Did I Have An Asthma Attack?

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Clare - 11 Oct 2004 15:09 GMT

Hi

I don't have asthma. I do get wheezy in the summer when my hayfever is
bad but no real asthma.

Right now I have a really bad cold. I was finding it difficult to breathe
last night, it was like I had to conciously make the air go in and out of
my lungs. I was like that for a few hours. I laid down to go to bed and
it suddenly got worse and I couldn't breathe. It was like trying to
breathe through a blocked straw.

I've read that in an attack it's harder to breathe out than in but for me
it was harder to breathe in (although it was also very hard to breathe
out).

It was really scary because I just couldn't get any air in. My boyfriend
thought I was hyperventilating, maybe I was because I was panicking but I
just remember feeling that there was no gap in my throat for any air to
get through.

I got over it by blowing my nose (it was really runny), that made
breathing a little easier and my throat seemed to gradually open up and I
managed to get air in better. I would say that the whole "I can't
breathe" episode lasted for about 3-4 minutes before I started blowing my
nose. When it was all over I felt fine, breathing was quiet and normal.

So, like, what the hell happened?

Thanks for any input,
Clare

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Joy - 11 Oct 2004 16:19 GMT

> Hi
>
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
> Thanks for any input,
> Clare

Clare,

Not getting air in is most often associated with Stridor or Vocal Cord
Dysfunction. The causes seem to be many - in my own case I attributed it to
being caused by GERD. As you look into it on the web, you will find some
have suggested the condition is linked to panic- I never agreed with that
because mine always happened when I was laying down and had reflux.
Interestingly, the last time I had a event was when I had my tonsils out, so
who knows why that worked. Some people posting here and at WebMD have tried
to treat it with speech therapy, but most of the posts I have seen lead me
to believe that is not very effective.

Joy

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Clare - 11 Oct 2004 17:57 GMT

~ Not getting air in is most often associated with Stridor or Vocal Cord
~ Dysfunction.

Wow I think it could have been that, VCD. Sounds pretty similar. I was
actually making a sound like a dying horse or something, when I did manage
to get bits of air in. I was thinking it was something to do with my
voice box but at the time I had no idea that the voice box was so closely
related to breathing. I didn't have Stridor though, it wasn't
high-pitched.

Is it possible to have an episode of VCD without it being a longterm
disorder? Cos it's never happened before. I've never had breathing
problems apart from the wheeziness with my hayfever. I'm 26. I really
hope it doesn't happen again. Could it be that in a fairly healthy
person, a one-off VCD attack could be triggered by a bad cold, and then
never happen again? Or does it have to be part of a longterm problem?

Clare

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Joy - 11 Oct 2004 21:05 GMT

> ~ Not getting air in is most often associated with Stridor or Vocal Cord
> ~ Dysfunction.
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
> Clare

Clare,

Hopefully it will never happen again. However, you should be aware it is a
potentially life-threatening condition and you should surely let your doctor
know there is a possibility you may have VCD.

Unfortunately, there is more knowledge about it on the internet than in most
ERs, so make sure YOU have educated yourself. Much of the credible
information can be found at the National Jewish Hospital web site.

I used to stop my attacks by drinking water. So next time, if blowing your
nose doesn't work, try that.

Joy

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j r - 12 Oct 2004 00:30 GMT

If you get wheezy from hayfever, then you have real asthma. i didn't know i
had asthma until i was about 37, but had symptoms my whole life. everyone
in my family has it, turns out, so we all thought it was normal and we were
all wimps. when i used to run (because the military made me) i would have
hard time breathing and had to walk. it took a lot of effort to breath in
and out, like i was breathing thru a straw. i never tried laying down
(lying down? never figured that one out). i usually cough occasionally for
the rest of the day, very deep hacking cough.

my sister started having trouble breathing, and thought it might be panic
attack. (right after 9/11, she was stressed out) went to her doctor and
found out she had asthma, and it could have been triggered by her being kind
of panicked, but was still asthma.

i suggest you go to doctor, get evaluated, and get emergency inhaler. i
rarely use mine, but was very grateful for it when i needed it (overwhelmed
by perfume, used it 4 times). if you never need it, so much the better. it
sounds like drainage from your cold was aggrevating your lungs more than
they could take. best of luck with it.

> Hi
>
[quoted text clipped - 26 lines]
> Thanks for any input,
> Clare

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FishWife - 12 Oct 2004 19:05 GMT

>If you get wheezy from hayfever, then you have real asthma. i didn't know i
>had asthma until i was about 37, but had symptoms my whole life. everyone
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>(lying down? never figured that one out). i usually cough occasionally for
>the rest of the day, very deep hacking cough.

