shortness of breath seasonal in warmer weather? asthma like sort of....

[xrayspex]

Hey, so last year experienced for first time in summer a new twist on shortness of breath seemed to come on with warmer weather where feels like shortness of breath is worse when lying down (usually thats what historically helps oxygen hunger for me--lying down) and doc finally prescribed ventolin inhaler even tho not technically asthma and it did help but then I didnt need it from like nov til now....now its starting to come back, it went away for winter. I do not want to use the ventolin inhaler cus it puts me in worst mood that cancels out any benefit, feel like dead from it moodwise. But i am dreading the next 6 months, its not even that hot out yet, we hada couple days of 8o bizarrely but at moment its probly in 50s but its like my body knows season changing and this hot breath that seems to lack oxygen is lurking....was actually doing better than usual for months on the oxygen thing and being upright more than usual (was having more trouble with headaches instead and pain not air hunger)

anyway, I hate this feeling of stunted breath and dont know if can bear it until october again!

anyone else notice its worse seasonally? I never had it correlate with the summer before. I thought it was worsened by GERD and partly bronchial spasms last year but I do not understand the warmer weather connection. do asthmatics get worse in summer? and what else is there besides ventolin? that stuff is gross even tho it helps some....

 

[Athene]

Could it be a pollen allergy? Or mould spore allergy? They both get much worse in spring as soon as the weather warms up.

I don't know of anything else that does the job of ventolin.
What form are you taking it in? Tablets, rotahaler or inhaler? And is your inhaling technique just right? I am always astonished at the number of people I see who have bad asthma and don't know how to use their inhaler properly. If your technique is right you should not really be able to taste the stuff hardly at all.

 

[xrayspex]

its an inhaler athene, I think technique was ok, no bad taste but psychoactive effect was very dull
I am not sure about the pollen etc could be, last year was bad from spring to fall

 

[xrayspex]

also, did some homework and learned that thunderstorms worsen some people's shortness of breath and we just had a big one tonight, that plus me taking a bath last nite which I rarely do may have added to vulnerability to dypsnea worsening

I also came to conclusion I should rule out sarcoidosis after taking an online med questionaire about shortness of breath, it can coexsit with sjogrens
so would need angiotension test

 

[Athene]

Oh dear, I hope it's nothing as serious as that.

You mentioned the bath and thunderstorm making you worse - I wonder if you are sensitive to humidity? This makes my mother's asthma much worse, though it doesn't affect all asthmatics. She always has her baths tepid and has to leave the door open to let the steam out.

To test the pollen or other allergy theory, you could try taking an antihistamine for a couple of days to see if that gives you any relief.

Re the inhaler, by psychoactive symptoms, do you feel it giving you palpitations or lowering your blood pressure (i.e. making you dizzy)?
If not, then your technique should be fine; if so, it means you are getting some on your tongue and swallowing it. The more you swallow, the worse these symptoms (and of course the less you have in your lungs where you need it). Before inhaling you need to exhale all you can, then take in the fastest and deepest breath you can manage while spraying - you don't just spray it down your throat, you haul it into your lungs as forcefully as you can. I have a heart condition and I think I nearly gave myself a heart attack a couple of times before I got the nack of doing this!

One other possibility - you can get 2 types of pneumonia called "walking pneumonias" - they are chlamydia pleumonia or mycoplasma pneumonia. They give you breathing problems but no mucus or blood or any of the normal symptoms of pneumonia. It might be worth asking your doctor to test for those. The tests produce terrible rates of false negatives, so often you get diagnosed by a sopecialist who goes on symptoms.

 

[xrayspex]

hey thanks Athene for the ideas, sounds like you use an inhaler

I have wondered about CPn, the chlamydia pnemonia before because I cannot tolerate NAC and someone told me could be sign of CPn

 

[Athene]

NAC has a direct action against the cystic forms of C pn, and also breaks it out of biofilms. So you could be getting a herx reaction from it. I would definitely get a test.

I used to be inhaler dependent, but I am taking tons of antibiotics for C pn and don't use the inhaler any more.

 

[SOC]

Cpn combined with possibly new allergy to tree pollen could be causing the shortness of breath. Tree pollens are extremely high this spring over much of the US. I was told years ago that tree pollen is noticeably more irritating to people who have had "multiple bouts of walking pneumonia" (interpretation: cpn).

Just a thought.

 

[SickOfSickness]

I think I'm worse from pollen, and if it's too humid or hot. I know some PWC are worse with heat.

I don't know the facts on it, but I feel like the warm humid weather can make any bits of mold thrive and give off more spores.

I know dust mites need some humidity to thrive. I am really allergic to them. In summer, you have to run a dehumidifier to get below the level they thrive in.

In warmer weather, some of us open windows or go outside more, IMO the extra exposure can cause it.

I also worry about more insects being out, people mowing their lawns, using fertilizers and weed/bug sprays.

 

[xrayspex]

Athene
did you get tested for CPn? I heard it can be hard to diagnose? hides or something...

 

[Athene]

Cpn combined with possibly new allergy to tree pollen could be causing the shortness of breath. Tree pollens are extremely high this spring over much of the US. I was told years ago that tree pollen is noticeably more irritating to people who have had "multiple bouts of walking pneumonia" (interpretation: cpn).

Just a thought.

Yes I definitely agree with this. It made me develop huge amounts of allergies, and the more severe the level of infectin, the worse the allergic reactions.
After my latest antibiotic campaign against it, my allergies are far less severe than they were before.

Xrayspex, I got tested by Infectolab in Germany. They are probably the best diagnostic lab in Europe. www.infectolab.de
They do research to develop new tests which are then made available to labs overseas.
In ordinary labs which do a standard western blot, C pn is extremely hard to detect. It hides by going into a cystic form (like Lyme disease) and I think there is something funny about the antibodies too (they stick together or something).

 

[xrayspex]

if one lives in the states is it tricky to get the german tests?

 

[Athene]

I am not sure but I think it could be hard.
Maybe it would be worth emailng them to ask; you will not be the first so I think they must already know the answer. If it would be hard, see if they can recommend a lab in the States.

 

[mellster]

xray, you can get standard CPN antibodies test through labcorp or quest here in the states, likely covered by insurance. I would with Occams razor here, most people who are infected do show elevated antibodies, at least IGGs. It did for me.

 

[InvertedTree]

My ME doctor had me go through Quest labs. A previous doctor sent me to LabCorp.

Whichever lab you use make sure to test for IGA as well as IgG antibodies. My IgG antibodies through LabCorp were as high as the test measures. My IGA was positive through Quest which indicates a chronic active infection.

I don't know which lab is more reliable. There is a good website for cpn. I can't remember if we are allowed to post links or not but if you google cpn help you should find it. Or you can PM me. It gives some great info about cpn.

 

[Athene]

Hi, yes we can post links. Here's the C Pn website

http://www.cpnhelp.org/