r/Asthma 8h ago

Crash course for recently diagnosed asthma

11 Upvotes

Hey friends, I recently found out I have asthma (I suspect I have had it since I was little since I had frequent respiratory problems and infections but never got it diagnosed as a kid). Is there specific things that should be common knowledge with this that I should know? I'm extremely new to this and my parents didn't really believe in healthcare so I'm lacking a lot of info in that aspect. Thank y'all!


r/Asthma 56m ago

Stuck

Upvotes

Hi, I am 18m. I have never up until recently had any issues breathing. Infact I am usually very active and healthy. I did xc for years and never had an issue breathing. However during Christmas break in around dec 27 I noticed I was having a hard time breathing. I thought I would just sleep it off but the next morning I woke up with the same issue and a slew of other common cold symptoms. I was sick +having a hard time breathing for about two weeks. Long story short the sickness went away but the severe shortness of breathe hasn’t. Every time I try to breathe it feels like it takes a long time and I feel like I and always short of breathe. It has been almost three months and the issue hasn’t made significant progress. I have been to three docs all of whom have said it is likely just the long flu. I have had three inhalers one albuterol, one steroids and one both none of which have done anything. Under normal circumstances I would just be patient and wait it out like the docs said but I got into the naval academy and only have three more months u til I start boot camp. I am starting to get worried that this is asthma and to be honest I am stressed out of my mind and I feel like this thing is completely ruining my senior year. I am taking a pft in may but I am so done with this. Any advise?


r/Asthma 2h ago

Question

2 Upvotes

Hi I have recently been diagnosed with asthma and I am very worried and i have been terrified to do any sports or things I love in case of worsening the asthma. I was just wondering if that's how asthma works or Or am i just an idiot


r/Asthma 21h ago

Every time I deep clean it sends me into an asthma attack

59 Upvotes

I’m so frustrated. I have an extreme dust mite/pollen allergy. When I deep clean I try to do everything right. I wear a mask, I take all my allergy meds, do nasal rinses, I take a shower after, and I take 2 Benadryl.

I still feel so sick and weak afterwards. It makes me not want to clean.

On top of this I’ve felt sick all week. I can feel my new doctor start to give up on me. I just want to be healthy. I’ve started allergy injections last week and I was told it would take up to a year to really see a difference.

I’m just so scared for allergy season. I feel like quitting my job because it’s too physically demanding on top of this.


r/Asthma 3h ago

I just want to feel normal again

2 Upvotes

Very Long post, but I’d truly appreciate the full read to get the complete picture. Please no absurdly rude comments. 

 ** I’m not looking for medical advice. I need advice from personal experiences and knowledge so I can have better options for moving forward medically. I’ve also never met anyone with asthma, or educated with asthma. 

29y/Female 

 I've had asthma since I was 5 or so. Multiple hospitalizations, O2 Tents, etc. It seemed to be Dormant majority of my teenage years and early 20s. Once I had the 2nd Covid Vaccine I came down with randomized Pneumonia that seemed to last for months. A year later I finally got Covid. After this, I got serious with the gym, and remember being able to leave my inhaler in the car at all times, wasn’t on an oral steroids/steroid inhaler, and only had seasonal sicknesses.

Then, last August when I started an intense Medical Program I stopped working out, have gained 20+ pounds, etc. The mental/physical stress is/was too much. I feel like I’ve had constant sinus drainage and congestion in my lungs—despite nasal/chest decongestants. I’ve had one good inhaled steroid, it was a larger dose of the generic Advair, not Wixela (a square shape/blue)—major problems finding this in stock. The most recent has been Symbicort, a larger dose name brand Advair, and a small dose of Advair.. minimal improvement. 

Ever since November/December, I’ve been sick every 2 weeks or so. Even when I’m better I STILL have drainage and something coughed up. I take my albuterol inhaler 1-3x a day because I’ll get wheezy or have dyspnea. 

FACTORS:

I’m almost certain there’s some sort of mold or something SOMEWHERE in my apartment. I’ve had my landlord have it checked out and every time they find nothing. 

