More asthma stuff and chest pain

[Belial]

Hey guys,

I've been using ventolin regularly and I have been able to stave off "bad" breathing difficulties, but I have a lingering wheeze that always seems to be there. Is this the best I can hope for?

Last couple of days I've had pain in my chest, which scared me at first. I don't think it's my heart, because my chest muscles are sore all the way accross, like a dull ache, kinda stiffness. But very occasionally I seem to get a little "needly", sharper, kinda throbbing pain which seems to be coming from somewhere near my heart. It doesn't really hurt, but it's got me kind of worried. Then again, I'm still 5 months shy of my 22nd birthday and I just had cricket practise yesterday at which I would have run over a kilometre, at speed, in the course of bowling, and didn't have any noticeable pain of that kind, though I did feel soreness in my chest while breathing in, though it didn't constrict me.

So in summary, I really don't know what's going on and I don't know what to think...anyone got any clues?

[jennaflower]

nope.. no clues hun.. just lots of hugs....

[Lilith]

You need to call your Dr., Belial. Any chest pain is not something to play with.

[Sharni]

You need to see your Doctor ASAP....better to be safe than sorry

[WildIrish]

My son has never had any breathing difficulties in his 11 years of existence. This past winter, he experienced similar tightness in his chest and the doctor discovered he had dangerously low oxygen levels. They rushed him to the emergency room and administered a variety of breathing treatments. They determined he had pneumonia. Since then, he's had similar attacks, and now is on Advair & Albuterol (both inhaler and nebulizer) and they've helped a lot. But if he stops, the tightness comes back.

Get to a doctor.

[Belial]

Hmm well I'd like to do that..only problem is he doesn't work on weekends and he'd most likely refer me to a specialist, with whom I already have an apptointment on the asthma matter for the 28th....so I'm not too sure what I can do.

[Sharni]

Can you go to the emergency department of you local hospital with your concerns...

[Belial]

Unfortunately, around here you don't get seen for hours unless there's something very obviously seriously wrong, like your arm is lopped off or something. :(

[Sharni]

That is the same here too hun....but still better to be waiting there for a couple of hours than to wake in the middle of the night in serious trouble

[Cobalt]

Or not awake, if you know what I mean. Get to the doctor, your never to young for heart problems or breathing problems. Lack of oxygen can cause other serious problems.

[BlueSwede]

Asthma must be taken seriously. Ventolin is fine to relieve some tightness or to use before a game of cricket or practice. But you really should be on a preventive, something to keep you from having the attacks in the first place, too. Advair is a great medication, but there are many out there on the market. You may even want to have your own nebulizer at home for when you are having a hard time or have a cold, etc., and your asthma is getting aggravated.

A young woman (1 month short of being 21) who was like a daughter to me was living with me a few summers ago. She was out of college for the summer and didn't have much money, so she never bought her asthma preventive medication, just the ventolin for when she felt tight. I left on a 2-day trip, and the first night I was gone, she had an asthma attack. She had finally started on a preventive medication for it, but she hadn't been taking it long enough to get it built up in her system yet. She called 911, but they didn't make it there in time. She died in our apartment.

So, as Sharni said, better to spend even a number of hours in the emergency room than to end up like my friend. Plus, they SHOULD see you damned fast if you tell them that you have asthma and are having trouble breathing. That should be taken as seriously as someone who is having a heart attack. Or, at least call your doctor; every doctor has to be on call on weekends or have someone covering for him or her. That person can talk to you on the phone and advise you as to whether you should go to the emergency room or whatever. DO IT, please.

BTW, your doctor or the asthma specialist should give you what's called a spirometer. It's a tube you blow into. It will tell you just how bad your lungs are at that point. Usually there are numbers on the side of the tube measuring it but also 3 gauges you can set where appropriate--put the green one up where it means that your lungs are in good shape if you were able to blow the marker that far or farther. A yellow one is placed at a point that means you better be careful; you're starting to have trouble. A red one is placed where it means you are definitely having trouble and should either use whatever medication the doctor said to use or call your doctor, etc. It comes in handy to get an idea of just what shape your lungs are in at that point asthma wise. I expect the asthma specialist will have you use one in his or her office and then will send you home with it. My daughter (who has had asthma all her life) has used one for years with great success.

GOOD LUCK...but ALSO DON'T WAIT FOR THAT APPOINTMENT WITH THE SPECIALIST. You need to see what is wrong, NOW.

PS: You should not still be left with a little wheezing even after you have used your ventolin. You should be able to end up wheeze free. You may need to be on prednisone for a while, too, if you are really having problems.

Now, I'm going to be worried about you until you write us back and tell us you saw or talked to some medical person about this.

[Teddy Bear]

(((((Belial)))))

Call the doc you have the appointment with on the 28th. Either get him to see you NOW or go to the emergency room and tell them your having chest pains & trouble breathing. They should take you pretty quick. But just in case they make you wait take a book. And sit & wait til your seen & this is resolved. This is serious stuff. Please don't put it off.


