Allergy or panic attack?

[leila]

I have had quite a few 'attacks' of asthma.  'Attacks' seem random, although I notice they happen when baking, using flour, and outdoors in hot weather/polluted city. At time of diagnosis I also had a persistent cough.  I used preventer inhaler (prescribed by doc.)until recently, and, combined with reliever this reduced no. of attacks and irritation in my lungs.  After a while, doc. decided asthma stabilized and I only need reliever.  This seems OK and I've had few attacks since, which have been relieved by inhaler. All well and good.

What bothers me though is that another doctor seemed to think I was getting these attacks because I "was unhappy".  He prescribed Prozac, which elevated my mood, but made no other difference.  I haven't seen him since. I suspect he thinks these attacks are panic attacks not asthmatic.  I don't think they are.  The symptoms do not sound the same. I'd be grateful for your opinion.  I'm concerned that another doctor might decide likewise and that it might not be taken seriously.

Symptoms are: *sudden* swelling of eustachian tubes and sinuses (I sound like I developed an instant cold).  Ear tubes seem to 'seal up' and hearing is affected. This is following by difficulties with breathing (I'm assuming tubes in lungs are swelling likewise).  Breathing gets heavier, more laboured and I feel I'm not getting enough oxygen. It all happens in 2-5 minutes. I have to sit or lie down. The reliever takes about 5-10 minutes to work and I'm slowly back to normal (though tired). I've had 2 attacks recently. My mother suffers allergies and I had eczema.

[National Jewish]

The symptoms you describe could be due to several factors, including asthma/allergy and "panic attacks". What is important is to document certain things when you are experiencing these episodes. You can perform a pulmonary function test, even if at home. You can do this with a peak flow meter, which is relatively inexpensive and very inexpensive compared to the cost of these medications. At the time of the "attack" you can blow into a peak flow meter to record how your lungs are working and then take your inhaler and measure the peak flow again. This will help a lot to understand what is going on. Without this kind of information, it is difficult to make a diagnosis and work to correct the problem.
Good luck.

[From a successful poster.......]

I have allergy induced asthma.  What you describe sounds very much like what I experience.  I have no problems breathing unless I'm exposed to things that I'm allergic to (i.e. pollen, cats, dust, etc.)  I don't understand how one of your doctors settled on emotional issues, since, in my opinion, this sounds like a straight forward case of allergic asthma and since you've responded well to inhalers.  

You say that you still have attacks, even though the inhalers have helped a lot.  To me, that makes sense.  If you do have allergy induced asthma attacks, then - even though you have help from the medications - exposure to allergens could still trigger an attack from time to time.

[basketcase]

Hi there.

I just came home from the emergency room of the local hospital.
At 1 PM today, I had such shortness of breath that my husband called 911. I could not breathe, and was gasping for breath.
It was an asthma attack, and although my last attack of this nature was probably over fifteen years ago, I know that that was what it was.

The emergency room doctor was very indignant about all this. He claimed that it was a panic attack. Although the paramedics who transported me to the hospital had evaluated me for a good ten minutes before they ever left my house AND SINCE I only went to the hospital because they insisted, I was amazed to find a doctor who thought that I was some kind of kook there for the extra attention.

I am lucky that a good friend came down to the emergency room with me and advocated for me. But this doctor did not want to let go of his idea that I was not sick.

I don't quite know how I could explain the difference between a panic attack and asthma. I suffered from panic attacks four or five years ago (and since they were never treated by a physician, there is nothing in my charts to indicate that I have ever had them.) But the two experiences are quite different. With a panic attack, I never noticed an inability to breath, a feeling that I was gasping for air. (Though of course, someone else might have that symptomn during such an attack.) And I think my panic attacks were caused by a combination of two things: a move to a geographic location where I had neither friends or family, and the pervalence of "room air fresheners" in the housing that I co-rented with people. (the plugin kind of air deoderizers)