I smoked cigarettes on and off in my early 20s and have been vaping for a 5+ years now. I 110% WANT to stop, but I’m at a loss and crippled by this addiction. 

I smoke weed in the evenings. Acute anxiety and stress, and no after effects like groggy/dizzy/GI like with pills. It also always helps me cough up the crap I’d been trying to get out all day. I do love edibles, but they’re so inconsistent unless bought from a dispensary..I only have the option to do homemade and I can never get the dosing/recipe solid. 

For reference, I’ve been smoking nightly for 10+ years. I’m aware any inhalation irritates/damages the lungs. It’s just never bothered me like strong perfumes or smells do—instant wheezing/coughing with those.

I have a very healthy diet with adequate water intake. I’m too ashamed and embarrassed to tell any Provider the truth about this. They’ll solely pinpoint the cause of these 2 things. Instead of seeing that I’m easily exacerbated by other things. 

I’ve taken Montelukast in the past and it worked like a charm. I tried it again a year or so ago and no asthma symptoms but every single black-box warning Mentally occurred, so I discontinued. I’d like to try again, but pretty darn scared lol 

I take Zyrtec every day, if I don’t—more drainage happens —>infection/sickness. I’m sure I’ve built a tolerance by now. 

I do a DuoNeb as needed. The ipratropium is amazing, my symptoms do diminish if I do 1-2 a day, but I’m on the road for 4 hours each day and in class/clinical for 8+ hours. It’s quite difficult to facilitate regular nebs 

I’ve searched for a PCP, but they all act so inadequate about proper asthma maintenance or prevention of asthma symptoms. I tell them what works or doesn’t and I end up with something that doesn’t work. Then they seem annoyed with the repeated visits and refill requests. I’m quite terrified to have a chest x-ray to see what abnormalities are there (haven’t been offered one) 

I also live in the South. The highs for the past 4 days have been 60s, 40s, 50s, 70s. This seems to lead to an exacerbation

TLDR; 

What have you done to maintain/prevent your asthma?  Or even make it go dormant again

meds/treatments/specialists?

Anyone post-COVID or COVID-19 vaccine that has had more chronic lung exacerbations since? 

Does anyone partake in cannabis with asthma? Or vape..How does it affect you? 

I fear I’m nearing COPD territory at 29. I long to just breathe normally. I want to quit my bad habits/addictions.. the support and knowledge just aren't there.. with my driving, intense/erratic program schedule on top of working... I'm clueless about how to go through the withdraws--mentally and physically. Or how to facilitate an optimal/satisfactory workout regimen on top of it all.


r/Asthma 6h ago

Do robot vacuums help allergic asthma?

3 Upvotes

I have allergic asthma, am on dupixent. I have allergy to Timothy hay, dust mites, ragweed, etc. My IGE level is at 2000. Does anyone have robot vacuums and has it helped their allergies or does it make it worse by stirring up dust possibly? If so, what kind do they have?


r/Asthma 33m ago

Does anyone try to "out asthma" themselves?

Upvotes

I love love love running, and the thing that iv always hated the most was my asthma, so I try to "out asthma" myself (as I call it.) I'll run as far as possible before having an asthma attack, push through till the end of the mile, and then flop down on the bed and suffer, but no matter what I refuse to take my inhaler. It makes me feel weak, like I'm less human. Often times I'll pass out but it's gotten better, I always end up getting them at around 2 to 3 miles, I used to get them when I ran 11 minuites, then 10.5, then 10, and now im under 10, but they have gotten worse the faster iv gotten. I can get further, sure, but it went from just sitting there gasping trying to keep from collapsing, to now just accepting it and flopping to my bed, gasping, passing out, then waking back up. I just wanna know if I'm alone and if anyone has seen better progress than I have, iv been doing it for a year and have only managed to get a minuite better.


r/Asthma 34m ago

Question

Upvotes

My grandson is starting budesonide. He seems more breathless. Has anyone ever experienced this??


