Constant asthma

[iamrenjitth]

Hi i am having  throat tightness everyday for 15 years. I am  regularly using Ventloin, Fomertrol+budesonide and Motelukast+LC. The only problem is breathlessness arising from throat tightness. I never wheeze in the life. The throat tightness  is getting reduced when i take Ventolin. The doctor say i don't have to take ventolin beacause Fomertrol+budesonide  and Motelukast+LC. will prevent the difficulty. But only  medicines which seems to be working is Ventolin and Motelukast+LC. When i tried stopping Motelukast+LC my throat tightness increased.

I am confused whether my problem is asthma since steroid inhaler doesn't seems to be effective. Doctor says i may be using the inhaler properly. Then why throat tightness decrease when i puff Ventolin. The doctor has conducted CT scan. It shows a doubt of early centrilobular emphysema. I never smoked and checked for Alpha1 Antitrypsin. It came back normal. I am thin  from my childhood itself. The doctor says few thin people scan shows these kind of changes. Being a non smoke doctor says we can ignore this for time being. Also doc says if it is emphysema it should be progress quickly. But my symptoms stays same for about 5-6 years. Some days its manageable with medicines but some days its not. I was also tested for IgE level. It showed 316 when normal standard they having is < 150.So it seems like i am allergic.

My confusion is even if i use these 3 medicines (Ventloin, Fomertrol+budesonide and Motelukast+LC) why my throat tightness remains to some degree. Does  throat tightness(without wheezing)happens from asthma . When having throat tightness a small amount of white mucus always comes. Why steroid inhaler is not working as expected(But Ventolin is working to a great extent). When spirometry was conducted even if i am having throat tightness and breathing trouble , by taking extra effort i was able to produce a normal result. Does this mean i don't have asthma.?

[mattiemoo]

Have any of your physicians considered Vocal Cord Dysfunction?  It seems consistent with what you describe.  It is when the muscles in your larynx don't work exactly right and can cause an obstruction, which then can cause wheezing, stridor (loud breathing when you inhale), shortness of breath, etc.  And does not respond to steroids or typical asthma medications.  Sometimes it can be mistaken for asthma and is usually something that gets thought of when the typical treatments for asthma don't work and other things are ruled out.  It can also happen along with asthma--some people have both problems.  

It's really hard to sort of catch this to definitely diagnose it--you have to be in the moment of having these breathing issues and have a doctor look down your throat with a scope to watch your vocal cords.  But there are breathing exercises that may work--usually if you take a deep breath in with your nose, it will correct the obstruction, then you slowly exhale via pursed lipped breathing, and breathe with your abdomen--make sure your abdomen expands as you inhale...you get a better breath that way.  

Just a thought.  Gets frustrating when treatments are not working.  Hope this is helpful...  Good luck!!

[TheseDrsDontKnwWhatTheyreDoing]

You could be allergic to the budesonide/pulmicort! I was put on life support for an allergic reaction/anaphylaxis and they were giving me methylprednisolone as a steroid. Every time they would give It to me the leak in my cuff tightened back up. It was preventing me from having the ventilator removed. We told them to stop the methylprednisolone and after a week and a half I was able to get off life-support. A week ago my asthma Dr. put me on budesonide and within a few days I started having the same symptoms as yourself. Luckily, my pharmacist caught my allergy to methylprednisolone and told me it was the steroid used in budesonide. I wish you good health and I hoped this information helped.

[M4roses]

Ventollin should only be used as a rescue inhaler. Taking it more than once a week is not good. If your using it on a regular basis that means your Asthma is not under control. Try telling your pulmonoligist to change your asthma medicine to get it under control. I use Symbicort and vent online only as needed. Wish you the best.

[sophilester07]

I use Ventolin. It works by relaxing muscles in the airways to improve breathing. Ventolin is used to treat bronchospasm (wheezing, shortness of breath) associated with reversible obstructive airway disease such as asthma.