I am a 58 year old female, smoked for many years but gave up 23 years ago. I had a bad episode with my breathing after having tonsillitus in Feb this year. My doctor has told me i have asthma! I have had a spyrometry test done, results were all normal. i had previously had an xray showing my lungs were larger than normal but otherwise clear. Although my breathing and chest have eased a lot over the months i still have a crackle on inhaliing and a wheeze (sort of) when exhaling. My lungs feel as though the last third has been cut off, just cant exhale as i used to. I do get out of breath slightly when walkiing. I have a blue inhaler and to be honest i don't kknow if it helps. Should i ask for further tests? i am beginning to get get worried over not being diagnosed properly and not getting the correct treatment which can slow down copd.
Hang on a minute you said you have been diagnosed with asthma not copd. They are different. If your spirometry shows you do not have copd but asthma then it should be accurate.
With asthma the condition is reversible with the right meds but with copd it is not. As you are an ex smoker it is possible it could turn into copd in time, but the way to help avoid this is to lead a healthy lifestyle with a good diet and exercise.
You should get a review every year with an asthma nurse but if you are worried go back to your doctors.
I have asthma as well as copd and the crackle and wheezing are typical of asthma. Your blue inhaler should help as this is standard asthma treatment. It is possible you might need more meds to help open your airways but the blue one should be used as and when needed as it is a preventer. Maybe you need to use it more? But if you are worried go back to your dr please. x
Hi I have asthma Bronchietis a and emphasyma copd ,can is just say the blu inhaler is a RELEIVER ,,,,and not a PREVENTER,
thanks for your reply, the reason i am worried is that my symptoms are continuous, they alter during the day and night but are always there, is this the same with asthma? I thought asthma came and went? sorry for my ignorance.
ohh thanks for that. Wow you have plenty to deal with yourself, have you discovered any particular ways to help you condition?
NB: General Reply/comment: Could contributors please stop referring to their medications by the colour of the container? It doesn't increase the knowledge of the rest of us, it only adds to the confusion.
Recently I asked twice what a Purple something or other is with no reply, now I'm reading about blue inhalers - Ventolin or what?
It does surprise me that people know what they're putting into their bodies by the colour of the container rather than the technical name on the prescription: am I strange that I look up medications before I even get the script made up for negative effects, contraindications with other medical conditions, etc.? The one time I didn't bother I discovered later that a moronic gp (not my regular one) who knew of my cardiac history had prescribed me something which the manufacturer specifically states should never be prescribed for anyone with that history.
Sorry if this bit of a rant annoys people, but I'm more than annoyed by irresponsible medical people and somewhat puzzled by the occasional vague contributions on this site.
Because the blue inhaler is a ventolin standard treatment and people (not just me) often refer to it as blue rather than auto inhalers ventolin for short. It's a short cut which I assume everyone with lung diseas knows what it is. Obviously you don't but you are the only sufferer I have known who doesn't!
Why don't you look up all the technical terms and exactly what each inhaler does and post it on here for us so no one makes the same 'mistake' in future?
I've already tried that with no success. I have COPD and I know the names of the medications I'm using. Ventolin was tested when I had the spirometry tests to diagnose emphysema and it doesn't make any difference to my condition, and I was told this is the case with anyone whose COPD isn't caused by asthma.
I don't see why it's up to me to research what other people are using and the point I'm making is that using such vague terms as "blue" or "purple" doesn't give anyone else enough information to do any research.
If I stated on here that I use a white inhaler and a grey one and how they affect me, that wouldn't be helpful to other people without the actual brand names, would it?
Hi I just want to say use Ventalin inhaler I have asthma copd ,
Hi ,I found that exersise is the best thing for me ,I did the pulmary rehab course back in 2008 and I continued to go to the gym twice a week concentrating on the treadmil mainly today I did 2&1/2 Klm in 33 minutes ,ask GP for a referral to pulmary rehab ,you will soon see the benefits ,best wishes .
Hmmm....sorry Hypercat....I had a spirometry about 4 years ago (at age 69) and the GP I had at that time told me I had asthma. 4 years later when my condition worsened I went to a different GP and he said "I find it hard to believe that at age 69 you suddenly developed asthma; however, there is something going on and we're going to find out what is wrong." This GP had spent 7 years working at the Jewish National Hospital in Denver Colorado with patients that have lung disodrders. I was THEN sent to have a CT scan and was PROPERLY diagnosed with COPD. Therefore, 4 years of my life were wasted on not being treated properly. I really feel that the spirometry does not tell all.
