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Asthma woes, just need some advice?

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Posted 11/9/2013 6:11 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, the past few months have been really horrible for me. I lost one of my childhood close friends. I thought this was causing me anxiety & panic so I set up an appointment with my local pcp. I got diagnosed with general anxiety, ptsd, & a panic disorder. It seems to come from no where. They put me on lexapro& xanax, I haven't taken either yet as I really fear medication, but this is an entirely different situation, the reason I am explaining in detail is because shortly after I had a scare&&immediately went to the emergency room because I had a horrible time breathing & feeling like someone was bear hugging me. Or just sitting on my chest. They took a chest x ray&checked out my heart.. When all seemed to come back fine.. They pretty much just sent me on my way& told me to follow up with an asthma & allergy specialist.

The allergist had me do a bunch of tests & told me I had asthma. They put me on flovent, nasonex & Claritin. I currently have no insurance so I was thankful for the samples they provided & was hoping I would finally get relief from all of this chest tightness/excessive mucus. The sad thing is months later, I'm still in the same situation.

What I would really like some advice about is this... How can you tell the difference between a panic attack & an asthma attack? Both seem to give me many of the same symptoms? Chest tightness, shortness of breath & hacking out glue like mucus from my lungs/throat. I'm so scared I'm having asthma attacks everyday that I have been using my proair albuterol inhaler once a day this week. I'm so new to all of this & I am scared that it is dangerous.. I try to keep up with the flovent 2 puffs a day 2 times a day but it's hard when you hate medication to begin with..

I also went to the ent today & he has started me on Prilosec because they think I might be expirencing acid reflux issues. I also have been having issues swallowing for the past year & a half & basically only eat a soft food/liquid diet. I've been in & out of so many doctors this year, I've had a ton of tests done& still feel like I have no answers at all. I've had a barium swallow which showed a delay in liquids& I'm hoping that all of these pains & chest tightness& everything isn't some sort of aspiration.. I'm sad because it's been a huge battle for me.. I feel like I've lost the past 2 years of my life.. Like I'm in my 20s, I should be living it up!

Thanks for reading && any advice would be amazing. When laying down this mucus clings to the back of my throat. Also I wheeze when exhaling..& this is something I only do sometimes, most of the time I do not wheeze at all, I have nasal congestion 24 hours a day. I'm 28 years old & female if that helps..

Post Edited (Daysleeper) : 11/9/2013 1:45:25 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 11/10/2013 1:09 AM (GMT 0)
If you have diagnosed asthma, then it is very important to remember to take your Flovent. It is a maintenance medication that is given to prevent asthma attacks. My asthma attacks always start with me coughing before anything else happens. Then comes the thick mucous and wheezing. Drinking lots of liquids can help keep the mucous thinner.

Taking the Claritan and Nasonex should help with the nasal congestion. You should take that to control that congestion. You may dislike medications but they can help keep you out of the doctor's office and the ER. I took Flovent for over 15 years. Currently I am on a stronger inhaler. I had no adverse effect from the Flovent only positive outcomes - I didn't wheeze and have to use a rescue inhaler. Millions of people have asthma, take medications to treat it, and live normal active lives. You can too!
Posted 11/10/2013 5:10 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much for your response, I have set an alarm on my phone now so I will always be ready to take my flovent. I'm happy the medicine has worked for you & very grateful for your positive attitude! You are truly a wonderful person to take time out of your day to help ease my mind.. I have 2 more questions if that is okay? The first question is, I took proair albuterol last night at 4am, it is now 12:03 am the next day, so it's been about 20 hours. Is it safe for me to do a xopenex breathing treatment instead of using the albuterol again? I've been trying to stay on proair for those horrible episodes but I really like the nebulizer better since I am at home? I feel it works better & opens me up longer so I can get through a full nights sleep. The 2nd question I have is if you feel mucus in your airway, wheezing while inhaling& coughing out stuff, does that automatically mean you're having an asthma attack? My throat is so raw from coughing up stuff? I made some fresh brewed tea with honey to try & sooth it but I'm scared that I should be doing a treatment or the albuterol&& I'm worried that I won't have enough time! I know that once I have the flovent as a constant this should stop as I will feel in control but until then is it safe to use albuterol once a day or xopenex once a day? I know that they're both rescue medicines.. Ah I guess I snuck another question in! Anyway sorry for rambling so much, you've already helped me a ton already! I'm making an appointment to see my asthma& allergy doctor to see if they will give me a meter & help me learn how to read it. (: I hope you are having a wonderful night.
Posted 11/12/2013 1:49 AM (GMT 0)
I can answer your first question and that is a question you really need to call your doctor for help with, we can help with support here but as far as medications and which inerteract with what is best to ask your doctor or your pharmacists for a good answer. I love the nebulizer treatments when I'm in a flair as they do get into the lungs fasts with the medicine. Remember to keep your Xopenex in an air tight bag and away from as much light as possible as it does break down in light.
Maybe you should get an appointment with your doctor to go over all the information of when to use your medication and how to use your medications and get a good written instructions so that you won't have all these worries...You'll get better at doing your medications it just takes a little patience and practice, Hope this helps and makes sense to you.
Posted 11/12/2013 2:01 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you, I will schedule an appointment! I think you're right& I will get more comfortable in time & with these written out plans! I will write a list of questions for my doctor, this was great advice! Hope you are having happy holidays (:
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