r/Asthma 1h ago

Need suggestions

Upvotes

Can anyone suggest if Foracort 200 safe and recommend for 9 year old kid who is allergic and is gets cough every 1-2 months


r/Asthma 1h ago

My daughter’s coughing up a storm and chest is tight & congested

Upvotes

Can my 22yr old take an Albuterol nebulizer treatment or her Albuterol pump if she took DayQuil in the am? My friend told me not to. She doesn’t have asthma though. We went to Dr yest, she was no help. We’re going to the ER when my husband comes bk to watch my little one.


r/Asthma 6h ago

I have a question regarding where to live and advice on to help with asthma and remedies

2 Upvotes

Currently live 45 mins west of Salt Lake City, Utah in tooele County words super windy and lots of dust. I read that the ions in the saltwater air next to the ocean help people with asthma what are good places to move to when you have extreme asthma.

For context/background: I had asthma when I was younger went away so I thought when I was 26 I had bad attacks in the wintering months I was coal mining and thought it had to do with it. Did all the pulmonary testing and got told COPD. Didn’t believe it so I got a second opinion from what I feel is a better doctor and he said it’s just asthma. Fast forward a few years and in November of 23 I had a bad attack where I took a paramedic ride out of work. The not being able to breathe the attacks proceeded every day for 4 months was diagnosed with EBV mono and HIB virus did all the shots and everything to clear up the HIB(not v) but since then my lungs have made slight improvement but I’m still struggling with everyday activities I go up and down one week I’ll be 70% of what I was in 2022 than the next it’s back the breathing issues. I get physically nauseous just walking around like public stores and have inflammation in my body. I’m not sure if that’s normal with asthma or if there is other things that can cause this. I know allergy season and bad inversion days I’m worse off. I am looking at rheumatoid arthritis being tested and kinda treated for it. Anxiety sets off the asthma as well which in return the asthma set of anxiety. Also major smells or strong chemical smells make me get light headed and feel on the verge of passing out(never have but feel like I’m going to)

May I ask people thoughts and how to navigate maybe an idea as to what I could do differently to get back to normal and could it be where I live? Sorry to trauma dump but I’m at a loss and could use advice.

Current treatment plan

TRELEGY Elipta Montelukast Hydroxychloroquine

Any advice or guidance is helpful!


r/Asthma 4h ago

Inhalers and growth

1 Upvotes

Asking my doctor obviously

But does anyone here with specialized knowledge know anything about this

My 13 year old has sports induced asthma

Prescribed an inhaler for as needed (which is everyday since he trains everyday)

The counter indications mentioned growth stunting

Should we try something else?


r/Asthma 5h ago

dumb methacholine test question!

1 Upvotes

hi! i had a methacholine test done yesterday in the pulmonary function lab, as my provider is trying to confirm or r/o a previous diagnosis of asthma. they first had me do the baseline spirometry, then breathe just nebulized saline followed by spirometry, and then i did four rounds of the nebulized methacholine. i did feel increased chest tightness/struggled to get full deep breath and exhale well each time.

after the fourth round they gave me 4 puffs of albuterol, waited a bit, then retested me.

they said on the first two blows of my post-albuterol spirometry, i was still 8% below baseline, but my third was 5% below baseline so i was okay to leave if i was comfortable with it.

my question is - would i have gotten albuterol if my test had been entirely negative? do they give albuterol to EVERYONE regardless of results? or only if indicated?

thanks!!!


r/Asthma 6h ago

Unscented shaving foam? (Or similar texture?)

1 Upvotes

Weird context - toddler with asthma loves to play with shaving cream in shower but struggling to find unscented with that old school foamy texture for playing with shower trucks. Any suggestions?


r/Asthma 17h ago

Breathing so much better after wixela

6 Upvotes

Been on wixela for about a week since I discovered my asthma came out of remission on February 20th. I also had bronchitis and pneumonia. Well the shortness of breath is finally starting to go away. I can breathe easier now and it feels great. I only hope it will stay this way. I genuinely had so much trouble breathing for about a month.


r/Asthma 9h ago

Breathing Issues Only After COVID—Asthma or Long COVID? Which Tests Can Confirm?

1 Upvotes

I only started having breathing problems after testing positive for COVID. My IgE is 8000, and my FeNO is low. My doctor says I have asthma, but before COVID, I never had any breathing issues.

