Basically been newly diagnosed by the hospital. Basically whilst at work I got breathless at work and started wheezing after taking some stuff to path lab at work. About a 5 minute walk. Went home as normal and went to bed, fell asleep for two hours and woke up gasping for breath, chest pain, dizziness, nausea and sweating. So thought cardiac even. Rung my other half who took me to A&E/ urgent care. Triaged within two minutes and then wheelchaired into majors.

Had two ecg’s and bloods, and put on oxygen and then had a chest x ray was ordered.
Was told I’m not having a cardiac event which was great news but I had a Asthma attack either brought on by a Allergy or stress. (Partner recently had emergency surgery for a Ectopic pregnancy on the 6th of June)

Was taken to a medical ward for monitoring and Nebulisers. And discharged yesterday afternoon.

Been given a Prednisolone 10x5mg once a day and a Salbutamol Inhaler and some Antibiotics for a Sinus infection. And told I need to visit my GP for a long term plan.

Still feel quite dizzy and breathless just walking round the house.

Any tips and advice on when I can resume work and cycling?

The prednisolone steroid will kick in pretty quickly (normally after a few days I start to feel invincible.)

The antibiotics (if it is a bacterial sinus infection) will start noticeably working in four or five days.

As a lifelong asthmatic, my thought is that while you need to get this episode under control, then you and your GP can start to make a judgement about whether you are actually a long term asthmatic.

Pollen levels have been brutal recently. My lungs are dodgy at the moment (which is a pity, as it’s the Jennride this weekend).

In terms of work/riding, the short answer is that it shouldn’t be too long. The sinus thing will probably take longer to resolve than your airways. Don’t rush it, you’ll know when you are feeling like riding again.

Scary, isn’t it?

Any tips and advice on when I can resume work and cycling?

Ask your Doctor?

I’ve had pretty severe asthma my entire life. I was regularly hospitalised as a kid in the 70’s before the advent of  commonly  prescribed Salbutamol and effective preventers.

You need never know the horrors of an Intal Spinhaler.

With the current treatments, once you’ve got a long term treatment plan you’ll be able to live a perfectly normal life and it won’t affect your activities to any noticable degree.

The only time I’ve felt more scared was seeing my other half crawling across the floor in agony before being rushed into hospital and straight into theatre beginning of last month.

My Mum who has had Asthma since childhood says I need just relax till next week and dont go on the Mountain till after I’ve seen the Gp.

Haven been ignoring the chest pain and wheezing for 12 months to be honest.

It’s not helped by the fact I’ve had 5 Sinus infections in a 6 month period. Can barely breathe through my nose some days.

You need never know the horrors of an Intal Spinhaler.

Mmmmm….powdery AND ineffective! 🙂

Haven been ignoring the chest pain and wheezing for 12 months to be honest.

Before you see your GP have a good hard think about what was happening just before you had these.

Identify what your triggers are and it’ll make the whole process much easier.

Mmmmm….powdery AND ineffective! 🙂

It was like a pump action shotgun…..but with a whistle!

Haven been ignoring the chest pain and wheezing for 12 months to be honest.

Oh well, that sounds like you have a chronic rather than single episode issue then. Chances are you’ll get offered a preventer inhaler alongside your salbutamol. The modern ones are pretty good – Seretide in particular has got my asthma pretty well managed.

You may even find that you end up feeling stronger than you did before this all started.

Been asthmatic since childhood, once the doc has got your plan sorted there’s nothing to prevent you from doing what you want. Just remember to take your inhaler with you, becomes a habit after a while.

Didn’t have a spinhaler but had a rotahaler with the capsules. Remember thinking I’d somehow inhaled a capsule, turned out to be a baby tooth that picked that moment to exit my gum.

Similar thing happened to me when I was diagnosed. Mine was brought to light with a chest infection, A&E were shocked that the GP had sent me home with ‘it’s a virus’. I was on prednisolone for weeks, starting at 40mg a day and tapering down. I was bouncing off the walls by the second week, but yours sounds more serious.

There are a lot of treatments for asthma (symptoms) and the GP (or asthma nurse at our place) will want to figure out which works for you best to control. Plus every so often there is something new out so they will keep reviewing you. You also might want to ask for a referral to a respiratory specialist who will do the same thing but with a few tests thrown in. Oh and you will get a free flu jab now.

This year for me has also been worse that usual so I got myself referred anew, consultant told me that he thought that more than usual were presenting this year (although he had no evidence).

I also have problems nasal polyps. There is a relationship between this and asthma. As you say you have a lot of sinus problems, maybe worth a shout to see what you GP thinks. I don’t have asthma under control unless both things are working.

I’ve been on Mometasone for my nose as its constantly feeling like its narrow. Sounds like I have a cold constantly. I think this hasn’t helped.

Chest x ray also showed fluid on my lungs.
Just read the notes which have been sent to my GP on the online patient access.

Reccomendations are to start treatment for Allergy/Adult induced Asthma.

