Home Am I nuts or does this sound like asthma?

[princesss]

I''ve been having breathing problems for years (seriously....3) but associated the trouble with my heart issues.

-I have difficulty breathing at night, and feel like my lungs are fine, but I can''t pull in enough air to fill them. I get panicked and try to breathe even deeper, then can''t, which freaks me out more. This is accompanied by a pain in the middle of my chest that feels like something is extremely tight.

-When running or playing sports, I often have extreme trouble breathing, which puts me near tears because I feel like I am, though not exactly suffocating, unable to breathe normally when I really need the oxygen.

-Also when playing sports, I have begun to wheeze a lot.

I''m not nuts, right? This sounds like asthma?

(Btw, I''m trying to find a doctor covered by my insurance so I can set up an appointment to figure this out. I just want to see if my assumption is way off.)

 

[Kaleigh]

I hope you get to see a DOC soon. It does sound like Asthma. The meds they have today really help control the symptoms. You need to find your triggers. Some might say you have excercise induced episodes. But that wouldn't explain the times at night where you are struggling. Do you have allergies? All this can be sorted out by a Doc. My kids, take Singulair, Advair and have a rescue inhaler called Maxair. Hope that helps some. I hope you find relief soon. It's scary stuff for sure.

 

[VRBeauty]

Princess:

I don''t have personal experience with asthma and I won''t pretend to be able to infer anything from your symptoms. What little I know comes from working in the field of air pollution, and from the fact that my mother has COPD.

I''m really concerned that you continue playing sports when you experience the symptoms you''ve described, and that you haven''t seen a doctor about it yet. Please make this a high priority!

 

[Linda W]

Date: 9/13/2008 12:00:51 AM
Author: Kaleigh
I hope you get to see a DOC soon. It does sound like Asthma. The meds they have today really help control the symptoms. You need to find your triggers. Some might say you have excercise induced episodes. But that wouldn''t explain the times at night where you are struggling. Do you have allergies? All this can be sorted out by a Doc. My kids, take Singulair, Advair and have a rescue inhaler called Maxair. Hope that helps some. I hope you find relief soon. It''s scary stuff for sure.

I suffer from Asthma and I DITTO everything that Lisa has just said.


Linda

 

[JulieN]

I have asthma...sounds like it to me.

 

[strmrdr]

It sounds like asthma but there are several other things it can be.
See a doc asap.

 

[icekid]

Could be asthma, could be related to heart problems (not knowing what they are), could be something else entirely. Obviously, you should definitely see your physician ASAP and they can get your history, listen to your lungs, and maybe do some lung function tests that might help flush out the issue. Do you cough at night, or just randomly wake up with trouble breathing? How long does it take your breathing to go back to normal after you stop exercising?

Just curious- if this has been going on for a few years, why didn''t you look into it earlier?

 

[princesss]

I''m going to call to make an appointment as soon as the doctor''s office opens, but I thought I''d answer a few questions/comments.

I have actually been talking to doctors about this for 3 years. The problem was, I was always talking to my cardiologists because we always assumed it was heart-related. My doctors always told me to just relax, take a little more of my heart medication on days when I felt like this, and move on. It really never occured to me until last night that it could be anything different. I promise I''ve been taking these symptoms seriously and speaking with doctors...just the wrong ones.

Sleeping is about the only time I don''t have these issues. It''s never woken me up, it always just keeps me from getting to sleep. I hate feeling pressure on my chest because then I feel like there''s more pressure and I can''t breathe.

Anyways, I am going to call and see if the office is open now so I can make an appointment. Hopefully there''s a slot open today and this can get resolved. (Doubtful, I know...a doctor''s office with free appointments on Saturday? Haha...)

 

[dani13]

Date: 9/13/2008 8:07:26 AM
Author: icekid
Could be asthma, could be related to heart problems (not knowing what they are), could be something else entirely. Obviously, you should definitely see your physician ASAP and they can get your history, listen to your lungs, and maybe do some lung function tests that might help flush out the issue. Do you cough at night, or just randomly wake up with trouble breathing? How long does it take your breathing to go back to normal after you stop exercising?


Just curious- if this has been going on for a few years, why didn't you look into it earlier?

Ditto, Icekid. P- these symptoms could be due to a bunch of cardio-respiratory disorders, or just something as simple as allergies. Please get to a doc soon so you could be worked up. Good luck!

 

[VRBeauty]

Date: 9/13/2008 12:15:48 AM
Author: MINIMS
Princess:

I don''t have personal experience with asthma and I won''t pretend to be able to infer anything from your symptoms. What little I know comes from working in the field of air pollution, and from the fact that my mother has COPD.

It was really late when I responded. I just wanted to clarify that my concern comes from the fact that both COPD and asthma can be life-threatening under the right circumstances.

Thank you for clarifying the circumstances that led you to posting your question here. I hope you''re able to get in to see a doctor soon.

 

[princesss]

Thought I''d let you all know what''s going on right now:

I just got out of the doctor''s office, and they''ve run quite a few tests. Just about everything came out normally, but just to be sure I''m making an appointment with a pulmonary specialist once they open on Monday. The doctor put me on some minor steroids (apparently a common thing for mild asthma) to see if it helps in the short-term.

Anyways, thank you all so much for the input. I''m definitely going to be paying attention to what my body is saying, and I promise I won''t push myself too hard.

 

[snlee]

Date: 9/13/2008 12:58:53 AM
Author: Linda W

Date: 9/13/2008 12:00:51 AM

Author: Kaleigh

I hope you get to see a DOC soon. It does sound like Asthma. The meds they have today really help control the symptoms. You need to find your triggers. Some might say you have excercise induced episodes. But that wouldn't explain the times at night where you are struggling. Do you have allergies? All this can be sorted out by a Doc. My kids, take Singulair, Advair and have a rescue inhaler called Maxair. Hope that helps some. I hope you find relief soon. It's scary stuff for sure.

I suffer from Asthma and I DITTO everything that Lisa has just said.

Linda

Me too. I hope you can see a doctor soon. Good luck.