r/Asthma

I had asthma, mild compared to other's here, when I was kid and slowly grew out of it as I moved into a teenager. Lately noticing shortness of breath, some chest tightness, feels like asthma symptoms. I know it's been a bad allergy season as I live in New England and I saw an allergist recently and on scale 10 allergic to Dust Mites. They started me on flonase and xyzal.

I'm 34 now, can Asthma lay dormant for that long and then come back up out of nowhere? Thinking I may need to check in with my PCP and get inhaler or a test. Note: I was diagnosed with mild GERD last year around this time after an endoscopy. It never really came with shortness of breath, asthma like symptoms more heartburn.

why does my mom make everything a competition? honestly I love my mom a lot because growing up she took care of me whenever I got really sick. but anytime my health gets worse she always says shit like ‘my asthma was worse,’ ‘I used to get so bad that two people would have to hold me up and carry me around with my arms over their shoulders because I’d keep fainting,’ ‘yours isn’t even that bad,’ or ‘you’re lucky you don’t have it the way I did.’ and I've been hearing the same shit since I was a kid and I'm 19 now

I had 2 attacks last year and had to go to the ER, and the second time I was almost about to die. even the nurses were shocked at the state I was brought in.

now whenever I get sick she doesn’t care at all. she's just like “oh? yeah well take your medicine” in the most disinterested tone ever. but when it’s one of my siblings getting even the simplest little sickness she gets so worried

my health is the worst it’s ever been. my studies have been affecting my mental health badly. I’ve lost a lot of weight because I eat only one meal a day as my GERD makes me not feel hungry and I'm someone who could never lose weight easily. but I’m never telling her anything again. I could literally be on the brink of death and still not tell her anything ever now because she completely ruined that feeling of being cared for

Hey guys,

I just wanted to write up this post to get some opinions on if I have excercise induced asthma. I have been going to the gym for about 3 years now, I don't do alot of cardio but Im weight training alot. I still get very out of breath when doing these excersises, I feel extremely fatigued afterwards, sometimes a bit dizzy and genuine struggle to catch my breath. I do remember during school I would struggle alot during long distnace runs especially in the cold I would get very wheezy and almost an achy pain. I don't cough during my gym excersises so maybe that's a temperature thing? The thing is, weight training isn't cardio but I feel as if I do movements that would've helped my lungs by now but they have not improved inthe slightest.

I had a coughing fit and threw up outside the local pharmacy and got administered an emergency inhaler.

My asthma usually isn't so bad, but I got sick 3 weeks ago and can't get rid of this damn cough.

Anyway. Lesson learned. I'll be in debt to breathe ig

Would appreciate any and all advice from others with asthma as well as professionals etc.

I developed breathing issues basically overnight in January, early 30's female with no history of asthma for myself OR any family history. Told doctor about the problems and they brushed me off until I demanded more testing. Went to the ER with breathing issues at one point even.

I had a Pulmonary Function Test that said I was severely asthmatic.

I also did a methacoline (spelling?) challenge. First dose was saline and my breathing dramatically changed within less than 2 doses of the meds.

Xray in March: Completely normal
EKG in March: Completely normal
Diagnosed with sleep apnea and started CPAP 6 months before I developed severe asthma.
Labs: All completely normal

I have tried:
Albuterol (gives me anxiety attacks which make me not able to breathe). I tried this as the maintenance and rescue per my pulmonologist
(Considered trying the alternative to Albuterol but I was told it has the same issue as Albuterol in terms of heart racing)
Symbicort (didn't help at all)

Tried taking antacids since we wondered if it was GERD or acid related, and no change.

Also tried taking anxiety meds. On a daily basis this does nothing but it does help if I'm panicking from an asthma attack, so I have a few as in case of emergency.

I was in the process of weaning onto and off 2 meds around December. I got off one in early december and was only on the other one in early december. I suspected this might have been causal and (per doctors recommendation) I stopped taking the med for a few days, and there was absolutely no change in breathing.

No new pets, illnesses or infections around the January time. No home renovations, no new heaters, no new chemicals. No smoking or vaping history. No occupations or hobbies that involve significant dust or chemicals etc.

Symptoms:

Shortness of breath constantly. Gasping constantly. Sometimes wheezing but not a ton. When docs listen to my lungs they say they sound great.

