Severe asthma…COPD
Question:
>Please excuse my ignorance, what is COPD?
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. One of its forms is known as emphysema. The difference between COPD and asthma is that asthma is typically reversible, while COPD is not. (But the two tend to be treated with similar medications.) "Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off." General Colin Powell
Response:
Please excuse my ignorance, what is COPD? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Have you considered going to National Jewish Medical and Research Center > in Denver, CO. I spent two weeks there in March of 2000. They do > remarkable things with steroid dependent asthmatics. I would be more > than happy to tell you about it if you would like. The phone # is > 1-800-Lung line, or go to their web site. Good luck. > — > Lisa M. DeSavage > Hinsbar Laboratories, Inc. > www.hinsbarlabs.com
Response:
I also have GERD and take meds for that. I took allergie shots for four years every week. I also had to take all carpets and all fabric furniture out of the house they said for good (now I have it all back) I have to vacuum twice a day. Maybe going to the gym every day has something to do with it. There are a lot of mold and dust there. I had to quite a job because of my allergies. she just may have to give this up. It will be hard. I would check it out. the higher the dose of steroid the more likely she will end up with Osterporisis which she does not want, take it from me. I am on theodur 600mg daily, 15 mg prednisone daily, flovent 3 puffs 4 x a day, ventolin in the nebulizer as needed, darvocet 1 4 x a day for chest pain as needed. Sweetie Got questions? Get answers over the phone at Keen.com. Up to 100 minutes free! http://www.keen.com
Response:
>Possible explanations may >include frequent exposure to an unsuspected allergen, GERD, or even >smoking.
Yes she has GERD to a significant degree and is on three meds daily for this. I have suspected and allergy to something we weren’t aware of, but can’t figure out what. And as for smoking..she can’t get anywhere near it. Many times we have encountered people smoking outside of stores and it has sent her into an attack. Thanks for your help. We are keeping in close touch with her Dr. He is very concerned and has me report to him every few days. It is just so frustrating, and I was concerned that she may be having damage to her lungs from everything.
Response:
[this is riding Don's followup since the original doesn't seem to be on my server anymore] > took a treatment,waited 20 min. and did another one. He said not only > did it not improve, but it got worse.
Sometimes treatments can make it worse. It’s a bad side effect of some drug(s) > I don’t understand what is going on.
I have similar problems as your daughter in that meds barely touch the asthma problems I have, but I haven’t gone to full time use of steriod pills. None of the steroid inhalers seem to work. As it is, I take Xopenex, Intal and Atrovent in the nebulizer about 3 times/day, Singulair at night and I’m trying Flovent, but it doesn’t seem to do anything. I was taking Theo too but had to give that up because I needed to take Depakote for other problems. Anyway, my lungs are usually very irritated because I am allergic to everything (all grasses, all trees, all weeds, all molds, dust mites, dogs, cats, birds etc), they also react to any strong odors, or smog or smoke. Yesterday I took my dog for a short walk and thought I wasn’t going to make it back. It was a very humid, hot, ozone-alert day. There’s just no way to escape triggers in my case, unless I live in a bubble or something. It could be the same with your daughter. Is she getting allergy injections? My only hope at the moment is that the allergy shots I’m getting will actually start to work and my lungs won’t be quite so bombarded. > After I got home, I noticed on her reciept he circled both asthma, and > asthma with COPD…not sure what this means and if it was a mistake or > not. She will go back in 1 week , but I am not sure what to ask. I > think that sometimes when we have been with a dr for a long time that > they forget that we still need things explained to us. Any advice.
Just tell him that you don’t understand what COPD is and could he please explain it … or something along those lines. — "In America today, you can publish the most horrible, disgusting photo of someone maimed and mutilated on the front page of every newspaper in the country. And it might even win a Pulitzer Prize. But if you were to publish the photo of the naked human body or two people making love on the front page of a newspaper, you could go to jail for years." — Larry Flynt
Response:
I also have sever asthma and COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulminary Disease) which means not only do you have severe asthma but also either chronic bronchitus or emphyseama. Does you daughter smoke? You should really ask her and ask her to be truthful. I used to smoke thats how I got the COPD. You also have to remember that there are days that will be good and days that will be bad. There are days that I can not walk up stairs and then there are days that if I go slow I can make it. I am also steroid dependant. You might also ask your doctor about Methotraxate which is a cancer drug that also helps asthmatics get down on their steroid dependancy. I used to have to take 30mg daily then I went on Metho. and within two years I was able to go down to 15mg daily with out any problems. also do you have a (lung) pulomanary doctor if not maybe you should go see one. Not all asthma is related to allergies. That is only part of mine. sometimes I just have attacks just because. Good Luck Got questions? Get answers over the phone at Keen.com. Up to 100 minutes free! http://www.keen.com
Response:
>Does you daughter >smoke? You should really ask her and ask her to be truthful. I
I am positive that she doesn’t smoke. She can’t be in a room with someone that smokes. She can’t even be in a room where someone has smoked…..besides she is a gymnast and spends her full day at the gym(even schools there)>You might also ask your doctor about >Methotraxate which is a cancer drug that also helps asthmatics >get down on their steroid dependancy
I’ll check into that. > also do >you have a (lung) pulomanary doctor if not maybe you should go >see one. Not all asthma is related to allergies. That is only >part of mine. sometimes I just have attacks just because.
