Severe Asthma Attack
Question:
See also Chest, 1992 pages 1357-61, 1360 "In addition, circumstantial evidence exists to suggest that the inspiratory muscles may suffer damage during an acute asthmatic attack that may lead to acute respiratory failure."
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Actually Allison, severe attacks can cause permanent lung damage by creating > areas of scar tissue in the lungs.
Response:
Thank you all for responding to my recent problem on Friday evening. I did go see my doctor today and he told me that my lungs are full of fluid and he is concerned because my heart is still beating so rapidly. He put me on Methylprednisolone 4mg, amoxicillin 500mg and more albuterol.He told me that since it is the only severe asthma attack that I have had, I don’t need a daily mantenance program and to stick with the albuterol when I need it. The Methylprednisolone is supposed to help get rid of the fluid I guess and the amoxicillin is supposed to help in case I develop pnemonia (sp?). He said that since I only passed out for a few minutes, that he isn’t concerned with any heart, lung or kidney damage. I still feel such a tightness in my chest and am having a hard time breathing. Does anyone know how fast Methylprednisolone works? He told me to just take it easy and to call if I don’t improve in the next couple of days. I can’t believe how worn out I feel. It was so hard to do any work at the office today. Thanks again, Pam
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> i consider email and newsgroup postings informal documents. i don’t bother > with capitalization because it is too hard without a little finger on one > hand to hit the shift key. for memos and letters, on the other hand, i > attempt to correct grammer, spelling, case and punctuation.
Geez, lady, you can’t talk about how enamored you are with standard grammar and mipsell the very word itself. Don’t go to the trouble of using upper case and you will be considered a trivial writer, always, by everyone. When it comes to standard grammar (grammar), the only "informal" documents should be your grocery lists. You should show enough respect for your readers not to slur your pronouns at them. Critical readers don’t really care if you have *no* little fingers; they only care for the quality of your product. I only use two fingers, but I hope and hope they will produce recognizable English grammar (grammar, grammar), and you should clock the time it takes for me to write one of these little notes. Grim! It may take you longer to practice what you preach, but you should not talk about standard construction and grammar (grammar) unless you are willing to devote your attention and your time to it yourself; don’t just casually expose yourself. archie was the only famous author who never used upper case, but we all know the reason for that. Larry, shuddering. I believe you meant to say "attempt to *use* standard grammar (grammar)" rather than "attempt to correct grammer," didn’t you. Lp
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>When I answered the young lady I thought of telling her that another reason >to proofread before posting to this group was Penmart. I forgot about Bob. > Larry > Well I never…. :)
Oh, yes you do (as often as you can)!
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I would think you definitely need to see your doctor. Then maybe not if you are having this severe symptom and all you are on is an Abuterol inhaler. Usually combinations of medications, including inhalers and tablets to better control severe problems. May be time to look elsewhere than just a medical doctor.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> On Friday evening I believe that I had my first severe asthma attack. I had > trouble breathing until I passed out. Once I started coming around a kind > person gave me my inhaler and I started to feel a little better. On Saturday > and today, I am still having problems breathing normally. I can’t even walk > across the room without being out of breath. I am using my inhaler more now > than I have ever in the past. > Do severe asthma attacks usually last a few days to recover? Can anyone tell me > if I could have permanent lung damage because of this attack? > I am planning on calling my doctor on Monday if I don’t start breathing > normally again.The only medication that I take is albuterol. > Thank you. > Pam
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>i also appreciate correct grammer. my roommates in college always laughed >when i answered a phone request by name, "This is she." Altough i get lazy >sometimes, i admit to a pet peeve when i read improper grammer in formal >documents.
Roommates laughing at you again? Are you distracted by their loud guffaws and ruckus each time you answer the phone, "This is she?" Well, she need not endure her grammatical gauntlet any longer. Train your pet peeves with this proper grammar reinforcement device: http://www.fishock.com/catalog/5prods.htm
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> i also appreciate correct grammer. my roommates in college always laughed > when i answered a phone request by name, "This is she." Altough i get lazy > sometimes, i admit to a pet peeve when i read improper grammer in formal > documents.