The cpap used to be the only main relief but in the last few weeks I'm concerned the breathing issues are getting worse because the cpap is NOT helping anymore.

Sometimes it feels like someone is sitting on my chest or that my lungs are only half inflated. More recently I've also aquired a new symptom that my throat (right on the adams apple) will feel like it is closing up. To be clear, neither of these symptoms are 24/7/365. But I experience either one for at least a bit every day, for multiple weeks/months now.

Havn't woken up at night with breathing issues but I'm a heavy sleeper. I had one time where I took the 4 puffs of Breztri as prescribed (2 in AM and 2 in PM) AND I took Levalbuterol right before bed, put on the cpap and still was struggling breathing. That was scary but I slept with the inhalers next to me and told my spouse about the situation at the time. I woke up better in the morning but about the same as most days.

Chest pain. My ribs hurt, all the way around my body, on and off, pretty much constantly. Sometimes chest pain above the ribs/breasts but not as often. Today I'm having sharp pains in the chest when I inhale.

Patterns and triggers:

virtually no clue. I did allergy testing recently (before diagnosis) and i'm allergic to pet dander/hair, dust mites, mold, ragweed, feathers, mice, etc. But I'm pretty much struggling every single day, regardless of weather or anything else. I'm pretty sure scents are fine? But I do have a strong sort of visceral response to smoke and occasionally to scents but that's rare. It's more of a...disgust? It might honestly just be a fear that it WILL trigger since I still don't know what my triggers are.

Currently my daily life is very severely affected. I think I have eczema or psoriasis. I had a history of sinus issues and was taking an allergy nasal spray and still had significant breathing issues even with it.

Currently on:
Breztri - this barely helps. Still suffering greatly.
Levalbuterol - I hate it. It barely helps at all. I was told to take 2 puffers every 4 hours as needed. I clarified that I need it constantly and they said that's fine??? I take 2+ puffs about 5 days out of the week. some of those are 4 puffs 😞 and the days I don't take it isn't because I didn't want to, it's because I didn't have access to my inhaler that day (lots of stuff going on which means I don't always have it with me currently).

Next steps:
Meeting with my pulmonologist next week and would desperately like advice for what to say, what to ask for, etc. Considering a CT scan, a stress test, etc.

The main issue is I will have no insurance or be very underinsured for about 2 months. I have a big longer until that happens though.

Edit:

When i go to my dr appt soon I am going to ask about:
COPD, Vocal cord dysfunction, more about allergies, pulmonary embolism, heart ultrasound, stress test, coronary heart disease, and EILO.

I was diagnosed with asthma in the fall, and I am currently on symbicort for a maintenance inhaler, and lately ive been needing my inhaler more and more. Its not too bad, but i recently had a bad chest infection and almost went to urgent care. When I have attacks its usually mostly coughing and shortness of breath, and can sometimes be hard to take a proper breath with inhaler. I also have a lot of chest congestion and often cough of mucus. Should I schedule an appointment with my pulmonologist and discuss a nebulizer? I am worried that they won’t think its severe enough and for the most part I’ve been okay with just my inhaler but it gets pretty bad when I am sick. I was also under the impression that they’re mostly used for young kids but recently learned thats not true.

Ive been running a purifier on max right next to my head for six months and still waking up tight-chested and needing my inhaler at like 4am every single night.

i finally figured out it’s the actual mattress. I have one of those standard memory foam beds and apparently they just trap dead skin and moisture forever. so I bought one of those heavy duty allergy encasements that everyone recommends. but ngl it feels like sleeping inside a giant medical diaper. You move one inch and it crinkles, plus it traps all your body heat so you wake up sweating which... guess what, creates the perfect humid environment for the mites anyway. the whole hypoallergenic bedding industry feels like a scam

I got so frustrated I went down a massive rabbit hole about what materials naturally repel mites without needing a plastic straightjacket. apparently dust mites cant survive in wool because it wicks moisture and dries out too fast. ended up ditching the crinkly plastic cover and grabbing a thick topper from home of wool just to create a natural buffer between me and the foam death trap. it actually breathes so im not waking up in a puddle anymore, and my chest feels so much clearer in the mornings

Still incredibly annoyed about the money I wasted on expensive air purifiers that cant do anything about the triggers literally under my spine. just a warning for anyone else who feels like their bedroom air is spotless but they still wake up wheezing. look at what you're actually sleeping on tbh.

