Asthma Community

Hi rvm

I was diagnosed at 19 with mild asthma, I never had much trouble with it until I turned 25. I am now 28 and have severe presistant asthma. I am working closely with a respirologist to get it under control. I once asked her why it would get worse like that and she said there could be two reasons 1 something could have changed such as a new house or new stressors in your life at that time which could make it worse or a trigger your exposed to daily and don't notice (I had a new boss who I was not getting along with and had bought a new house also) however since I got a new job and moved it hasn't changed she also said that asthma can have times of remission where it improves and times were it can get worse. That is why often you see kids outgrow it they still have asthma and will often show symptoms later in life.

Are you seeing a specialist, what medication are you on, is it the same lung problem you are running into each month. I hope you are feeling better soon. Bre

Well i am taking several kinds of medicines,like dulera ,singular , and inhalers ,my plan at the first of the year is to see a specialist in this field,as far as the problem it seems like i get some type of a lung infection EVERY month like pneomia (I HOPE I SPELLED THAT RIGHT) in which i am trying to getting over now,i cant wait till january i am tired of all of this.

Hi rvm1234,

Welcome to the community.

Asthma, left untreated, can get worse over time. However, you seem to be working hard to control your asthma.

I would recommend that you ask your doctor about Aspirin Exacerabted Respiratory Disease (AERD). Typically this disease is triggered in a person's mid to 30's or early 40's. It causes severe asthma that worses to prednesone dependant asthma. Treatment for AERD is aspirin desensitization. In the three years preceding my treatment, I was dealing with more and more frequent infections (bronchitis and/or pneumonia). The last six months I was getting infections about every four weeks like you are.

Aproximately 20% of all asthmatics have AERD. If you have experienced any reaction including shortness of breath or an asthma attack after taking any NSAID (aspirin, ibuprofin, naproxin,...) your chances of having AERD are significantly increased. Many patients do not attribute their symptoms to an NSAID use as the reaction can start 3 hours or more after taking the medicaion.

There are other things that can cause such frequent infections. First, be sure that your infections are completely cleared before stopping or antibiotic. Second, talk to your doctor about Neutrophylic asthma that is caused by one of two chronic bacterial infections. There is a very effective treatment for this form of asthma. You may also want to ask your doctor about a bronchoscopy. This is a procedure done by a pulmonologist where they scope the lungs taking biopsies and mucous samples. They also perform a levage. A sputum sample is a less invassive option which provides a mucous sample for culturing. This can tell the doctor precisely what micro-organism(s) (bacterial, fungus, mold) is/are causing your infections and allow them to choose the most effective course of treatment for you.

I hope that provides you with some options to discuss with your doctor to resolve your infections as quickly as possible once you are able to work with one.

Take care, feel better and
God bless,
Sonya

I am in the same boat right now, I understand exactly how you feel. It is very frustrating but don't let this get you down.

Thanks for posting this, I am sure to be mindful of these tips as well