Had Asthma most of my life. Currently will blow 550-650 when good but the slightest hint of an infection will set me of the bike for weeks and put peak flow down to 475-550. I am on all the inhalers i can have and due to “high” peak flow readings docters don’t understand that is is not as under controle as they think.

Should i ask for a referal to a BUPA consultant (have coverage from work) or will they do exactly what my doc is doing? A doc has said befor that with my level of medication i would normaly have a consultant.

So BUPA or MTFU?
P.S. Non smoker, plently of exersise not over wieght so nothing more i can do to help it.

May as well try and go the BUPA route IMO (although our work cover now has an excess so might depend if you have to pay anything…). A GP shouldn’t have an issue with referring to a private consultant.

I personally would go and get a second opinion from someone through BUPA. Might be someone who specialises in asthma not just a doctor who has to know lots about ever ailment.
Good luck

breath in as deep as you can, then breath in a little more…. hold your breath. repeat 20times a day = stretched super AWESOME super large capacity lungs.

if you doubt my medical advice*… I can fit an entire house in my left lung now.

*i am in no way qualified to offer medical advice on this matter. this is probably as useful as advising to delete system32 files to speed up your PC.

You say your not happy with your doctor, is that a GP or Specialist that you have been referred to?

If its your GP see a different one if your not happy with the outcome.

To be referred privately you are still going to need a medical reason to be referred and you may have trouble getting the GP to write a referral if he doesnt think you have a medical reason to do so.

Private v NHS. The reason to go private is to be seen quicker by an NHS doctor. There is no other reason.

I’d just tell the doc you have private cover & would like to see a consultant

IME – they quickly sort it out for you as they get a commission
Then just max out whatever you can on Bupa

“IME – they quickly sort it out for you as they get a commission”

What commission is that then?

Only ever been seen by GP’s. Not really happy with any of their treetment. It always seems to end with me still a bit wheezy but the doc saying you can blow 650, you should be happy.

There is no other reason.

Oh I dunno, I went a couple of years with knee issues getting nothing more than a couple of xrays/consultations
As soon as I was privately covered, a MRI scan became the only way to go

my asthma has been awful this year (since maybe december) don’t know why, possibly the cold. it’s the worst it’s been for 6-7 years. seeing the doc on friday.

if you have coverage use it. see an asthma specialist.

philconsequence – that’s pretty decent advice to be honest. A good way to get that extra bit of air in is to take a big sniff.

Another life long sufferer and this winter have been having some issues which I am putting down to the cold, snow etc.
The worst irritant is the increase in wood burners and coal smoke from all the houses opening up old fires. Due to the lack of wind nd the cold air we are returning to the old days of smog. Also sensitive to diesel fumes hanging in the cold morning air.
Coffee and chocolate have also been added to the list of irritants along with some wines 🙄
I am currently finding the new, younger GPs at my practice a waste of time and only go if and when I really have to.

OP. Need to find out what is causing dips, infections rather than relying on meds.

My Asthma has been bad for a few months now too, but I think its down to the weather and a little xmas weight gain. What ever the reason, MTFUing and getting out on my bike helps. Slightly oxegen starved and light headed for the first 10 minutes but after hocking up all the stuff in the bottom of my lungs, things get better. Normaly see’s me right for a couple of days.

The quack put me on some tablets called singulair about 18months ago and they really work for me. Stops my chest tightening with the shock of cold air, or the start of hard excersize, but it sounds like you trigger points are different.

Oddly I’ve had the best winter since my asthma ‘returned’ a few years back.

My breathing normally gets very tight around October time, but so far the only time I’ve really needed my inhaler (touch wood) is after running.

And once after the Burway.

if the work coverage is good, get the referal

if you aren’t happy with your condition the GP should be happy to refer you.

as for the private NHS difference, private you get the consulant for a flexible length appointment, NHS you will be in the “clinic”, you might get the consultant if you are “interesting”, the clinic will be rammed

never, ever be the last person to be seen in a NHS fracture clinic, you will be fobbed off and sent home because that’s where they have all gone

most private consultants are in the NHS, you just don’t get them unless you are “interesting”

final observation,
saw GP, send under NHS to hospital for head xray (yes I know), told results would take two weeks to get to GP. Go to xray, promptly get told they don’t xray heads with soft/ indeterminate lumps, get sent home

activate private health, turn up, first thing he does is x-ray my head and has the results by the time I get back to the room. It rules out some options, procedure promptly booked.