I am glad you feel that way, but if you do, you should do a bit of a check after you write something and before you post it. I notice three mipsellings, and must tell you that the first person personal pronoun is always put in upper case; people have used lower case in an attempt to be cute, but it really doesn’t work if you are communicating with people who love the language. You might want to rework "i admit to a pet peeve when i read improper grammer." It takes some work and it takes some practice, but the results of the effort can be rewarding. Good for you. Larry
Response:
>> i also appreciate correct grammer. my roommates in college always laughed > when i answered a phone request by name, "This is she." Altough i get lazy > sometimes, i admit to a pet peeve when i read improper grammer in formal > documents. > Roommates laughing at you again? Are you distracted by their loud > guffaws and ruckus each time you answer the phone, "This is she?" > Well, she need not endure her grammatical gauntlet any longer. > Train your pet peeves with this proper grammar reinforcement device: > http://www.fishock.com/catalog/5prods.htm
When I answered the young lady I thought of telling her that another reason to proofread before posting to this group was Penmart. I forgot about Bob. Larry
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>When I answered the young lady I thought of telling her that another reason >to proofread before posting to this group was Penmart. I forgot about Bob. > Larry
Well I never…. :)
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i consider email and newsgroup postings informal documents. i don’t bother with capitalization because it is too hard without a little finger on one hand to hit the shift key. for memos and letters, on the other hand, i attempt to correct grammer, spelling, case and punctuation. BTW i like "mipsellings". thanks
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> i also appreciate correct grammer. my roommates in college always laughed > when i answered a phone request by name, "This is she." Altough i get lazy > sometimes, i admit to a pet peeve when i read improper grammer in formal > documents. > I am glad you feel that way, but if you do, you should do a bit of a check > after you write something and before you post it. I notice three > mipsellings, and must tell you that the first person personal pronoun is > always put in upper case; people have used lower case in an attempt to be > cute, but it really doesn’t work if you are communicating with people who > love the language. You might want to rework "i admit to a pet peeve when i > read improper grammer." It takes some work and it takes some practice, but > the results of the effort can be rewarding. Good for you. > Larry
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> On Friday evening I believe that I had my first severe asthma attack. I had > trouble breathing until I passed out. Once I started coming around a kind > person gave me my inhaler and I started to feel a little better. On Saturday > and today, I am still having problems breathing normally. I can’t even walk > across the room without being out of breath. I am using my inhaler more now > than I have ever in the past. > Do severe asthma attacks usually last a few days to recover? Can anyone tell me > if I could have permanent lung damage because of this attack? > I am planning on calling my doctor on Monday if I don’t start breathing > normally again.The only medication that I take is albuterol.
Next time, call 911 and get thee hence to an ER. People DIE from asthma attacks. Sue – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Thank you. > Pam
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i also appreciate correct grammer. my roommates in college always laughed when i answered a phone request by name, "This is she." Altough i get lazy sometimes, i admit to a pet peeve when i read improper grammer in formal documents.
<snip> > > – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> "There is a variety…" Thank you for this bit of correct grammatical > usage. > Thank you. > Larry > Thanks for noticing. You seem to appreciate the music of the English > language as well as I. I am often ‘corrected’ for using this construct. Of > course, when I use ‘for her and me’, some hapless soul usually insists that > it should be ‘for her and I’.
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->> On Friday evening I believe that I had my first severe asthma attack. I > had >> trouble breathing until I passed out. Once I started coming around a kind >> person gave me my inhaler and I started to feel a little better. On > Saturday >> and today, I am still having problems breathing normally. I can’t even > walk >> across the room without being out of breath. I am using my inhaler more > now >> than I have ever in the past. >> Do severe asthma attacks usually last a few days to recover? Can anyone > tell me >> if I could have permanent lung damage because of this attack? >> I am planning on calling my doctor on Monday if I don’t start breathing >> normally again.The only medication that I take is albuterol. >> Thank you. >> Pam > Your asthma is not controlled, and you need to be on a ‘preventer’ med. > There is a variety of steroidal inhalers–Flovent, QVar, etc. that work to > reduce the underlying inflammation. Also, Advair combines a long-acting > bronchodilator with a steroid. Always keep your albuterol rescue med on > hand, and please don’t wait so long to medicate again. You never know how > severe an attack will be. > "There is a variety…" Thank you for this bit of correct grammatical usage. > Thank you. > Larry
Thanks for noticing. You seem to appreciate the music of the English language as well as I. I am often ‘corrected’ for using this construct. Of course, when I use ‘for her and me’, some hapless soul usually insists that it should be ‘for her and I’.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> The current protocols call for reducing the dose of inhaled steroid tot he > lowest possible amount while maintaining good control (i.e. 3 or fewer > attacks per week, 2 or fewer awakenings per month, etc). For some this > allows the steroid to be stopped or never started. > That seems like a risky strategy to me. Because even with a patient > whose asthma is apparently well-controlled, you never know what new > triggers she may be exposed to in the future. > Remember the infamous Hong Kong Flu of 1968? Not only didn’t the shot > protect against it that year, but it was one of the nastiest flu bugs to > come along in decades. Tens of thousands of deaths. Even a repetition > of something as bad as the 1918 influenza pandemic, isn’t out of the > question some day. > Care to guess what such bugs could do to asthmatics who don’t take > preventive meds? If such a flu epidemic occurs, then EVERY asthmatic > should start on preventive meds prophylactically–even if their symptoms > are already under good control.