CALL THE DOC OR GO TO EMERGENCY ROOM..... NOW!!!!



Like BlueSwede, I'm also worried about you...

[Belial]

Well, mum convinced me to sleep on it, so I did, and it's pretty much the same as yesterday. It's most likely nothing but I can't stand not knowing and I don't want to risk playing cricket today (I'm still all stiff and sore from practise anyway) so I'm going to a clinic that's open on the weekend. They're pretty much right accross the road from the hospital so I'll be close if anything's particularly wrong, but I really don't feel too bad, and I'm not really sure that I actually have any tightness as such, but the slight pain persists, so I don't know. The receptionist who answered the phone said I'd be waiting for about an hour but I've got reading to do :)

Thankyou and big hugs to everyone who's given advice so far. Sorry to hear about your friend BlueSwede :(

Will keep you posted on developments.

[LixyChick]

((((((Belial)))))))

Waiting in anticipation of your prognosis! My thoughts are with you! Keep us informed when you can.....but take care of yourself first babe! We'll be here to hug you back into the fold!

[Belial]

Hey guys,

I've just arrived back from the doctor. His diagnosis was that I had strained my inter-costal muscles after using them excessively to breathe as a result of past breathing difficulties; he noticed the slight extrusion that I had felt along the middle of my ribcage a few days ago which is also a symptom apparently. That occasional sharp chest pain, he says, is a spasm of those inter-costal muscles. He prescribed some anti-inflammatories, and said it should be cleared in a few days, and that I should try to breathe more with my diaphragm.

He examined my heartbeat, blood pressure and breathing and thought everything there was okay.

Thankyou very much to all who gave their advice and support. Big hearty precious hugs to you all. Love you guys :)

[Lilith]

*yay* Glad you are ok! ((hugs))

[Sharni]

Mighty pleased ya ok *hugz*

[jennaflower]

so glad that the doc could calm any fears.. take care of yourself hun..

[LixyChick]

Great news Belial! Take good care hun! TY for the update!

Oh...Hey! Just had a thought......maybe you could take singing lessons to learn to breathe from the diaphragm better! LOL! Just a fleeting thought!

*hugs*

[BlueSwede]

I honestly was worried about you and feel much better knowing that you saw your doctor. But I'm not letting you off the hook quite that easy. PLEASE do still keep your appointment with the specialist about your asthma. You need to get that under better control so that you don't have any wheezing. You need to be on some medication that will hopefully prevent you from having problems with it in the first place; don't just try to treat it once you are in a little trouble, so to speak. Like WildIrish said, Advair is a good one for that. Also ask about the spirometer. It is a very good way, especially if you have been feeling tight or wheezing slightly, to figure out just how your lungs are doing at that time. They are very inexpensive and worth having around.

Now, come back after that appointment and let us know what that doctor said, too, please. (Sorry, I'm a nurse and a mother so I can't help but be concerned about you. And I want you to always be OK if at all possible.)

[Belial]

Certainly will keep that appointment BlueSwede. Though I don't seem in imminent danger, it's a little annoying and I want to know more about what's going on with me and how I can live more comfortably.

Your concern is appreciated :) (((BlueSwede)))

[BlueSwede]

Thank YOU, Belial. Hugs are ALWAYS appreciated. :) I just really do want you to be OK (SMILE).

[Belial]

Hey all, as I've just been to see the specialist, an update is in order.

The anti-inflammatories seem to be working as my chest pain has diminished quite a bit in severity and frequency. I've not had much breathing difficulty and so haven't used the ventolin too often, though the specialist did show me that my breathing was too shallow when I demonstrated my ventolin technique to him. In his opinion, what I have is unlikely to be asthma, and if it is, it's most likely quite mild. What is more likely, in his opinion is something called vocal chord dysfunction, where the vocal chords slightly obstruct breathing due to tension (I think that's what he said the cause was) and that the best way to fix that is to "huff" or pant similar to how dogs breathe for a short while. He said I probably shouldn't bother getting a repeat of my flixotide preventer powder inhaler and that I should keep ventolin on hand but probably wouldn't do much for me, based on the breathing test I did - the graphs for pre and post-ventolin were almost identical. And I walked the almost 3 miles home, so I think I'm fine :) Though, I will try and be more active as I'm sure that wouldn't hurt, and I could lose a kilo. or ten. :)

[BlueSwede]

Thanks so much for the update, Belial. I'm very happy to hear that you may not have asthma (or just a very mild case of it) after all. That IS wonderful news. :)

[jseal]

Belial,

I'm glad to read that the diagnosis wasn't as bad as it seemed.

[OziJuggalo]

swim more it helps with asthma as i have had it all my life i played foot ball and every thing i still get the odd attack every now and again mostly in winter... so even if it is mild its not something to be taken ligthly