibly contact http://www.coeliac.ie/ and they should be able to give you good advice re allergy testing...

Personally, when i gave up wheat and reduced dairy down about 90% (I never drink milk or eat yoghurts - but love real butter!) my health transformed dramatically - and anyone else I know whos gone gluten free has benefited hugely also - its actually life changing.

I used to have terrible itchy skin, bloating etc - and within days of giving up - it all disappeared.

Seriously look into this - best of luck!

carleigh

I was in a similar situation, had my asthma under control, saw my specialist every 3 months, and overnight, I went downhill. I ended up in hospital for a few days last summer after my worst attack to date. I had been taking (and continue to take) symbicort every morning and night, singular every night, and ventolin when needed. My doctor said that a stressful event may have made my asthma worse, and in the weeks prior to being hospitalised, a few things that I thought would never affect my health occured. I eat a fairly restricted diet so I cant blame my attacks on that. Hopefully you are feeling alot better now and are well on the road to recovery.