I have recently been getting into running for its benefits and my enjoyment, though i’m noticing an issue with me. I already have pretty bad asthma as it is, and I was wondering what would be some helpful breathing tips for me so that I can push-through with the least amount of stops as possible. I want to be able to push past my limit without literally feeling like I’m being suffocated.
Anything helps, I need all sorts of opinions and guidance. I tried posting this in r/running to get advice from other runners too but was removed for being medical.

I've had a bad time of using steroids for my allergies (ex steroid nasal spray actually makes my inflammation worse now), and it's all my allergy office wants to do for my asthma. I know there are non-steroid options, but I don't know what all of them are.

I take 7mg of Zyrtec and 40mg of famotidine daily. I also do Nasalcrom. Most of my eye/nose allergies are controlled, it's just the asthma and eosinaphilic esophagitis that are a problem

Here's what I've tried:

- Spiriva: gave me brain fog/memory problems affecting my work and apparently made my ADHD *much* worse. I thought my partner was exaggerating, but I stopped the medication without telling him and he noticed almost immediately that I was better.

- Singulair: not an option. It didn't make me suicidal, it made me homicidal and paranoid.

-Advair: gave me a pronounced tremor that escalated the longer I was on the medication.

- I have an albuterol inhaler, but I am having issues breathing almost every day now so I only use it when it's really distracting. When I can't breathe I get INSANELY hungry and it's causing me to gain weight.

- ibuprofen with a Mucinex kinda helps.

Any suggestions for non-steroid prescription options would be awesome, thanks!! Sorry, the search doesn't work very well so if there's a post someone could link me to I'd be happy for that.

Ive made 2 previous posts regarding my spirometry results. Report note added to test was “mild obstruction with lung volumes upper limit of normal” . I had an appointment with a respiratory nurse to discuss results. Who basically told me the results didn’t look like typical COPD due to large lung volumes (PEF 141%, FVC 125% and FEV 109% with a fev1/fvc ratio of 0.72 and mfef75/25 69%, all results were within zscore criteria apart from the fev1/fvc being 0.06 out), high and improving fitness levels and symptoms being more linked to upper airways. She then arranged an appointment for me to see a GP to see what the next steps were. Whilst waiting to be seen by GP “mild COPD” was added to my online health record. So a couple of days ago I finally had my GP appointment and challenged the diagnosis to which he apologised and said this was added because all he read was “mild obstruction” and didnt know anything about my background (symptoms, lifestyle, fitness levels, etc) or the actual individual numbers on spirometry. After discussing my race times, symptoms (air hunger, post nasal drip, throat related symptoms and a history of childhood asthma and acid reflux) and low smoke exposure of 3.5pack years (ish) we then looked at the spirometry results, he basically said the “results are very mild” “strong lung volumes bringing the ratio down is plausible”(both my PEF and FVC in the top 1% for my age and height) and could also be a “few differentials causing symptoms - mild asthma, post nasal drip, silent reflux”. He reassured me that this isn’t progressive lung disease and advised me to take antihistamines and omeprazole for a month to see if there’s an improvement. But no follow up or ongoing investigation regarding my lungs. I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced anything similar and if I can finally relax 😂 thanks.

can this cause bad allergies the next day even tho i masked up at the first scent of it

Diagnosed with asthma only a few years ago, but I suspect I’ve had it a lot longer.

Allergist is concerned bc my normal-for-me post nasal drip is not, in fact, normal. And my allergy testing (both this week and two years ago) show that my skin is sensitive but really only allergic to dust (tho even my blood allergy tests didn’t show I was allergic to it).

I’ve had so much post nasal drip for literally decades. As far back as I can remember, I have been able to (out of necessity) position my tongue on the roof of my mouth and suck to snort out the mucous, but it also just falls down my throat. I’m 30 now, this has been going on for well over 20 years. Recently, things have kicked up and the mucous is unrelenting. I’m swallowing multiple times a minute to keep my airways clear.

