Monday, February 22, 2010

Doubling the Asmanex

Just a quickie update - Peak flow hasn't exceeded 420, and I've been coughing my HEAD OFF.

The pulmonologist told me to try doubling the Asmanex - 2 puffs in the AM, 2 at night.

Hope it works, because I'm actually *sore* from coughing.

...quick question for you more experienced asthmatics...does the cough ever start with an itch or tickle in your throat? I'm congested today, and the cough seems to start there, but then it's pretty convulsive and nonstop, and I typically end up (embarassignly) gagging. Horrible!!!

7 comments:

Kara Hadley said...

Sometime the cough will start as a tickle. Most of the time it feels like I've got a massive amount of mucus in my throat and like if I don't cough I might throw up.
Good luck with the extra meds.

Aimee said...

Wow. That's totally it, Kara. So it's not just post-nasal drip, huh? I wasn't completely misdiagnosed with asthma?

Kara Hadley said...

Unfortunately, no. You sound like a classic asthmatic. Welcome to the club.

Anonymous said...

Have you considered the possibility that it could be both post-nasal drip and asthma? I have allergies and asthma, and my post-nasal drip caused by my allergies will trigger my asthma. Also, allergens in general trigger my asthma (and in the case of two of my food allergies, my only reaction is a very nasty asthma attack ~10 minutes after eating the trigger). If you have known allergies, and you notice that your cough gets worse or you feel more short of breath when your allergies are acting up, consider talking to the doctor about the possibility that you have allergic asthma. If it is allergic asthma, Singulair and/or an over the counter anti-histamine will help a lot.

My cough doesn't usually start with the "tickle in the throat" feeling, but it's so common that a lot of asthma education websites will list a tickle in the throat under the "Asthma Early Warning Signs." Mine typically starts with chest tightness/pain, labored breathing (not so much that I feel short of breath as that I feel it takes more work to move air in and out of my lungs, if that makes sense), and then I start coughing.

Aimee said...

Thank you guys so much!

I'm so used to caring for my kids and reading about *pediatric asthma* that I don't know what the symptoms feel like - only what they look like for my kids!

Thanks again for the advice/tips/feedback.

BTW - I don't really have allergies, apart from cats. Sometimes in the spring I get a little goopy and runny, but that's about it. Generally not even worth medicating, since every known allergy med makes me feel like crap.

Kara Hadley said...

Just a random little tid bit that you may know, but I just stumbled upon-
Grapefruits can interfere with some asthma medicine, causing it not to be properly broken down which causes large deposits of it in the blood stream. This greatly increases the risk of negative side effects.
So, as much as this pains me, I would avoid the grapefruits, at least until you get your asthma controlled.

Aimee said...

Kara - Got it. No grapefruit. Anyway, it's too expensive this season!