Asthma without Wheezing

I am always short of breath and have post nasal drip, difficulty swallowing, bloating, fatigue, etc. I"ve had panic disorder for about 13 years and I know my shortness of breath isn't related to that. I was also diagnosed a few years ago with allergies to almost all fruits & vegetables (tomatoes, carrots, peas, citrus, melons, bananas, potatoes etc), and wheat and eggs and walnuts. also diagnosed with allergies to many animals, and most trees. I'm now reacting to humidity.

My son has asthma and doesn't wheeze; his is seasonal asthma. He uses an inhaler (when he remembers that is) and even though he doesn't have sensitivities such as yours, he does fine. What other medications have you tried for your allergic responses? Please don't use an inhaler unless your asthma is confirmed. I'm sure you don't want medication then absolutely necessary. Have you seen a pulmonologist/allergist or a family doc?

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^{@--->--Sherry--<---@}

I have anxiety too, and I was just diagnosed with asthma yesterday.

I don't wheeze. I also have alot of allergies. Do you have an epipen?

The best thing I would think would be for you to get a methacholine challange test, I just
had one yesterday which is what helped diagnose me, and it was NOT bad at all...

I was afraid to use ventolin but, if you get that test, you will be at the hospital and
you can tell them your fears about an allergic reaction. They have all the means to deal
with that there. The ventolin helped me a TON and also, i have had no side effects to
any of the meds my speacalist prescribed. I am taking a Corticosteroid nasal spray 2 sprays each nostil once
a day, Flovent which is a inhaled Corticosteroid medication and also a Ventolin puffer for when I have symptoms.
(The flovent works over time its not a "rescue" inhaler).

Anyways, I have had similar symptoms as you for over a year and passed a pulomary function test
and refused the puffer because I was afraid of it too. That was 6 months ago, and I finally got so fed up
I marched into my doctors office and asked for a referral, she was hesitant, so I cried and begged her, and
she agreed. THANK GOD! She referred me (to a respitory doctor at a local respitory and allergy clinic),
and the first thing the resp. doctor did was order a Methacholine Challange. You should do the same, and
don't worry. If you don't have asthma, you won't react to the test, and I PROMISE it is not as bad as
they make it sound. You can ask me any questions about it. And trust me I am a huge freak about
tests!

I thought i should mention, I was told I don't have asthma as well, by alot of doctors. They never looked into it enough, only giving me ONE pulmonary function test when I wasn't even having bad symptoms......

I had an ultrasound, chest xray, ECG etc all of which were fine. My doc basically pegged me as
an anxiety person, hypochondriac or whatever.. HA well now I know I have asthma and I am not
very happy it went undiagnosed so long... go to a speacalist!!

Thanks for your replies!

I only take benadryl as it is something im not afraid to take. i also carry an epipen.  My spirometry readings were low but i cant remember what they were but they know i have a restriction. that was over 5 years ago. my oxygen levels are always about 99-100 percent so because of that, they insist im hyperventilating. My allergist wanted to do allergy shots but im too afraid of that too. sometimes i wonder, even though i have food allergies, if gerd intensifies the shortness of breath. it's very frustrating to have to focus on every single breath.

 

you sound like me, the hospital and doctors said the same thing to me
about my oxygen level even tho i was having symptoms

i think its because i take huge crazy breaths all the time and i don't
give myself a chance to get low on air lol..

I don't think i have severe asthma either, but its definitely uncomfortable
at times. I would get the methacholine challange and find out once and for all..

have you had that?

no i haven't had that test. in fact, this is the first time i've heard of it. i'll research it because i didn't know there was a way to diagnose asthma except with a stethoscope. I think i might need one of those tests. i'm afraid of dying during my testing - even at the hospital.   

Hey,

I know how you feel. I was really scared when I was told I needed the test, but I wanted
to find out what was wrong so I did it.

It was not anywhere near as bad as I thought, they use very small amounts of
methacholine, and they are fully prepared to deal with an adverse reactions..
The technican that did my test told me in 20 years he has NEVER seen a terrible
reaction.. and certainly no one has died. He said the only people that get fairly
uncomfortable are peope who try to "beat" the test, to prove they don't have asthma
because they don't want the diagnosis. He said a few people tried that, and kept taking
more methacholine and trying to lie about any symptoms they were feeling. He said
thats a stupid thing to do and it won't ever work..

After my second dose of methacholine, my breathing dropped 20%.
The technican stopped the test and gave me ventolin, and my breathing went
back to normal within about 2 minutes. It did not feel overly terrible, I just felt
tight chested, and a bit faster breathing, sort of like if I was just running.. similar
to when I have symptoms at home! I also had coughing. I was relieved to find out what was wrong
after suffering with it for so long!! Why I left the hospital after the test, I had no symptoms leftover or anything. Methacholine is a very short-acting, natural substance and its safe.
:)