Dr. Hive? What does asthma feel like?

[dirty ethel rackham]

I have never had asthma. My mom had it and you could hear her suffering. Well, for the last several weeks, I have had occasions where it felt like I just could not catch my breath - like I just could not expand my lungs enough. I didn't have any panic feeling like I couldn't breath, but just feeling like the air was just a little too thick or that my chest was a little constricted.

 

I have had this sensation once in the past, but it was related to my thyroid meds, - my levels were too high, and it was accompanied by all the other typical "hyper" thyroid symptoms - anxiety, crawling skin, restless legs, difficulty sleeping, etc. I have none of these symptoms.

 

I used to suffer greatly from seasonal allergies. When the air was filled with the beautiful aromas of spring, I was miserable with itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, stuffed up nose, etc. All that changed after I had my first child. My seasonal allergies seemed to have disappeared. I have really enjoyed this beautiful spring, enjoying the scent of the crabapple and hawthorns and lilacs. However, I am experiencing this breathing issue. I seem to have little energy (not that unusual), but I am able to exercise as usual (nordic walking 3 miles or lifting at the 'Y'.)

 

So, diagnosis please?

[Jean in Newcastle]

It doesn't sound like asthma to me - or at least bad enough to seek medical care. Allergies can cause that. Even stress and tightness in your muscles that go down from your shoulders. If you do start to wheeze or it gets harder to breathe then I would go see a Dr.

[Karen in CO]

As an asthma sufferer who comes from a family with heart problems, sometimes one looks like the other. Last year, My mom thought she was having a problem controlling her asthma and kept turning to her inhalers, but it turned out that she was having an arrhythmia problem. I am reluctant to offer an advice on undiagnosed asthma because breathing problems can often be something else.

 

My asthma sometimes feels like I am suffocating. Sometimes, I don't even notice anything except that I am yawning too much or getting short of breath going up the stairs. Sometimes there is pressure on my chest. Sometimes it hurts. Often, I will dream of drowning. I don't wheeze like my sister does so its harder to tell. I have a little plastic thing that test breath volume that I use to keep tabs on myself to make sure its under control.

[HeatherLynn]

When I read your post, I was thinking it sounded a little like extrensic asthma. http://www.buteyko.co.nz/asthma/facts/types.cfm

 

Asthma feels like different things to different people. Sometimes it is wheezing, some asthmatics never wheeze. Sometimes it is coughing, and sometimes there is no cough. Sometimes it is a general tightness in the chest and not moving as much air.

 

If I were you I would have a pulmonary function test (PFT) scheduled. That should give you your answer.

[Tree House Academy]

It could also be mild intermittent asthma. That is what I have and I actually had to use an albuterol inhaler the last two weeks due to allergies and the various junk in the air.

[Carol in Cal.]

The cough feels like I'm scratching a tickle, deep in my throat, and can't quite reach it; as though if I could just cough a little harder I would clear it, but I can't quite do so. It's a fairly dry cough, too.

 

When my DD used to get this, she had that cough but she also sometimes had a lot of pain in her chest.

[sixpence1978]

I agree. I'm not sure it sounds quite like asthma. It could very well be allergy related.

 

When I have asthma, it generally follows one of these patterns:

 

1. complete tightness, with wheezing, and almost a burning sensation in my lungs (exercise induced asthma)

2. a general tightness that might have a small wheeze at the tail end of a breath, usually will start yawning subconciously to bring in more air (more of an allergy asthma)

3. a cough that could be related to any of the above, making it harder to breath

 

What you are describing really sounds more like something panic driven (which I know you said you weren't feeling), or arrythmia, which will sometimes make me feel like it is hard to get a breath in.

[Sputterduck]

I had a neighbor who used to tell people to run a mile breathing through a straw. That sums up the feeling pretty accurately.

[Sweetpeach]

I have a little plastic thing that test breath volume that I use to keep tabs on myself to make sure its under control.

 

Do you have a proper name for this little plastic thing? I think I need to buy one for my son.

 

T

[Carol in Cal.]

Do you have a proper name for this little plastic thing? I think I need to buy one for my son.

 

T

 

It's called a Peak Flow Meter. Easy to use.

[Jean in Newcastle]

It's called a Peak Flow Meter. Easy to use.

 

Where would you get one?

[Karen in CO]

Where would you get one?