Had asthma since early childhood – it’s got a little easier with age but the same as you coughs and colds can set me back for days or weeks.

It’s just a fact of living with asthma – some bugs will exacerbate it. I usually double up my becotide doses during colds and until it’s settled (on the advice of my dad who’s now retired but was an asthma specialist).

The best over the counter preventative in my experience is Vicks First Defence nasal spray – it really does work for me. If anyone in our family gets a cold I start using it and most times don’t get the cold at all and if I do it seems to be shorter and less severe. I also use it if I feel a cold starting.

I will ask the doctor if he can refer me. I am fairly sure that I pay no excess so there is nothing to lose. I am just fed up of being told that “there are people that can’t even blow 100, your fine”.

TBF I’ve never found peak flow much of an indication of how my asthma is. Its OK if you’re mid attack – it can tell you exactly how much function you have, but it will never ever be able to tell you how likely an attack is.

Its this increased airway hyperactivity that means you suddenly get more frequent attacks from totally humdrum triggers which is the problem, isn’t it? I’m lucky in that my asthma is fairly mild, so if I sense my lungs going all hyperactive I can dose my self up to the eyeballs on inhaled steroids and ride it out.

It makes a huge difference to see a GP who knows something about the physiological mechanisms behind asthma. I was lucky in that the GP who diagnosed me age 5 as asthmatic happened to be an asthma specialist. Almost every GP I’ve seen in the subsequent 25 years has been comparatively clueless – I’m lucky in that I know exactly what to ask for.

Go see an asthma specialist.

All this talk of Asthma is interesting – mine is currently the worst I’ve ever known it too, off to see the Asthma clinic tonight (again.) I also can blow a high Peak flow (usually over 700, but at the moment its around 600), so it’s interesting to hear people thinking its not the best test. I’d agree – haven’t had a full lungful of air and felt fit for ages now. The daily commute is painfully slow and a constant battle getting air at the moment. Ho hum. Anyway, I’d push to see a consultant rather than BUPA, as others have said I reckon you’d get the same knowledge just quicker…

i’ve had asthma since birth, i’m now 30. i got so bad after a couple of chest infections last year that i was out of breath just sitting down. after spending a month on Seretide and regular ventolin, i cracked on with my ebay xc bike project so i could get some exercise and deal with the asthma properly. while i was bad i could still blow 400-500, my doctor was impressed so we had a match – i won. when my chest is good i can get about 700-800 ish i think.

for along time i was able to control my asthma without drugs 99% of the time, even exercise induced asthma attacks. i’ve got a fair way to go to get back to that point.

after hurting my back again in autumn and then a cold/chest infection over winter i got out for the first time in about 4 months last weekend, albeit with a couple of doses of ventolin to help me out.

i want to start riding to work again as it’s so good for my asthma, its 7 miles all up hill, but the cold air sets my chest off.

…to the OP, when out on the bike, do u push yourself hard on the climbs? to the point of it starting to hurt your chest? i find this helps get my lungs working and they improve very quickly when riding 2-3 times a week.

Sounds like your GP is not very interested but I don’t know what else the bupa doc would / could do.

You need to find a doc who is interested in Asthma in sporty people I guess. The gps practice should have a practice nurse with expertise in asthma to have a chat with about options- if not I would be thinking of changing GP.

I had seasonal asthma for 10 years, and kept getting fobbed off as having viral bronchitis as I could consistantly blow 800+ (it think, it was in the end bit of the scale).

It always starts at the end of October and hangs around till March and gets worse when the weather is cold. In the summer I get the odd spell where my chest gets a little tight but never the uncontrolable coughing that made speaking difficult before the doctor gave me drugs 😀

A specialist at the hospital told me my lung function was too high for me to have asthma, but my (fortunatly very good) doctor tried me on a couple of different inhalers anyway which significantly reduced the coughing, although I sometimes have to take very near to the maximum daily dose to keep it fully in check.

You might have to keep going back to get it sorted, it felt like they were always looking for a reason to avoid diagnosing.