That is exactly what i am afraid of, being told its asthma when its the start of COPD and not being treated correctly. I don't know if having asthma affects your breathing all the time or just occasionally? Thinking of your health is nerve wracking!
I don't think the problem is necessarily with the spirometry test but with how yr first gp interpreted it. When I had the test the first time and it showed diminished lung function, the nurse immediately repeated it with ventolin to check if asthma was the cause. The ventolin made no difference, so asthma was ruled out and the diagnosis was emphysema.
Yes, Jude..........that is what I meant to indicate about the spirometry. I KNEW that it was the GP that gave the wrong diagnosis. At the time, rather than just "guess" that I had asthma, he should have followed up with additional tests etc. Sorry if I made anyone think that the spirometry was faulty. 
Thanks for clarification: it was yr last sentence which indicated that the fault was with the test itself rather than whoever interpreted it.
Dont get hung up on finding out if you have Copd or Asthma, treatments are very similar if not the same in many cases.
In any event it progresses slowly if you look after yourself.
If you have normal spirometry you likely have nothing to worry about.
Hello, someone told me that if we have a wheeze, pay special attention to that wheeze. If you hear it when breathing in, then it could possibly indicate that you have Asthma. But, if you hear it when exhaling, then it could possibly indicate that you have Emphysema. I know this may sound silly, but I think it may really indicate something, since with Emphysema, we can't expel air, and with Asthma, we can. Just wanted to share this with everyone.
Thank you for that basic interesting information, it sounds totallyh logical to me. As I understand it, in emphysema we can't breathe out fully because carbon dioxide gets trapped in the damaged aviolli, which leaves less room to breathe in the next lot of oxygen.
I'm assuming this is the reason why the pursed lips breathing, forcing the air out, is so helplful for our general wellbeing and why taking deep breaths in doesn't help. The only time I take in deep breaths is when I do an old yoga exercise I've found improves my breathing for the rest of the day: I fill my lungs as full as possible and pant it out through pursed lips, at least 20 pants and sometimes I can get up to 40. I discovered this by accident last year: the exercise works on the diaphragm and was supposed to result in a flat stomach, which definitely hasn't worked for me after more than 40 years of doing it!
Give it a try you emphysema people out there, I'd be really interested to know if it works for other people too. I"m def not imagining it, I've monitored how much further I can walk without getting out of breath compared to when I haven't done it that day.
Jude. thank you for sharing that...I would love to find something to make my stomach flatter..lol!
Yes, with pursed lip breathing, we breath in through our noses, for a count of 2, but when expelling the air that we breathed in, we expell it for a count of 6.
I really do think it helps to push out the CO2 too. My doctor says that this can't be done, that once the CO2 is inside our lungs, then it does not leave. That is scary, and I prefer to believe what my re-hab has taught and told me..lol.
One time while visiting my doctor, my blood test showed that my CO2 level made a significant improvement. He didn't know what to say about why that happened. All I know is that I began Pursed Lip Breathing every day, just like my re-hab tech informed me to do. I did it many times a day too, since she informed me to, and she was right too.
Also, my she taught me something that not only helps CO2, but also helps strenghten the diaphrame. Sh told me to add something to the purse lip breathing technique, and that is, whenever I expell the air, to also pull in my stomach. Pull in the stomach every time the air is expelled. I have been doing that and I love it, since I feel like my respiratory muscles work better or something.
I am going to try what you referred to, because I mostly want it for relaxation, plus the diaphrame. I did try it, and you are right, it is sooo relaxing..ty!
You've confirmed what I've believed for a while, that rehab people know HEAPS more than most doctors: so does he really believe whatever CO2 was in our lungs when we contracted emphysema is still there? That's ridiculous!
If you do the breathing the way I described, the stomach & diaphragm contract without you having to do it: presumably that's why it's supposed to flatten the stomach which it definitely didn't do for me - hope you have better luck, but I've decided stomachs weren't meant to be flat anyway, so no point worrying about it!