1 week of asthma attacks please help!
Hello my name is Tobias and im 31 years old.
Lately i have been going through the toughest week of my life. I have had asthma attacks every night for 1 whole week now.. been to the hospital twice becouse of gasping for air and panicking at the same time.
After having a pretty bad cold i started getting really bad asthma attacks. I cant sleep at all and my medicin doesnt seem to work.. have to sit up to be able to breath at night sometimes gasping for air.
i have never had major issuses with my asthma before and i have had astmha for 25 years. I can add that i exercise alot always have
The medicine i use is bricanyl + pulmicort. It has worked fine for me up til now. Im suspecting that most of my inhaled dose is getting stuck in the back of my throat in mocus.. after a few days my throat got really soar so i checked with a flashlight into my mouth after i inhaled and i could see the dose stuck in the back of my throat in sticky mocus. I try to gurgle with water but it wont come out. Is there any other way than gurgle with water to get it out? Worse part is that it feels like its starting to add up more medicin in my throat.
Do you guys think its possible my whole dose gets stuck there and thats the reason my asthma attacks wont stop? Do i need to change medication?
Do i need to use extra doses bricanyl before to really open up the airways for the pulmicort maybe? Or maybe i need to tilt my head straight up so the inhalation can go straight down my throat?
Please help if you have any solution.. by the way i can add that the doctor just subscribed me montelukast. Hoperfully that will help. Do you know how long it takes to start working?
/best regards Tobias
Hi Tobias, and welcome! We appreciate you sharing some of your medical history and current circumstances here with the community. You may be aware we cannot provide medical advice or diagnostics over the internet (for your own safety), but your concerns certainly warrant a reply.
To have been diagnosed with asthma for 25 years (as you've mentioned), and to now be having the 'toughest week' of your life, is a very significant change in your present condition.
You may want to bring all the concerns (which you've candidly shared here with us), to the attention of your physician. Everything you have written here should be shared in detail with your physician. The doctor will be able to address each of your concerns and provide you with medical answers, a plan for treatment, and possibly even adjust the medication regimen you have been on all the years. The doctor will be the best medical professional to guide you through this.
What do you think?
Leon (site moderator asthma.net)
Thanks for writing! I am sorry to hear you are going through such a difficult time right now with your asthma. Leon is 100% right that connecting with your provider will definitely be the best way to go, especially since this exacerbation sounds much worse than what you are accustomed to. To answer one of your questions to the best I can without giving specific advice, I have found using mouthwash or brushing my teeth rather than just rinsing my mouth to be the most helpful when I use an ICS (or any inhaler for that matter!) to get rid of that feeling. Wishing you luck as you try to get some more relief! -Corinne, moderator Thanks for the reply guys. Im not having as severe attacks anymore but still pretty bad. Maybe the new medicin is starting to help.. and i have started to sleep abit better. Im thinking that maybe this could be post covid + asthma. I did have a pretty bad cold 1 week before all this began. Anyone got experience with that? How long did it last for ? Im closing up on 2 weeks now. Sorry if my english is bad
/TobiasHi again, Tobias, and thanks for your reply and further explanation. Although I am glad to hear you are thinking there is some improvement, I am concerned that you still describe your present condition as being 'not as severe' but still 'pretty bad'. It is understandable that you may be reluctant to reach out to your physician. However, I would suggest you not wait too long since you've also shared with us that you have been feeling this way for close to two weeks.
Sometimes, in some cases, getting early intervention can make the treatment more successful than waiting longer. What do you think?
Please, don't be concerned about your communication skills here - you actually make yourself quite clear for us - it is easy to understand your conversation.
Wishing you well,
Leon (site moderator asthma.net)No worries about your English! I'm glad to hear you are doing better, but I would definitely recommend following up with your physician as well to make sure you are on the right track. I do not have personal experience with post COVID as I have thankfully avoided it (knock on wood...) but I know flares can last quite some time if not treated properly. -Corinne, moderator
