Asthma and UC

Hi Folks, I'm pretty sure I have asthma. I went away for a couple of days, a place in the mountains, above the clouds, it was cold, windy, and I couldn't get my breath, in fact, I had to come home early because I thought I was going to croak it in the night!

I have an appointment tomorrow with my doctor for confirmation of this. Through research it appears overall, people with IBD have a significantly higher prevalence than the general population for asthma and of course other disorders.

Does anyone on here have it? and if so what treatment are you taking? What can I expect to be taking? I am concerned about taking other meds, as I seem to be quite sensitive.

I have/had asthma. It only flares if I have a bad cold now , but when I was in my teens it was pretty bad. At the time my treatment options were pretty limited, it seems there are more choices now. I just have an albuterol inhaler to use when necessary, although I have treated it with pred in the past as well.

momto2boys...thanks, is it possible the doc might want to give me antibiotics? and aren't they bad for people with UC...I really feel I wont need anything like that, and that the inhaler will likely do the job...

OK...you were a smoker and now use an e-sig...then think you have asthma now because you had shortness of breath in a high altitude. I can only imagine the fear you had of dying from those symptoms. It's good you left and went home. But there could be many things at play in that type of environment.

Well, I wouldn't initially say yes to asthma, even though you do have UC.

I have asthma, it runs quite honestly in my family on my mom's side. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 28, but obviously had symptoms of it before that. Mine's considered intrinsic/extrinsic, so during colds, laughing, coughing, exercise, humidity, smoke, etc...it's more likely to be triggered that way. I don't have allergic reactions, but my brother had both intrinsic/extrinsic and allergy induced asthma.

Your doctor should have you set up for x-rays, thorough pulmonary testing, blood tests, etc.

You might have slight reactive lungs from having quit smoking and switching to the e-sig. You might have a slight infection, and/or mild inflammation...but that doesn't mean you have asthma, per se, but you might have slight asthmatic-like symptoms, lower lung capacity/output, etc.

Reflux can cause asthmatic-like symptoms with shortness of breath, wheezing, etc.

Some medications such as for high blood pressure can cause asthma-like symptoms.

There's treatments that include steroid inhalers, rescue quick acting bronchodilator inhalers, long lasting bronchodilator inhalers, systemic meds such as theophylline which are continual bronchodilator, systemic steroids, systemic leukotriene blockers (Singulair), etc...
If a doctor gives you ONLY a rescue inhaler medication and says "here, try this"...find another specialist.

Make sure you get thorough testing done and don't take the term asthma as a diagnosis unless all the testing's been done.

Keep us posted for sure...
q

Thank you Kazbern..I have written everything down, I have to be on my mettle, make sure they give me the right meds.
Soy...Yep your right.
Quincey...I must admit I was, and I am frightened. I have an appointment at 3pm today, and as you say, although I think its asthma, it could be something far worse, so I will make sure he does all the necessary tests, again I have written everything down.
CDN26...thanks your info was very helpful

Oh no! I hope it turns out to be nothing!

Sorry to hear about your situation. I have asthma and UC. My asthma is triggered by allergies and exercise. I take an albuetrol inhaler before I work out (that is when my UC isnt flaring and I have energy. wink wink.) Sometimes once a year, I have a bad episode and am put on 5 days of prednisone. Also, I am allergic to cats and dogs. When I am around dogs, my asthma kicks in. I control it by avoiding triggers- sounds familiar my UC people?

Do you have allergies? Is it possible that you had a reaction to a plant or substance found in the mountains, but that is not present near your home/work? You can develop allergies at any time. My uncle developed allergies in his 50's. Is it possible that you had a panic attack due to the "thinner air" at a higher altitude, and thought you couldnt breathe?Did you have wheezing?

If you have constant asthma, they can put you on a maintenance inhaler and an albuterol inhaler, or something like Singulair, if they feel it is allergy related.

Good luck with your situation, and please let us know what happens.

@AlohaYankee...."Is it possible that you had a panic attack due to the "thinner air" at a higher altitude, and thought you couldnt breathe?Did you have wheezing?"

Yes its possible I could have had a panic attack, we were rushing through a dark alley, and we both felt a bit afraid, no one around, very cold, dark, thinner air, and that in conjunction with a sore tight chest that I was recovering from might just have triggered everything off. I know I felt very ill, and yes I am very allergic to things. I have had no wheezing though, and it seems asthma for now has been ruled out, which is good, but I am still not well and I have been home for a few days now.

@Quincy..."It is possible that you could have mesalamine-induced myocarditis or pericarditis, and hopefully some testing will rule out whether or not you do have either of them to start with"

I have just sent off information of myocarditis to my GP, doctor, which I have really looked at closely this morning, and it seems to mirror my symptoms. I have done some research and found some people taking Mesalamine have experienced problems, but I cant find anyone that has had problems specifically taking Pentasa, but its possibly because when I said I am sensitive, I just meant that things that might not bother some people can bother me, perfumes for example.

One thing I am very concerned about is that I have an appointment of Monday for an ECG running test, but if I do have Myocarditis shouldnt I be resting, not running on a treadmill. I am thinking I should postpone that for a week, and stop the Pentasa for a few days, my heart is more important than UC...what do you think?..I think I will email my GP and see what he says, its important that I don't do anything to make my condition worse.

It seems that a running treadmill stress test could cause one issues and cause a heart attack if it's suspected or if one has myocarditis beforehand.

I would agree with you to postpone it, have the other tests plus an get set up for an echo. Maybe a Holter Monitor for 24 hours? Have you checked up on all the tests to determine one or the other?

I don't think that it would be specifically Pentasa compared to other mesalamines that cause mesalamine related issues. Penteas is just the med you've taken, so it should be across the board if it's proven that you do have myocarditis or pericardidis, and by no other cause except the mesalamine. My question would be is it all salicylates or just that form of salicylate?

A specialist should be consulted rather than it being assumed it's mesalamine, especially if it's something that you may have had for while and it not been obvious until you were on the mesalamine, or is it two issues?

A baseline should be set, then tested while off the mesalamine again.

Blood tests related to heart should show something?

You're being a great advocate for your situation and doing lots of research, and you may be 100% correct in your gut instinct. I'm just saying don't assume so that you push for more intensive testing in case something else is going on as well.

Please keep us updated on what you've found and what's going on with tests, etc.

q

Poppie, walking through the dark in a remote place sounds spooky!

I am so sorry to hear that you suspect cardiac problems. I am glad that you trusted your instincts and headed home to get checked out. Sorry I posted before I read all of the other replies. I am also interested in finding out more about myocarditis and perocarditis. Please keep us posted. I am hoping all of your tests come back normal and that it was just some anxiety. Take care of yourself!