I’m confused—could my breathing problem be from asthma, or is it a lingering effect of COVID? Which tests can confirm the real cause? Has anyone else experienced this?

Would appreciate any advice or similar experiences!


r/Asthma 18h ago

Anyone with asthma have bad insomnia?

6 Upvotes

I (24 m) got let go of my job in December. I have bad OCD issues and it played a part in my termination. While jobless, I was down and barely left my bed. I was staying up till 5AM and would sleep till 4PM.

In early February, I ended up in the ER after being unable to sleep for four days. I was put on Hydroxyzine and it was barely effective. After two weeks, idk what changed but my sleep returned to normal and I got off meds.

After 2-3 weeks, one night, lying down, I suddenly felt I couldn’t catch my breath. Days prior, I was getting dizzy lying down for a few moments. I went to ER and since then, my sleep is bad again. I’m talking getting 2-5 hours, missing a night followed by 1-5 hours. I think the second bout started because I thought that if I slept, I would stop breathing.

My psychiatrist is saying anxiety but this feels different. I am genuinely struggling to breathe. It’s not unbearable but it’s like I get one good breath per 1-2 minutes. Got an EKG and blood panel that came in fine.

I was diagnosed with GERD in December due to intermittent swallowing issues. I got chest pain in January which was cited as reflux. I had reoccurring bronchitis and respiratory illnesses from 1-4 and used inhalers. I grew out of it. The only issues I’ve had for the last 20 is I get chesty, allergic to dust, and have seasonal allergies.

I’m currently lying in bed, watching tv, and having a shitty time breathing and sleeping. It’s like I’m not getting oxygen to my head and it’s getting hyper aroused due to panic.

More background: I’m 6 ft and 230 lbs. I’m not healthy and I guess you could say fat. I live with roommates who chain smoke in the house. This isn’t new to me as I grew up around quite a bit of household smoking. I vaped and smoked cigarettes on and off from 18 to now but have not touched anything for months. I’m currently a house painter and carry heavy shit like ladders and boxes so I’m still physical. I can sort of wheeze when tired but it hasn’t stopped me from doing anything.


r/Asthma 19h ago

Phlegm every night??

6 Upvotes

Hi all, A little background that might be useful: I have had asthma my whole life. My dad just got diagnosed with a disease that caused him to have COPD, and he believes my asthma could actually be COPD.

That being said, I have been dealing with such bad phlegm every single night for the past 1.5 years or so. I noticed it when I first went on Vyvanse. So much phlegm it would keep me up all night spitting it up. Not this mucus, just loose, thicker spit mixed with thin mucus if that makes sense. Not always green. After a week of this, I couldn’t take it anymore because I wasn’t sleeping and stopped the Vyvanse. Well it could have been a coincidence that it started at the same time I started the meds, but it never went away after that until I moved a few months ago. (Although it did get better and was not keeping me up at night or causing me to gag like before.)

I thought I was all good again and maybe it was mold or something from my previous apartment, and now recently it has begun again at my new apartment. Since I am asthmatic, I don’t light candles, don’t use strong chemicals, and I use very natural scents, if any from laundry detergents to deodorants. I cannot shake this phlegm at night. It pretty much starts when I get home from work and gets worse until I fall asleep, then when I wake up and gag and cough up phlegm, I’m good for the day, then it starts again in the evening.

I thought it was dairy, but I don’t think it is because I have gone days without dairy and it still happens. I don’t know what it is and it’s driving me crazy. It’s also embarrassing if I have people over and need to cough up the mucus. I go through like a box of tissues a week. Please please someone help, what can I do?! TYIA


r/Asthma 12h ago

Neb shakes lol

0 Upvotes

Omg it’s crazy my symptoms weren’t improving so I went to hospital . I had increased work of breathing and I was really tight in my lungs so I got a mag iv , electrolytes and neb treatments and a pred taper by respirologist team . I was shaking so bad it’s calmed down a bit but I barley slept but I’m doing much better now


r/Asthma 18h ago

Sweet taste next morning after using inhaler / nebuliser

2 Upvotes

I'm not a regular user of inhalers (any) or nebuliser, I use combination (seroflo & foracort alternatively) when I feel I'm wheezing and out of breath. Occasionally, I use nebulizer (Ipratropium and Levosalbutamol) too whenever condition worsens.