 

I got mine from my Dr. You should be able to get one at a pharmacy, I just saw them on Amazon too. Wow. The have nifty digital ones for $50, but it seems that plastic ones like mine are about $15 - $20.

[Rosie_0801]

Have you tried a chiropractor? I'm not asthmatic but I feel kind of how you described if my middle back is out of alignment. Only about 10% of a nerve has pain receptors so there can be problems without actual back pain.

 

Rosie

[eaglei]

I have been suffering terribly with allergies this year - the runny nose while being stuffed nose, watery eyes, that "feeling" in the chest, coughing, and sometimes not quite breathing right and sometimes getting that wheeze. I've had to use Zyrtec-D and Singulair together, plus albuterol as needed, and I've also had to use a couple rounds of Advair.:glare: I have been mis.er.a.ble.

 

My doctor said a few things that gave me cause for emotional relief. He said this was NOT asthma; that the allergy season this year has been much worse than usual; that people who don't generally get allergies have had them this year, and that people who don't generally get the breathing problems with their allergies have had them this year. He also said that allergies (or an increase in frequency, or intensity) can be part of "the change of life" and can also be stress-induced. (I was surprised to learn of all the "normal" things that can actually be part of, or aggravated by, the "change.")

 

I'm holding on for dear life! Hoping this misery passes (or at least settles down) as the pressures of current life settle, AND, as that "magical" five-year marker with "the change" finally arrives. :tongue_smilie:

 

I really feel for anyone going through this! If anyone has any suggestions for relief, especially natural/herbal, I'd sure appreciate reading them!

[Carol in Cal.]

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If anyone has any suggestions for relief, especially natural/herbal, I'd sure appreciate reading them!

 

Natural: A Neti pot--basically you rinse out your nose and upper sinuses with very warm salt water. You don't snort it at all, you keep breathing through your mouth and that closes off the passage down your throat. If you do this twice a day, it really helps to clear out your nose, and it rinses out all those pesky allergens as well.

 

Almost natural: Naselcrom--this is a nasel spray that doesn't have side effects or systemic effects. It just makes a coating in your nose gradually, so that the allergens don't stick to it. It takes about a week of daily use to build up its effectiveness, and then it really helps almost as much as those steroidal sprays without all the nasty longterm use questions.

[eaglei]

Thank You, Carol in Cal! I'm going to look for these products - I'm assuming any pharmacy will carry them on the regular public shelves?

[Jean in Newcastle]

Natural: A Neti pot--basically you rinse out your nose and upper sinuses with very warm salt water. You don't snort it at all, you keep breathing through your mouth and that closes off the passage down your throat. If you do this twice a day, it really helps to clear out your nose, and it rinses out all those pesky allergens as well.

 

Almost natural: Naselcrom--this is a nasel spray that doesn't have side effects or systemic effects. It just makes a coating in your nose gradually, so that the allergens don't stick to it. It takes about a week of daily use to build up its effectiveness, and then it really helps almost as much as those steroidal sprays without all the nasty longterm use questions.

 

Also found in the drug store over the counter - similar to the neti pot: "NeilMed Sinus Rinse" - I prefer the sinus rinse devise which is a bottle with a special top to the neti pot (I have one of those too). But even if you use a neti pot I do recommend getting NeilMed's premixed packets of salt that are ph balanced to prevent nasal irritation.

[Mom2boys]

I got mine from my Dr. You should be able to get one at a pharmacy, I just saw them on Amazon too. Wow. The have nifty digital ones for $50, but it seems that plastic ones like mine are about $15 - $20.

 

I got mine for free from my family doctor.

[Mom2boys]

I have never had asthma. My mom had it and you could hear her suffering. Well, for the last several weeks, I have had occasions where it felt like I just could not catch my breath - like I just could not expand my lungs enough. I didn't have any panic feeling like I couldn't breath, but just feeling like the air was just a little too thick or that my chest was a little constricted.

 

However, I am experiencing this breathing issue. I seem to have little energy (not that unusual), but I am able to exercise as usual (nordic walking 3 miles or lifting at the 'Y'.)

 

So, diagnosis please?

 

Asthma can feel like different things to different people. In my opinion, your symptoms are consistent with mild asthma. One thing you can try is to buy some Primatene Mist (over the counter) and use it the next time you feel short of breath. If it seems to help your breathing, that would point to asthma. This is how I discovered I had asthma. :001_smile: (I did then see a doctor and was officially diagnosed with asthma, and now carry a rescue inhaler.)