Yesterday, I had a diagnostic of Asthma. Sounds weird, but I am soooo happy!

Because finally, I know what I have!

Thanks to the wonderful Swiss Health System. I've been going from one doctor to an other in differents countries and here I got someone who did care!

I have a question for the Asthma people on this forum. Do you have a Medical ID bracelet? Yes, why? And no, why? I don't know if I should have one for this and also for the cephalosporin allergy I have. According to my pharmacist, they don't use it here!

Any advise, opinion, comments will be welcome!

Nil

Hey Nil,

I totally understand your relief, and I hope your Asthma as mine is. I do not have a medical bracelet myself, I thought only people who have drug or food allergies did or maybe type 1 diabetes or narcolepsia or epilepsia...maybe I am wrong though.
THere is wonderful medicine now that will help you control your >Asthma so do not worry too much. An extra tip is try to avoid sudden changes of temperature, for instance if you are going out from a heated place cover your mouth and nose, it has helped me a lot as that is what triggers my Asthma, and it is a very common trigger in general.

Take care!

A

There is no need for a bracelet with Asthma. All you need is your Ventolin or Simbicort. I prefer Simbicort, it's great as a preventative measure.

Thanks a lot Angela,

Please tell me something, I wake up often at night because my throat is full of mucus and I can't breath properly. I try to swallow but it stick in the back. Is it coming from the asthma? I always feel like I have a huge plug down my throat!

I am not sad or stressed or even worried! I was before, but now then I know what is my problem, I feel so much better!

Because I will finally have a chance to get better!

Symbicort has a long acting beta 2 agonist (fomoterol) and Budesonide which is a corticoid. THese are used as preventive for Asthma but are useless in an Asthma crisis, so you always need a rapid acting B2 agonist such as salbutamol (in Ventolin or Ventide) in such occassions.
I use Spiriva once a day and Seretide (like Symbicort) twice a day for preventing but carry Ventolin in my bag.

Hmmm does this happen always or only during winter? That does not sound like Asthma and the times that has happened to me is when I had a sore throat...that will inevitably get to an Asthma attack if I do not take my medicined...please check with the doctor!!!

Ok You all speak chinese to me right now! I don't know any of those medications but I do have Seretide 500 to take twice a day and Nasonex twice a day. I have nothing for crises since I am not sure what is a crise. I can remember some very specific ones I had before in the past but had no treatment to stop or prevent them.

What I have at night is disturbing me a lot, since I can't sleep for a while when I get those ''mucus attack''. It also come with a itchy throat and I cough a lot.

My next appointment with my doctor is in 2 weeks. We will see the blood test results.

doesnt sound like asthma to me. ive had it my whole life and not experienced that kind of situation Nil.

Having Asthma is just like being short sighted - you just have your pump with you like you would keep your glasses with you and everything is fine.

Unless you have it acutely then it won't impact your life very much.

Of course I will! I just wanted to get some insight from some who have asthma, maybe you have those kind of reactions.

Seretide is great I take it twice a day too, Nasoney is just for your runny noise, if you have an allergy that makes your nose runny then it might trigger a lund reaction...I think Nasonex will help with your night problem, also keep the heater low. Good luck with the doctor!!!

Doesn't sound anything like asthma, more like an allergic reaction perhaps? Some allergic reactions cause some asthma-like symptoms, but an asthma attack or crisis is unmistakeable, yet can be avoided by appropriate use of inhalers.
I would check that out with your doctor.

I'm going to ask him for sure. He knows about this symptom, it's probably why he gave me this Nasonex. But I also checked on internet and I found many sites and peoples saying to have the same thing connected to their asthma.

I passed a blood test to find if I have allergies, I will find out soon. I had some bad crises in the past with someone's perfume and with house cleaning products...

One comment I cannot make is the standard "Go See A Doctor. NOW" one-liners

I agree. Asthma is extremely common in India, just like being mildly overweight. The term covers a wide range of symptoms such as wheezing, pollen allergy etc. I have had many friends right from primary school who have Asthma and were excellent at sports, many elite sportspersons and film stars are asthmatic, and as far as I know it is only slightly more intrusive to quality of life than wearing corrective glasses.

