Asthma Support Group
Asthma is a disease of the human respiratory system where the airways narrow, often in response to a "trigger" such as exposure to an allergen, cold air, exercise, or emotional stress. This airway narrowing causes symptoms such as wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing, which respond to bronchodilators.
i have been and asthmatic for 18 years. my asthma was well controlled until i had an acute sinus infection and that led to bronchitis.Now my lungs spasm all the time. i been in bed for 7 weeks with chest tightness , wheezing stuffy nose andtrying to clear my throat i feel like there is something blocking in my throat. i am on prednisone 5 mg and singulair 5 mg. i was on advair but developed thrush. i use my nebulizer 3 times a day, my rescue inhaler everyday. atrovent nasal spray . no matter how much water i drink the inhaled medications and oral meds dry me out. i need major help. the quality of my life has changed. will this go away, i know bronchitis takes time to heal especially if you are a asthmatic but help?
you sound really ill; i feel for you. are you in touch with your doctor? it sounds like you could use a review with your doctor and a referral to a lung specialist! 7 weeks is a long time without improvement!
last time i took prednisone i had to take 40 mg a day for 5 days - it seemed like a lot but maybe it's more effective like that. i take advair too and have thrush too but i put up with it because it really helps me. i drink 3 or 4 cups of coffee in the morning to clean out my mouth of the thrush. i used to take atrovent and found it very helpful but now i take the long-working version called spiriva. it is very helpful for me but it does dry out my nose a lot. i get bloody crusts but again, it has made such a difference during the last few weeks that i am happy to put up with it for the time being.
if i were you, i would go back to my gp and ask for a review of medication and progress. i usually feel better if my illness is attacked a bit more aggressively and i start feeling an improvement.
hugs,
northerngoose
sorry i can't be of more help.
maybe you can try out different drinks and see which one clears out the thrush best.
i remember being in hospital once and getting real bad oral thrush. they gave me a solution for it that i swirled in my mouth. it was very effective. i haven't asked for it this time but it exists. maybe you could ask your doctor for some thrush remedy.
atrovent/spiriva does dry out my airways a lot too. i usually wake up at 5 am because everything is too dry and gunky with thrush. that's when i get up, have coffee, go on the internet etc.. and start recovering. by the time my husband gets up, i am feeling normal.
i don't know what else to say than to recommend that you tell your doctor the present medication is really not doing it for you. it's the only way to get something sorted. maybe he has stronger medication which he would only prescribe if you tell him that what you are taking is not enough? that's how my doctor seems to think. unless i go back, he leaves me on what i have and thinks all is well with me.
hope you are better soon, i know how miserable it is to feel ill for weeks on end without improvement,
northerngoose
? inhalation therapy doesnt work well for asthmatics
For the thrush, ask for Nystatin -- that's the "swish and swallow" medication. My doctor had me swish, gargle and spit, though, and it worked just as well.
If it's a bacterial bronchitis, antibiotics might work . If your sinuses are not completely blocked, you can safely do a saline rinse using the NeilMed bottle twice a day -- it really gets the crap out, and saline has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. It takes some getting used to -- you basically squirt a stream of water up one nostril and let it come out the other, but it really works.
I'm a big coffee fan, but I would really stay away from coffee if it's not helping your asthma -- the dryness an irritation it can cause can make you cough, which won't do you any good.
Finally, my advice is to consider whether you might be experiencing symptoms of laryngopharyngeal reflux (coughing, sinus inflammation). My symptoms have persisted mildly since the bronchitis (12 months!), and I've only just begun to address this. All that coughing, it seems to me, could easily cause reflux problems (as can some asthma drugs), and asthma and reflux commonly occur together. Try raising the head of your bed six inches, and don't eat 3 hours before lying down to go to sleep. Sorry if this seems presumptuous, but this has helped me quite a bit, and I wish I had tried it sooner.