The same thing happened to me too. I got hayfever when I moved to the
south of England (from Scotland) a couple of years ago, and had never
suffered from it before. This summer, along with the Hayfever, I got a
really bad cough that I just couldn't shift. I'd have coughing attacks
where I would end up hyperventilating because I couldn't breathe. I
went to the doctor, and they diagnosed asthma. I doubted it for a long
time - I thought it was Bronchitis or something similar, as I completely
lost my voice at one point - but they perservered with treating asthma
and it slowly got better. I'm now on a repeat prescription for
Singulair, a purple inhaler and a blue one for emergencies. I find that
the medication controls it very well, but if I miss a dose I tend to be
very wheezy and tight the next day.

Hi, by the way, I'm new here.

Signature

Katie Walker

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Clare - 12 Oct 2004 21:54 GMT

~ If you get wheezy from hayfever, then you have real asthma.

And

00doc wrote:
~ I wouldn't be so sure. If you wheeze every summer when yuor
~ allergies act up why would you think this is not asthma?

Well I did go to the dr a few years ago about that and got a blue inhaler,
Ventolin I think. I get a new one every summer. They did the test where
you blow into a tube and they measure it, she said I was a bit weaker than
normal but not asthmatic.

I never have any breathing problems any other time. Only when the pollen
count is high. And that only started when I smoked as a teenager. I gave
up after a few years but the hayfever wheeziness hasn't gone away. I
think maybe I weakened my lungs (or some other part of me) forever.

I am from South East England - yes it's very polleny down here Katie!

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SJF - 13 Oct 2004 05:48 GMT

> ~ If you get wheezy from hayfever, then you have real asthma.
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> you blow into a tube and they measure it, she said I was a bit weaker than
> normal but not asthmatic.

But that test only tells you about your condition at the time it was done.
It can't rule out future asthmatic episodes. If the Ventolin helps you,
that is a pretty good indication you are asthmatic. Why else would you be
using an asthma medication -- Ventolin.

> I never have any breathing problems any other time. Only when the pollen
> count is high. And that only started when I smoked as a teenager. I gave
> up after a few years but the hayfever wheeziness hasn't gone away. I
> think maybe I weakened my lungs (or some other part of me) forever.
>
> I am from South East England - yes it's very polleny down here Katie!

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Evgenij Barsukov - 13 Oct 2004 22:32 GMT

>>~ If you get wheezy from hayfever, then you have real asthma.
>>
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> that is a pretty good indication you are asthmatic. Why else would you be
> using an asthma medication -- Ventolin.

Sorry but this is a lame statement. Ventolin is a bronchodilator, and
as such it will have effect of temporaly relief with any conditions associated
with conjestion of bronchs (which include any inflamation, such as bronchitus, pneumonia,
tuberculosis, COPD etc). In fact it is common practice to give bronchodilators
in case of severe pneumonia.

So, the fact that he feels better with bronchodilators
says nothing of underlaying reason, it only says he has inflamation, which
he already knows anyway. It is irrelevant to asthma as such.

Regards,
Evgenij

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00doc - 14 Oct 2004 01:57 GMT

> So, the fact that he feels better with bronchodilators
> says nothing of underlaying reason, it only says he has
> inflamation,
> which he already knows anyway. It is irrelevant to asthma
> as such.

You are right that a response to ventiolin does not "prove"
beyond a doubt that she has asthma. However, as SJF
correctly points out, it is highly consistant and there is
no other obvious explanation. Also as SJF correctly points
out, asthma is by definition a reversible disease and a
single spirometry test cannot rule it out - it can prove
fairly conclusively that you have it if abnormal - but a
normal test is not all that helpful (espeically if there are
not concurrent symptoms). In fact, she states that her test
was not normal.

There is a saying in medicine that "if it looks like a duck,
waddles like a duck, and quacks like a duck - it is probably
a duck." This situation fits.

You would do well to do less preaching and more reading -
you may learn something - and you have a lot to learn. You
should take Mrak Twain's point about it being better to be
silent and thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove
all doubt.

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00doc

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00doc - 14 Oct 2004 01:51 GMT

> But that test only tells you about your condition at the
> time it was
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> asthmatic. Why
> else would you be using an asthma medication -- Ventolin.

Ditto

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FishWife - 14 Oct 2004 23:46 GMT

>I am from South East England - yes it's very polleny down here Katie!

I'm in Wiltshire - bit of a culture shock compared to Scotland!

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Katie Walker

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00doc - 12 Oct 2004 01:35 GMT

> Hi
>
> I don't have asthma. I do get wheezy in the summer when
> my hayfever
> is bad but no real asthma.

I wouldn't be so sure. If you wheeze every summer when yuor
allergies act up why would you think this is not asthma?

> Right now I have a really bad cold.

A classic trigger for asthma.

> I've read that in an attack it's harder to breathe out
> than in but
> for me it was harder to breathe in (although it was also
> very hard to
> breathe out).

The physiology books all say it is harder to breath out -
and, indeed air does get trapped IN the lung early on - but
what most people feel is tightness and an innability to
breath in.

> So, like, what the hell happened?

I think you need to see yor doctor and discuss the strong
possibility that you have asthma.

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00doc

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