So, Nil, you are right in feeling happy to at last know what was niggling you for so long

Seretide, like Symbicourt, is effectively 2 different medications in one inhaler. The salmetrol (Serevent TM) is the long acting bronchodilator part, and fluticasone (Flixotide TM) is the corticosteroid (anti inflammatory) part.

Seretide 500 seems like quite a high dose to me (I use a Seretide 125 2 puffs twice a day), and I'm also surprised you haven't been prescribed with a fast acting bronchodilator such as Salbutamol (Ventolin TM) as the Salmeterol part will not help you in the event of an attack - doesn't work fast enough. Every asthma sufferer should have a Ventolin, or equivalent IMO, just in case - even if you never need to use it.

Disclaimer - I'm not a doctor, and what I've said is based on purely my experience as an asthmatic. Your needs may well be different to mine.

Hi Nil

It's sounds like post nasal drip...this produces a lot of sticky hard to shift mucus at the back of the throat. Can be caused by allergies. See your dr, he will probably prescribe a nasal spray or something to help. also make sure you are drinking plenty of fluids.

cheers

Cath

Hi Nil,
I used to have terrible Asthma attacks as a child (luckily no longer) and had the same with the mucus (sp?). What I used to do was regular steam inhaling, if that makes sense....either from a machine or just a pot of water with or without tealeaves and a tablecloth over the head. Not a permanent solution, but it helped to go back to sleep. This I would do regularly, sometimes at lunch and in the evening for 20-40 minutes.
However - disclaimer - it was such a long time ago that I really do not recollect the details, plus I had two cases of pneumonia as well so there could have been more to it that I do not recollect.

Hope you find something that helps and can control this aspect of your life a little better.

Cheers

I suffer from Acute bronchitis which is a temporary breathing problem as opposed to chronic bronchitis is what is most similar to asthma.

In my case I just have some random bronchial attacks sometimes triggered by cold, sometimes by allergens such as smell of fresh paint etc. I hate those periods but I guess I cant do much against them. It takes around 2 weeks to return to 100% normalcy if I get on the improving curve.

However I hardly take medications, I let the inflammation go away on its own..drinking lots of water, ginger tea, all natural remedies I can think of.

There are salbutamol and theophylline based tablets which can really help if you really have a hard time breathing/sleeping.

Thanks a lot for all the replies! I am not seeking for medical advise but for personal experience and I got plenty! No need to tell me to go to see a doctor, I'm already dealing with it!

Slaphead, the doctor gave me a solution to breath (don't remember the name) and this product will provoked a reaction on the lungs if the person is asthmatic. You have many level of the provocation test and it can reach as much of 7000 mg to get to see a reaction. Some people will take many times this solution to see a reaction on the lungs.

In my case, the doctor gave me 70 mg, and I got a strong reaction right away. I lost 1 liter of capacity of my lungs. He told me he never saw such a strong and fast reaction before. It might explained why I got Seretide 500 ...

Dear Nil,
i am so glad you have had a diagnosis. i wennt months thinking i had a chest infection until someone suggested asthma ....which my doctor confirmed once i brought the subject up.

the bracelet thing is persional choice; i carry an inhalor and guess that anyone going through my pockets will find it as quick as a bracelet if not quicker.

on a lighter note , i still run (endurance) and sing ( job ) and speak ( job) without any trouble , so dont be worried too much about limitations , i even dive now and again.
good luck my friend.

I am actually thinking to be able to do more since I know what is the problem! Maybe we can't treat it, but we can make our life better with medications and knowledge.

Honestly, I see it in a very positive way to be asthmatic. Of course, I will prefered to be perfectly healthy, but the reality is different.

To be asthmatic is to know what is my problem! I am now waiting to see what kind of asthma I have, and if it's from allergies, it will give me a chance to have a better quality of life by avoiding what creates the symptomes and crises.

I look back now and see all those situations, moments where I was so bad and now I know why! I wish I knew that before!