In the World of What If we can never protect ourselves adequately. There must be a point of diminishing returns beyond which all becomes obsession. CBI’s strategy seems to work very well in this world. Larry
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> The current protocols call for reducing the dose of inhaled steroid tot he > lowest possible amount while maintaining good control (i.e. 3 or fewer > attacks per week, 2 or fewer awakenings per month, etc). For some this > allows the steroid to be stopped or never started.
That seems like a risky strategy to me. Because even with a patient whose asthma is apparently well-controlled, you never know what new triggers she may be exposed to in the future. Remember the infamous Hong Kong Flu of 1968? Not only didn’t the shot protect against it that year, but it was one of the nastiest flu bugs to come along in decades. Tens of thousands of deaths. Even a repetition of something as bad as the 1918 influenza pandemic, isn’t out of the question some day. Care to guess what such bugs could do to asthmatics who don’t take preventive meds? If such a flu epidemic occurs, then EVERY asthmatic should start on preventive meds prophylactically–even if their symptoms are already under good control. — Steven D. Litvintchouk
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> Your asthma is not controlled, and you need to be on a ‘preventer’ med. > There is a variety of steroidal inhalers–Flovent, QVar, etc. that work to > reduce the underlying inflammation. > I’m puzzled. > I thought that prescribing a "preventer" med is a routine step with > asthmatics these days. > Does the standard treatment protocol for asthma still involve > prescribing ONLY albuterol for mild asthmatics in some cases? I thought > that albuterol-only treatment was obsolete.
The current protocols call for reducing the dose of inhaled steroid tot he lowest possible amount while maintaining good control (i.e. 3 or fewer attacks per week, 2 or fewer awakenings per month, etc). For some this allows the steroid to be stopped or never started. In this case it sounds like the poster may have been mild enough to not warrant preventative meds. Since the severity as well as the frequency of attacks should be considered this one should give pause to serious reconsidering of not prescribing an inhaled steroid. I agree with the other posters that if the symptoms are that persistent then a trip to the ER or a call to the doc is in order. — CBI, MD
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> On Friday evening I believe that I had my first severe asthma attack. I > had > trouble breathing until I passed out. Once I started coming around a kind > person gave me my inhaler and I started to feel a little better. On > Saturday > and today, I am still having problems breathing normally. I can’t even > walk > across the room without being out of breath. I am using my inhaler more > now > than I have ever in the past. > Do severe asthma attacks usually last a few days to recover? Can anyone > tell me > if I could have permanent lung damage because of this attack? > I am planning on calling my doctor on Monday if I don’t start breathing > normally again.The only medication that I take is albuterol. > Thank you. > Pam > Your asthma is not controlled, and you need to be on a ‘preventer’ med. > There is a variety of steroidal inhalers–Flovent, QVar, etc. that work to > reduce the underlying inflammation. Also, Advair combines a long-acting > bronchodilator with a steroid. Always keep your albuterol rescue med on > hand, and please don’t wait so long to medicate again. You never know how > severe an attack will be.
"There is a variety…" Thank you for this bit of correct grammatical usage. Thank you. Larry
Response:
> Your asthma is not controlled, and you need to be on a ‘preventer’ med. > There is a variety of steroidal inhalers–Flovent, QVar, etc. that work to > reduce the underlying inflammation.