My grandad got it sailing home through the bay of biscay ,1946.
He would tell me that every time he grabbed his inhaler. But with much more swearing.

I got diagnosed a few years back. I picked up a chest infection on a flight back from some diving in the Red Sea which led to a cough that never went away. The GP was reluctant to give me the full asthma diagnosis until one day I got short of breath at work, staggered home, collapsed into bed feeling as though my lungs were half their usual size and went to the out-of-hours doctor the next day (Sat) who immediately gave me a prescription for oral steroids and told me to see the GP on Monday. The steroids kicked in pretty quickly – it was like having a new set of lungs and I was back on the bike by the next weekend. Once diagnosed the long term control has not been a problem and didn’t stop me for example doing triathlons, ski mountaineering, windsurfing or anything else. It has made the diving more difficult though as many diving centres won’t take you out (even if you have a medical certificate from your doctor). And I now always use a mask when doing anything like sandpapering that produces dust (which I should have done anyway).

tl;dr – don’t worry unduly, lots of us have asthma and lead perfectly normal lives.

Thanks for the Diving info Rio also. Was due to do a few Dives in Rhodes in September like we normally do, but it looks like I’m gonna be stuck on the beach instead this year ☹

Can definitely tell the steroids are kicking in. GP visit is tomorrow evening, been told to stay off work till Monday by my boss.

I went out on the bike after a lay off, a couple of years ago when I was 61 & thought, ‘jeez, I’m unfit, shouldn’t be gasping like this’. Eventually went to the docs who said I had ‘exercise induced asthma’ & prescribed 2 inhalers. Because I feel fine till I start breathing heavily I keep forgetting to use them which is a bugger when the 1st hill is 5 miles from home! I should really use the Clenil morning & night like I’ve been told & the ‘blue one’ when required as they both work for me.
I’d never had any asthma related problems before.

Pretty much ditto except that Madame wasn’t home so I thought that I’d wander along to the very local swimming pool as they have all the equipment and well trained life guards there. Except I didn’t make it so sat down on the pavement, then lay down and the neighbours found me and called the pompiers who carted me off to hospital for all the tests you had.

Up to 16 I suffered quite badly with asthma then it pretty much went. I stopped all medication and just put up with seasonal hayfever and very occasional asthma attacks that I found I could manage just by putting myself in the recovery postion and waiting. It was never effort related, just pollen, hay cutting and pollution. I avoid big cities and know the Silver birch season is going to be miserable. I raced triathlon with no medication whatsoever getting up to top ten nationally and top 30 in the worlds in Winter triathon so it clearly wasn’t a handicap (though my refusal to dope no doubt was, I had the perfect backgroud to justify a TU and never used it). Anyhow, over 40 years without meds.

So this latest episode in March came as a surprise, I suspect the panic created a viscious circle and exacerbated the attack, anyhow I failed to manage the event as I’ve done in the past. The docs prescribed the usual shit:

Antihistamines: if you take enough to counter the symptoms they make you drowsy, I’d rather live without. There’s also the risk of prostate problems I’d rather not take.

Cortisone: keep some handy, it can save your life but if you value your kidneys and don’t want to blow up like ex-pro cyclists use as little as possible.

Salbutamol: pretty much instant relief when you have an attack, combined with the cortisone it can again save your life so keep it handy.

As for getting back into sport I took the totally stupid option. I went out with the MTB club with the life savers in the jersey pocket and up a climb with a mobile phone signal provoked a race for the top. I coughed and gasped a bit but felt better the higher we went and the result was nothing – no asthma attack. Since then the worst of the pollen has gone but I seem more bothered by car pollution than ever before, I’ve given up riding the roadie. The ones that seem to bother me the most are the new Euro 6 diesels with ad-blu, psychological or real I don’t know. It’ll come out in the wash if there is a link between asthma and ad-blu diesels.

Hope this helps and reassures.

Had a phone call today from a Advanced Nurse practitioner at the hospital. They want me back in asap for a repeat chest x ray and bloods and admission to the ward.
Slightly concerning.

best of luck.

Turns out it a have a pneumothorax in my left lung. No idea how that’s happened. Now awaiting a chest drain. Also I have pleurisy on that side.

Not amused in the slightest, annual leave spent in hospital. No biking for a while either ☹

I’m sorry to hear of this development, but pleased that you’re getting it sorted out so promptly.

As for your annual leave, I think legally you can’t take annual leave whilst you are on sick leave, so you should be able to re-book it. Others will be able to clarify this. Make sure you get some paperwork, either from the hospital or your GP, to confirm your treatment.

Very unexpected diagnosis. Drains in, feel better already.
Hopefully resolved as I fly to Greece in 7 weeks.
Not looking forward to my few nights stay in hospital.
But thankful to our wonderful NHS.

You’re going to feel like new (eventually)! I wonder who reviewed the Chest xray and spotted what had been missed first time?

Consultant radiologist reviewed the x ray and contacted the Acute medical team, who rung me to come back in asap.
Glad they had another look really. Hopefully be back home by tuesday with my new hole sutured.