Scared

Hi, sorry to hear you are having a rough time with your Asthma, my own was only diagnosed about 4 years ago (about age 47) after a couple of years of various breathing issues. Once diagnosedan treated it was v stable.  Until last September that is when i had 3 a 4 chest infections incl. pneumonia which knocked me sideways.

my GP referred me to respiratory specialist consultant who diagnosed acute Asthma and Eosinophilia, and we appear to have it on the back foot after 12 months constantly adjusting medication, plus getting a lot more exercise and losing a few kG has helped a great deal, using a gym helps me a great deal.

dont let your PF measurements stress you, sounds a bit like some anxiety issue, which i can understand, just do 2 measurements and record both for your Dr, chart your best results AM and PM.

i now take much better care of myself, exercise and diet wise, but also I see my GP straight away if i suspect i may hace an infection again.  My breathing difficlties last year scared the daylights out of me, being a non smoker and needing a nebuliser to breath is v scary as i am sure you know too well

The thought of another attack keeps me focused on changing my diet / exercise and general lifestyle together with the medications to help fight asthma as best i can.

Winter is always worst for me

Hi dondons it's scary to cope with but you have to find a way to be calm that will help. So taking your peak flow as suggested below am and pm then concentrating on other things. There are some good apps for breathing on the App Store one does breathing for 15 seconds which is just what you need to calmyourself. I think it's called mindful. Keep your medihalers with you all the time then your mind knows they are there and that is soothing. I keep a set in the car and in my handbag. Don't worry and keep asking questions if you are worried this forum is brilliant 

Hi Dondon, I also got late onset asthmaa when I was just 40  y/o; started off a persistent silly cough.. I also live with Athetiod Cerebral Palsy plus depression and anxiety too, so handling inhalers is extremely difficult.. It's taken years to find an inhaler that is relatively easy to use and keeps my asthma well controlled, but now I have I feel so much more back in control..  Don't get too hung up with the peek flow readings as I have great difficulty getting a good result too, mainly because of anxiety giving poor breathe control..

Like already mentioned - always use your huffers first thing every morning and least thing at night/bedtime and try not to worry about your asthma.. Keep a spear set of huffers in the car and either a day pack or handbag, so you know you're going to be well prepared if needed.. My specialest told me to worst thing for asthma was stress and worry...  look after yourself, exercise is great and take extra care to wrap up well when the weather turns cold and windy (I often wear a scarf over my face) to help too..  A good Dr is your best friend when living with asthma, so try and find a good GP that understands your asthma needs well.. 

We are all here to help if or when needed Dondon, so please don't ever feel you're dealing with this alone..

Take care and enjoy life  and keep us posted how well you're coping.. 

Hi, thank you for your replies, i got diagnosed 5 years ago at the age of 27 and has been downhill for me ever since I Was diagnosed, I've had several chest infections and have also had pneumonia, I've been an out patient at respiratory too.

I now have an asthma nurse who I see at my surgery, I do keep a diary of my peak flow readings and there doesn't seem to be a time of the day that it gets better or worse, seems to be just random, the thing with me is my asthma deteriotes really quickly so I think that's why I panic when my readings are slightly low.

Doctors talked about giving me a nebuliser for at home but then decided against it as they said they'd rather me ring for an ambulance straight away because of how unstable my Asthma can be

The winter months are worse for me but a lot of the time I feel it's stress related, I live with my 5 children and suffer from depression too which is hard, I keep my inhalers with me at all times, I have one in my handbag, one under my pillow and one downstairs at home, I have my ventilin and symbicort, I'm on and off steroids, have tried probably every inhaler there is, I've also had montilucast tablets but nothing seems to really help x 

hi thank you everyone for your comments, I'm sorry I've not written back ive not been feeling great the past few days, I'm definitely going to look into a salt lamp Mike thank you, if never heard of it before x 

Can I ask what are people's low peak flow readings? 

I mean on a good day mine can close to 400 but lately I struggle to reach 200-250, and has been lower some mornings and nights, I've been taking extra puffs of my symbicort and a lot of my ventilin through my spacer, have been told by doctors that if it's bad to take 10 puffs through my spacer, which does help a bit at the time but also makes my heart race which then can cause anxiety, feel like I'm going round in circles from anxiety attacks to asthma attacks, I've just got a feeling that I'm going to have a bad attack soon, I know that sounds silly but had this feeling a couple of times before and Have been right x 

I have low peek flows too, my average is around 200, often lower so no need to worry. You need to learn de-stress techequs; relaxation therapy, meditation, deep slow breathing/belly breathing or even a quiet walk in the garden can do wonders for stress.. I know as I have to cope with very high stress levels and anxiety (my wife is very il with secondry cancer), so had to learn these de-stress techequs too..

I've forgotten the name but my asthma taught me to breathe through your nose as it's a good way to slow your breathing rate, plus it helps to warm up the air before it gets into your lungs on cold days.. Also, Symbicort has a steroid in it so that's why your heart is racing, just don't over do it..

Talk to your asthma nurse Dondons as they are taught all these coping techequs and are specially trained in stress management...