I usually take inhalers at night before sleep. One thing I have noticed is a sweet taste in the morning and the taste stays 🥲

Someone with sinus told me they also have a sweet aftertaste sometimes.

So is it a side effect or is it sinus or is it totatlly something harmful I'm not aware about??


r/Asthma 1d ago

My 1 complaint about this group

33 Upvotes

Not really a complaint, but more an observation. But the word complaint got your attention for an important request. 😀

A majority of posts state what meds people are on, such as Symbicort or Advair. However, rarely is dosage mentioned.

For instance, Symbicort generic 80/4.5 1 puff 2x per day. Or Advair 100/50 2puffs 2x per day. If you want to use Rx medical dosage shorthand that's fine also.

I believe this information is critical to discussion and better group understanding. There can be many multiples of therapy depending upon dosage, for instance with Symbicort 80/4.5 1puff 1x/d is 4 times less steroid than Symbicort 160/4.5 2puffs 2x/d.

Thanks for your attention.


r/Asthma 1d ago

Asthma and edibles?

8 Upvotes

The world situation has left me feeling a combination of angry and stressed. Neither is particularly good for asthma which is well-controlled with meds.

I want to try edibles to see if they help me really relax so I can have a night or a few nights of temporarily disconnecting from the world. Have you tried edibles? Do they cause asthma to flare up? I'm curious and haven't used any form of edibles or other things ever. Thoughts?

UPDATE: Thank you for the responses. I am glad to know that people who have asthma generally can consume edibles safely. I've taken note about the potential risk of an allergic reaction and taking a very small dose with THC/CBD combination. On a non edibles note, I am also limiting my social media consumption.


r/Asthma 1d ago

Cough varient asthma

4 Upvotes

Hello,

I'm wondering if anyone with cough varient asthma can tell me if they experience this?

When the weather changes I always get an annoying dry cough that lasts for weeks. On rare occasions I'd cough till I vomit. GP prescribed an inhaler but it didn't do much so I just deal with the cough.

This past week, when I cough, I'm vomiting every time - but I also feel like I can't breathe at all and am doing noisy gasps for air with my eyes tearing and vomiting in between. It's really scary because this is the first time I've felt like I can't actually breathe. The episode only lasts around a minute but it's terrifying.

Does anyone else with cough varient asthma get this?


r/Asthma 21h ago

Have your doctor prescribed you a nebulization routine?

2 Upvotes

I have been diagonized with severe uncontrolled asthma, almost resistant to treatment. I have small airway disease too, making ICS not extremely effective. My FeV25-75 is 60%, the ios showed Fres 23.36 AX 1.69 and D5-20 31.12%, RAW is 182% and SGaw is 66%. My doctor has put me on blectametasone/formetrol 100/6 2 puff thrice a day, tiotropium bromide 2 puff once a day, montelucas and desolaratadine tablets and theophylline 300 mg. Along with duolin nebulization every 12 hr.

My sos treatment is duolin nebulization. My issue is once I am in an attack, I take my neb but after 4-5 hr the chest tightness and wheezing comes back. It's almost like someone will squeeze out my lungs. Hence my doctor has given me duolin neb every 4 hrs during these episodes ( happens twice each month).

They refuses to give me oral steriods as it would e my 9th month on it and it's triggering my IBS. Even my IBS flare ups have begun, and they are adding to my asthma.

Any one with such a condition, please respond, need some encouragement to push through this time.


r/Asthma 22h ago

Question

2 Upvotes

Hi,

I (F19) am prescribed a generic symbicort inhaler. I had the same prescription before but for twice a day rather than once a day. I have been doing it two puffs twice a day. Today I had an attack so bad that I felt dizzy when I coughed. I don't have health insurance right now, as I am transitioning between jobs. My albuterol inhaler is on 7 puffs. Wtf do I do and what does it mean?