I am on so many antihistamines (4 daily), Trelegy 200, Singulair, and pepcid. Previously been on PPIs, breo ellipta, etc. My allergist had me (recently) on 6 weeks of antibiotics bc he thought it was a chronic sinus infection. It made zero difference. Used Flonase, ipatroprium, and azelastine, the only one that made a small difference was the last one, though I got nosebleeds way too easily. Also done nettipots to little success.

I’m getting a CT scan soon to check for structural anomalies but yall I am tired. I feel like it’s making my breathing worse, and I finally have gotten my asthma under control.

Does anyone have any tips???? Please I’m begging. Any avenues to explore of weird causes of this constant post nasal drip??? Any tests to ask for??

I have severe asthma, what they call “uncontrolled”. I’m on symbicort 2 puffs twice a day and have a Ventolin inhaler for attacks. I’m a 33 year old female. Anytime I’ve been to the pulmonologist they have had to use the kids machine because they say the adult one doesn’t read my numbers accurately? I’m not a doctor, I’m just repeating what they told me. Anyways, I’ve tried countless meds and it’s still considered “uncontrolled”. I’d like to start taking up running but I’ll jog for 15 seconds and have an asthma attack, taking my inhaler before I run doesn’t prevent this. Is there ANY way to get into running and build my lungs up or am I cooked? Thanks!

I know that there are others here who are kind of paranoid about getting a cold. For me it means 6-8 weeks of asthma and sickness. I have major surgery in a little over two weeks and I am terrified that I am getting a cold! Started all of the preventative measures. I just hope I don’t get sick. I don’t want to have to put this surgery off!!!

It's only like 20 degrees (c) out and I already struggle to breathe to the point where I get heavy brain fog and have to breathe so heavily my shoulders and back start hurting. We have a portable AC but the air that comes out also smells of something and doesn't bring that significant of a betterment. Idk how I'm supposed to survive 1-2 months of potentially 30+ degrees with high humidity.

My doctor says there isn't really anything we can do when it comes to treatment. Only other option I have is another clinic but I seriously doubt they have air conditioning at all so I don't even think I can go before fall.

Idk I guess just wanting to rant. Idk what else I can do. Apparently there's just nothing I can do.

It's getting really hot where I am at and I have a wall unit air conditioner, but it blows dust into my apartment when I turn it on. It is hell on my asthma. I even ran it for a couple days with an air filter in front of it to see if it just had to run its course but it still blows dust. There's no way to clean it out, it doesn't come apart at all. Should I give up and just buy a couple fans? Has anyone delt with this sort of thing before?

It's getting to the point where I have to return 90% of what I buy from Amazon, Target, Costco or Walmart because everything smells so strongly of tide and downy (or Gain!). I am so sick of Downy Butt contaminating everything from vitamins to new clothes. P&G changed all their detergents and fabric softeners in 2025 to make the scents much stronger, and now everything their laundry products are stored near just plain stinks.

I'm a caregiver to a person who is remote and home bound, so we have to use these major retailers. I can't shop elsewhere for everything, these are my main or only choices. CVS and Walgreens have also become problematic, everything from there smells and tastes like laundry products. It's so gross! No way is this safe. We are not supposed to eat laundry detergent, and I don't want to eat food that tastes like laundry detergent either.

The fragrance contamination doesn't wash out of brand new fabrics, even after weeks of trying everything. We are fragrance free because we all have asthma... One in twelve people does too. Plus tons of people have allergies, MCS, autism, Lyme, and other medical conditions and disabilities that cause severe fragrance intolerance are affected. These are not small groups of people.

It's crazy that we can't get anything from any of these major retailers now because of these intense laundry smells, and they don't go away or air out, even with time.

We are getting asthma attacks when we open most amazon (or target, walmart, even costco) packages, the smell is so strong and doesn't air out. I wish all these major retailers would refuse to sell tide, downy, and gain because those products now make everything stored near them stink and taste like chemicals. Nothing gets these smells out now!

Costco used to be safest, but now they sell so many of these laundry scent beads and scented laundry products that everything really reeks. It's not fair to have new things arrive already smelling contaminated like Downy Butt. Nasty!

I've taken advair for YEARS. It works great for me. Recently my doctor wanted me to try Airsupra for a while. I said sure. I've been googling and I'm seeing Airsupra is a rescue inhaler, not a maintenance inhaler. Are doctors using it off-label or is the internet wrong here?

Thanks!