Guest The Pom Queen Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 No I don't find it serious as in I'm not going to stop breathing or anything, it's just it could obviously be something long term and that's why they want to investigate. Then again it could just be something like being too unfit or maybe I've got some sort of chest infection. I really don't know but I would hope if they thought it was anything really serious they would send me right down to the hospital for X-ray or tell me to post phone trip. I've got a ventilator inhaler now so that should help a bit for any bad days and then I'll get to the doctor ASAP I have a nebuliser etc if you need anything once here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 Haha I'll come and borrow your medical stuff lol. I've got one of those things that you put the inhaler into and it helps you breathe it in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 if there is anything serious they would refer you to a specialist now to go on the public system forget it, unless it's cancer you will be waiting months, the best is to go private, If she wasn't in Sydney I might agree, but the Asthma Clinic in Royal Prince Alfred is one of the best in the world. I went to a couple of private specialists before discovering it (actually it was a British doctor who told me about it!), and the treatment I got there was totally different to anything the others had said, and it made a world of difference to my asthma - I have never had an attack since (touch wood). Yes, there is a wait, but any competent Australian GP should be able to get Stacey on a suitable preventer to get by in the meantime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 I probably shouldn't have googled the problems associated with restricted patterns. Google convinces you you're going to croak it lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 (edited) It was asthma nurse and yes she made me do 2 different sets of tests. The first without a inhaler and the second with ventolin. They said there was a slight difference but not that much and she referred me to the doctor. So it was the doctor that said last night that there wasn't much change but I had a restrictive pattern that needs investigated. OK that makes sense. One of the big problems with asthmatics is that we're not always aware of how breathless we are - we get used to being slightly chesty all the time, and we start thinking it's normal. So the first "blow" was to see what your everyday level was like - which the doctor says hasn't changed much. The second "blow" is to see how responsive you are to the Ventolin medication. IF you used the inhaler with correct technique (and that can be a big if - did the nurse check your technique first?), then you should've been able to blow much better after taking it. It sounds like the Ventolin didn't make much difference. Ventolin should help asthma, but it doesn't work so well for some other lung problems. So that's what your doctor is worried about. There was a lot of stink about doctors failing to diagnose COPD and mistreating it a while ago, so now they're all ultra-anxious to make sure they don't miss it! Having said that, your result does NOT mean it's likely that you have anything serious. One possibility is bronchitis, which doesn't respond to Ventolin well either. Or maybe one puff of Ventolin wasn't enough - in Australia we're now advised to always take TWO puffs, waiting for a minute between. That's because if you're really breathless, all the first puff does is relax your airways slightly, and then the second puff can get all the way down into your lungs and relieve the attack. In fact the protocol in schools is to give THREE puffs, one minute apart, because kids don't always have good technique. Always remember to hold your breath for a while after taking a puff, and always watch the "chimney" when you take a puff (in a mirror is easier so you don't go cross-eyed!) - if you can see any spray going upwards, you did it wrong. Edited October 28, 2015 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 So since I started this thread my breathing got quite a bit worse and coughing a lot. Phoned the doctors tonight and told them that and that I wasn't happy that neither the nurse or doctor had even listened to my chest. They wouldn't give me an appointment but said the doctor would ring. Doctor phoned me back so I explained the same to him and that I've been coughing so much today that it hurts. I told him that the coughing that lead to the asthma check had really started since I had a bad cold and that I had told the others that too. He said it could be a chest infection so he left a prescription for antibiotic for it. he also said that my spirometry results weren't that abnormal but my lungs definitely aren't exhaling as much as they should and he still advised that I get it checked if I still feel the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 If it is a chest infection then that would have affected the spirometry results so let's hope that's what it was! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 Fingers crossed. So I'm on 3 antibiotics a day. I bought a good chesty cough bottle before I got those. So I'll see how I am after this course Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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