Grimy – are you taking Singulair regularly each day or just to prevent Exercise Induced Asthma? If the later how long before starting exercise do you take it. I thought it needed to be a couple of hours? I assume you are also taking inhaled steroids?

The reason I ask is my GP suggested I try it last winter after a few back to back Asthma episodes. His view is for about a 1/3 of people it works wonders and for others it does nothing and for a tiny few can make things are awful lot worse. I was reluctant at the time but thinking now that I ought to give it a go this winter.

I’d go and try Bupa. Our youngest daughter has asthma, 2009’s winter we really struggled, the GP admitted treatment was wholly reactive and we never had it under control. There were some nasty attacks and she spent more time on steroids that we’d have liked. We asked for and got a referral to a specialist via BUPA; this winter Martha’s asthma has been under control and we’ve been 100% on top of it. Her medication has changed and there’s not been any need for ventolin – no attacks at all and she’s been running around like any normal 4 year old. Our bod was amazing – had things sorted within weeks and a plan in place. He got the local GP and asthma nurse onside and we now have things in place that means there’s no waiting around in the surgery / struggling to get an appointment (rural doctors); we can just call and get straight through to doctor or nurse.

Seriously, it’s a no-brainer.

BUPA and get it seen properly. I guess the cold will affect the asthma, I’ve noticed that this winter, on the really cold days, I’m affected more than the less cold days.
Equally have a look at your diet to see if anything there is contributing, the doc should put you through the allergy tests, but even so, still look at your diet. I had the allergy tests a couple of years ago which didn’t bring up anything yet I’m allergic to chickpeas and have an intollerance to milk protiens (self guessing, so not a scientific result).
I’ve been off meds now since the end of Sept, my riding has improve, in fact the whole change in life has been incredible.

Good luck and get it sorted.

I used it for my knee chondroma because at the time no one knew what I’d done, it tore several muscles around my knee and they (hospital) couldn’t diagnose any of this without an MRI scan approx 6 weeks away. At the time I couldn’t bend my leg beyond 15 degrees due to the pain. I paid 100 excess, was at the Nuffield within 2 days scan done and back to see the consultant 2 days later!! I felt very let down, as other than being born I’d never needed medical assistance from a hospital before, so for that reason my private health care will never be cancelled!! Oh and by the way you pay tax on it because it’s a benefit so USE the bloody thing!!!!!!!

I’ve had athsma all my life, was a lot worse when I was younger, but has eased off over the years. Only time I suffer is sudden cold snaps or if I have a bad cold. Keep on at the doc, there’s loads of different meds you can try to get one that suits. I can blow over 800 on the peakflow now I’m sorted.

Your local hospital should have a specialist nurse who deals with adults with asthma,ask for a referral.You may find it helpful to ask the GP for referral to a Respiratory consultant,for which going through BUPA will probably be easier,but the specialist nurse will deal solely with people like you,and should have a lot to offer in terms of advice about treatment for you and your GP.IME local surgery asthma nurses rarely have the requisite depth of experience required.
Ian

Grimy – are you taking Singulair regularly each day or just to prevent Exercise Induced Asthma? If the later how long before starting exercise do you take it. I thought it needed to be a couple of hours? I assume you are also taking inhaled steroids?

The reason I ask is my GP suggested I try it last winter after a few back to back Asthma episodes. His view is for about a 1/3 of people it works wonders and for others it does nothing and for a tiny few can make things are awful lot worse. I was reluctant at the time but thinking now that I ought to give it a go this winter.

Hi GJP, sorry for the slow reply. I take one singulair tablet a night before bed, and I usually excersize early in the morning. I just had a read of the possible side effects and it looks like the standard list you get with just about any drugs these days. I do also take the Beclometasone inhalour, once in the moring and once a night when I remember.

whilst on topic, I went to a spin class the other night at the gym 😳 and the instructor tried to kill me. My hart rate averaged 185bpm for the whole session, and obviously peaked a lot higher on several occasions, which is more than I’m used too. Since then, my breathing has been Awesome! lol, the last three days have been pretty much Asthma free. No weezing in my sleep, and no chest tightness. Might just be coincidance, but I’m deffinatly seeing a pattern of hard excersize reducing my symptoms.

I find the same. So I push myself going up hill on the bike, riding 2-3 times a week improves my asthma and breathing very quickly.