shortness of breath

[Tanya N.]

Hi, I was diagnosed with asthma this summer,I'm 50. I was started on singular which has helped alot. My major problem is breathing out, I run out of breath. My dr. gave me advair which I can't take b/c of heart irr.

I don't wheeze. He had me cough and he said he could hear it in the lower lungs. I still feel short of breath and believe I need further help. I also have sleep apnea. I don't snore or stop breathing. My o2 level goes down to 80% at night. I believe this is from my shortness of breath 24/7.

Question: Can you have asthma w/o the big wheezing?
          What other meds are ther for people with heart problems?
          I have stokelike events that have been undiagnosed. could these be from not getting enough o2?

I sleep sitting up b/c it feels like I can't breath laying down.

Tanya

[JasmineCrewdson]

Hi, for the last 7 weeks I've been having chest pains and trouble breathing, I've been to my GP every week as that's what he's asked for, but he still doesn't know what causing it, Last night when I went in he said I was getting worse and my breathing is getting harder and hard.....I can't lay flat or anything just seem to cough and breathing then is extremely hard and hurts my chest,ribs and stomach.
These are the symptoms I've been having
*Chest pains. (shape but tightness)
*Hot and cold Flushes. (but no fever)
*Dizzyness.
*Bad cough. (Gets worse at nigh)
*No appetite. (Haven't been able to eat in 3 weeks)
*Vomiting after drinking water.
*Lack of energy, tiredness.
*Weight loss (16kgs in about 2 week)
*Breathing difficulty's after playing sports
or even walking to the shops.
*Headaches becoming migraine's.
*Sore throat.
*Trouble Sleep (Waking all night)
*Coughing up blood (Only just started in the last 2 days)
I've have 2 chest X-rays and a test for whooping cough but came back negative.
Any help would be much appropriated

Thanks Jasmine.

[stormcloudfyre]

I went to ER for treatment of the foist headache i had had in 30 years and it was a  Whopper!  I am  COPD and  the O2 test shpowed I was down to 96%   The staff  jumped to  get me on  O2  I was not concerned about th eO2  at all no streess for it  but  my COPD was closing up as well.  and causing the O2  drop.  I get concerned when I cough and see  spots  before my eyes and pain in the tips of my fingers.  That to me says I am in O2 debt!  I should be mopre carefiull but afte 22 years of copd  ANd  problems  breathing in   NO Breathing OUT.  We  breath in  and  often we cant breath out.  That  eventuall  reesults in an inability to breath in    because the LUNGs are SO FULL OVER FULL ! sleep apnea is  no fun and most  of my   spasms occur during my sleep.
MY advice is  Get to a doctor and  a full  pulmonary work out.  COPD and  AStham are different  but the same !  Treatments is  differenmt in tht asthma is more relatd to   allergies and  COpd is a  more randome  spasmatic response to   you and the environment  SMOKE in particular. Its not alergic to smoke  but REACTIVE.
COPD  is  treated with   more  continual  drug theropy rather than a   PER spasm basis.

a  good pulmonary sepcialist should be able to  sort out the situationand provide the best  treatment for the  sleep apnea!


IF you cant breath a few beats a min  increase in Heart rate is  extremely negligable bear in mind if you sneeze your heart rate will  jump to 120 BPM while sitting    none of the asthmam meds will raise it more than 5 BPM from rest.   IF i told you to g exrcise i would expect you to raise your heart rate to 120 to 165 bpm  I am  COPD and exercise at 155 BPM   training rate and  175BPM for short  30 min   Intervals! (after  lots of  training)  
NO excuse not to  try any drug that can help !

Good luck

IF you cant breath nothing else matters !

Peter  

[National Jewish]

Difficulty breathing out is characteristic of asthma.  Some individuals have significant asthma but do not wheeze; they just cough.  The overwhelming majority of people with asthma do wheeze.

This raises the question of whether there is a cause for your shortness of breath, other than asthma.  Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) that include an inspiratory flow volume loop could help answer this question.  PFTs done before and after inhaling a bronchodilator drug can identify asthma.

If this testing doesn

[RTFLY]

Hi...I'm sorry to hear of your troubles. I have a few questions. You say you can't take Advair because of a heart arrhythmia. Have you tried the Advair and THEN got an arrhythmia or are you just not taking the Advair because it can CAUSE arrhythmias? Advair is actually pretty safe when given in the right dosages. Ask your physician what other meds are recommended for individuals with your particular heart arrhythmia. Again, Advair ia a safe drug although it needs to be used with caution in patients with arrhythmias as do all bronchodilators.
As for your apnea, and your low oxygen level. You say you don't stop breathing when you sleep but you have apnea. Well, apnea is cessation of breathing. If you have apnea, you stop breathing. And that cause low oxygen levels. Do you have obstructive sleep apnea and are you being treated for your apnea? I can only hope that your doc is treating you for that because untreated sleep apnea and nocturnal hypoxemia can only lead to more problems. What are the "stokelike" events you mention and why have they gone undiagnosed? It sounds like you may need a sleep study

Do you have a heart history? I ask because low oxygen levels can lead to cardiac problems including heart failure. This can make it feel as if you can't breathe when you lie down flat. If you are overweight at all, this may be the primary reason you have sleep apnea and feelings of shortness of breath when you lie flat.
I see a few concerns in your questions and hope you can find your answers. Your physician is the primary source for the answers to these questions. I do believe however, that you may need to seek out a pulmonologist so that you may be better treated.
By the way, you CAN have asthma without having wheezes every day. Although there are tests that need to be performed to correctly diagnose you with asthma, I am assuming that you have already had these tests run. I hope you feel well soon and find the answers you're looking for. Good luck...
                                                 JCI BS RRT

[starion]

You should ask to be referred for an thorough evaluation by a lung specialist, particularly if you have sleep apnea and O2 levels of 80%.  If your insurer allows it, you can even refer yourself to a specialist called a pulmonologist.  Asthma should not reduce your O2 saturation or diffusion rate, so your doctors need to help you find out what you have AND help you get appropriate treatment.  Having 80% oxygen saturation rates ADDS stress to your heart and can worsen your health problems.  Best of luck!  Starion