I’m puzzled. I thought that prescribing a "preventer" med is a routine step with asthmatics these days. Does the standard treatment protocol for asthma still involve prescribing ONLY albuterol for mild asthmatics in some cases? I thought that albuterol-only treatment was obsolete. — Steven D. Litvintchouk
Response:
>> Your asthma is not controlled, and you need to be on a ‘preventer’ med. > There is a variety of steroidal inhalers–Flovent, QVar, etc. that work to > reduce the underlying inflammation. > I’m puzzled. > I thought that prescribing a "preventer" med is a routine step with > asthmatics these days. > Does the standard treatment protocol for asthma still involve > prescribing ONLY albuterol for mild asthmatics in some cases? I thought > that albuterol-only treatment was obsolete.
Steve, I would think that in those people who have bronchospasm only when around cats (or similarly isolated allergens) and therefore may be quiescent for months at a time, carrying an Albuterol for quick relief of symptoms appearing at unexpected times might suffice. There are also those who wheeze only on marked exertion, who therefore govern their pace, but occasionally have to run for the bus, and find that Albuterol is all they need. For wheezing that is much more frequent, and certainly for chronic asthma, I agree with you completely. Larry
Response:
> I am planning on calling my doctor on Monday if I don’t start breathing > normally again.The only medication that I take is albuterol.
then you definitely need to see the doctor ASAP…you should be on a preventative inhaler as well as the rescue inhaler (Albuterol) — eric www.ericjarvis.co.uk "I am a man of many parts, unfortunately most of them are no longer in stock"
Response:
> I am planning on calling my doctor on Monday if I don’t start > breathing normally again.The only medication that I take is > albuterol.
I once had a severe asthma attack on Saturday, and waited until Monday morning to call the doctor’s office even though I had trouble breathing all weekend. When the doctor saw me she yelled, "You fool! Don’t wait two days, go to the emergency room right away. Don’t be afraid to call our office during off hours when you are severely ill!" I’m inclined to think this is good advice. Your severe attack won’t cause permanent lung damage, but it does imply that you are not on the right medications, and being on the wrong medications for a long time could cause your condition to permanently deteriorate. It sounds like you were just plain lucky that a bystander saved you. Use this warning to motivate yourself to learn more about asthma and improve your health. — (650) 236-2231 [daytime] http://www.wsrcc.com/alison/ CA voters, send a message: write-in "Richard Riordan" in November 2002.
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– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I am planning on calling my doctor on Monday if I don’t start > breathing normally again.The only medication that I take is > albuterol. > I once had a severe asthma attack on Saturday, and waited until Monday > morning to call the doctor’s office even though I had trouble > breathing all weekend. When the doctor saw me she yelled, "You fool! > Don’t wait two days, go to the emergency room right away. Don’t be > afraid to call our office during off hours when you are severely ill!" > I’m inclined to think this is good advice. > Your severe attack won’t cause permanent lung damage, but it does > imply that you are not on the right medications, and being on the > wrong medications for a long time could cause your condition to > permanently deteriorate. It sounds like you were just plain lucky > that a bystander saved you. Use this warning to motivate yourself to > learn more about asthma and improve your health.
Actually Allison, severe attacks can cause permanent lung damage by creating areas of scar tissue in the lungs.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> On Friday evening I believe that I had my first severe asthma attack. I had > trouble breathing until I passed out. Once I started coming around a kind > person gave me my inhaler and I started to feel a little better. On Saturday > and today, I am still having problems breathing normally. I can’t even walk > across the room without being out of breath. I am using my inhaler more now > than I have ever in the past. > Do severe asthma attacks usually last a few days to recover? Can anyone tell me > if I could have permanent lung damage because of this attack? > I am planning on calling my doctor on Monday if I don’t start breathing > normally again.The only medication that I take is albuterol. > Thank you. > Pam
Your asthma is not controlled, and you need to be on a ‘preventer’ med. There is a variety of steroidal inhalers–Flovent, QVar, etc. that work to reduce the underlying inflammation. Also, Advair combines a long-acting bronchodilator with a steroid. Always keep your albuterol rescue med on hand, and please don’t wait so long to medicate again. You never know how severe an attack will be.
Response:
On Friday evening I believe that I had my first severe asthma attack. I had trouble breathing until I passed out. Once I started coming around a kind person gave me my inhaler and I started to feel a little better. On Saturday and today, I am still having problems breathing normally. I can’t even walk across the room without being out of breath. I am using my inhaler more now than I have ever in the past. Do severe asthma attacks usually last a few days to recover? Can anyone tell me if I could have permanent lung damage because of this attack? I am planning on calling my doctor on Monday if I don’t start breathing normally again.The only medication that I take is albuterol. Thank you. Pam
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