yes she has a pulmo, but has done better and relates better to her allergist. He treats her asthma from all points of view. She also has GERD and is on meds for that. I think stress plays a big roll as well
Response:
While there are a few people out there with asthma that just stays this poorly controlled this more frequently indicates that there’s something else going on to make it poorly controlled. Possible explanations may include frequent exposure to an unsuspected allergen, GERD, or even smoking. Other explanations could even be other diseases aside from asthma such as sarcoidosis, among others. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I have posted several times about my daughter and have had some very helpful > answers/advice. She is 16severe asthmatic , steroid dependent. When we came > down from 60 to 40 mg on her pred. this week, her symptoms started to worsen. > Last night she got really bad and her peak flows got very low(160-she can blow > 400, but hasn’t been ther in a long tome,so we are happy with 300)She was doing > Xopenex in neb q /3hrs. After treatment, it came up to 210-220. Her allergist > was on call, so I called him. He was upset and told me she needed to go to the > hospital. I have seen her worse, so I asked him if he felt there were anything > we could try. He said to add more pred. and do the neb as often as needed..come > in the office today. Now to my??. When she went in she had turned around and > was much better. He said she didn’t sound bad, but when he did a spirogram, it > was not good. She took a treatment,waited 20 min. and did another one. He said > not only did it not improve, but it got worse. She is on many meds, so the only > thing left to try was going to 50 mg of pred before going to 40 again. I also > was concerned because the attack seemed to get worse after she had taken > Trisalicylate which he had given her in place of advil which makes her wheeze. > He said to dc that. This is the 2nd time in a month that her spiromrtry didn’t > improve after meds, however, just 8 days ago she was in with a bad flare and > her spirometry improved tremendously. I don’t understand what is going on. > After I got home, I noticed on her reciept he circled both asthma, and asthma > with COPD…not sure what this means and if it was a mistake or not. She will > go back in 1 week , but I am not sure what to ask. I think that sometimes when > we have been with a dr for a long time that they forget that we still need > things explained to us. Any advice. Sorry for the length of this post.
– Don Elton Columbia, SC http://www.midcarolina.org
Response:
Have you considered going to National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, CO. I spent two weeks there in March of 2000. They do remarkable things with steroid dependent asthmatics. I would be more than happy to tell you about it if you would like. The phone # is 1-800-Lung line, or go to their web site. Good luck. — Lisa M. DeSavage Hinsbar Laboratories, Inc. www.hinsbarlabs.com
Response:
I have posted several times about my daughter and have had some very helpful answers/advice. She is 16severe asthmatic , steroid dependent. When we came down from 60 to 40 mg on her pred. this week, her symptoms started to worsen. Last night she got really bad and her peak flows got very low(160-she can blow 400, but hasn’t been ther in a long tome,so we are happy with 300)She was doing Xopenex in neb q /3hrs. After treatment, it came up to 210-220. Her allergist was on call, so I called him. He was upset and told me she needed to go to the hospital. I have seen her worse, so I asked him if he felt there were anything we could try. He said to add more pred. and do the neb as often as needed..come in the office today. Now to my??. When she went in she had turned around and was much better. He said she didn’t sound bad, but when he did a spirogram, it was not good. She took a treatment,waited 20 min. and did another one. He said not only did it not improve, but it got worse. She is on many meds, so the only thing left to try was going to 50 mg of pred before going to 40 again. I also was concerned because the attack seemed to get worse after she had taken Trisalicylate which he had given her in place of advil which makes her wheeze. He said to dc that. This is the 2nd time in a month that her spiromrtry didn’t improve after meds, however, just 8 days ago she was in with a bad flare and her spirometry improved tremendously. I don’t understand what is going on. After I got home, I noticed on her reciept he circled both asthma, and asthma with COPD…not sure what this means and if it was a mistake or not. She will go back in 1 week , but I am not sure what to ask. I think that sometimes when we have been with a dr for a long time that they forget that we still need things explained to us. Any advice. Sorry for the length of this post.
Response:
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