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Hello I Am 35 Yrs Old And I Have Had
Question: Hello
I am 35 yrs old and I have had asthma since the age of 5. I usually take symbicort(preventative ) and bricanyl( when I feel wheezy). Within the past week or so I’ve been feeling a shortness of breath and neither of my usual inhalers make it any better.
I went to the doctors and they prescribed me atriovent to eke when I feel a shortness in breath and they also prescribed me some prednisolone 20 tablets once a day for 5 days. After doing the above for 5 days there’s still no improvement .
I went back to the doctors Nd they gave me 2 doses of neubalizer and an antihistamine via injection- still no change
They then said thT I should take metrovent but I’ve declined it because I think I’ve taken too much already .
Why would you suggest I do next ? I still have. Shortness in breath
I am 35 yrs old and I have had asthma since the age of 5. I usually take symbicort(preventative ) and bricanyl( when I feel wheezy). Within the past week or so I’ve been feeling a shortness of breath and neither of my usual inhalers make it any better.
I went to the doctors and they prescribed me atriovent to eke when I feel a shortness in breath and they also prescribed me some prednisolone 20 tablets once a day for 5 days. After doing the above for 5 days there’s still no improvement .
I went back to the doctors Nd they gave me 2 doses of neubalizer and an antihistamine via injection- still no change
They then said thT I should take metrovent but I’ve declined it because I think I’ve taken too much already .
Why would you suggest I do next ? I still have. Shortness in breath
Brief Answer:
Does not sound like typical asthma
Detailed Answer:
Hello, I'm Dr. Branch,
Thanks for using Ask a Doctor.
It is quite strange that you have not responded to any of the usual treatment for asthma, especially the steroids. This makes me think that perhaps something other than asthma is causing your shortness of breath.
I would suggest talking with your doctor about getting some basic labs done, looking for causes of shortness of breath such as anemia and thyroid problems. I would also check your spirometry if not done recently to see if this shortness of breath is being caused by constriction in your airways or not. A chest x-ray and EKG would also be reasonable to look for other causes.
Based on those tests, another testing may be indicated, such as pulmonary function testing, or possibly a CT scan of the chest.
I hope that you can get this figured out soon with your doctors.
Please let me know if you have any questions about any of the above, and I would be glad to discuss it with you further.
Does not sound like typical asthma
Detailed Answer:
Hello, I'm Dr. Branch,
Thanks for using Ask a Doctor.
It is quite strange that you have not responded to any of the usual treatment for asthma, especially the steroids. This makes me think that perhaps something other than asthma is causing your shortness of breath.
I would suggest talking with your doctor about getting some basic labs done, looking for causes of shortness of breath such as anemia and thyroid problems. I would also check your spirometry if not done recently to see if this shortness of breath is being caused by constriction in your airways or not. A chest x-ray and EKG would also be reasonable to look for other causes.
Based on those tests, another testing may be indicated, such as pulmonary function testing, or possibly a CT scan of the chest.
I hope that you can get this figured out soon with your doctors.
Please let me know if you have any questions about any of the above, and I would be glad to discuss it with you further.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Arnab Banerjee
Answered by
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