Four years ago, I began coughing and feeling out of breath when exercising.
I didn't paid attention to it since it was really cold outside and that I am the specialist of cold and sinusitis and other
infection during winter.
It was my boss who went on the topic, and asked me to see a doctor if stuff
were to go worse.
I let the months pass, and still coughing I began to suspect something
was wrong.
In march 2001, though I had to face the fact something was really wrong,
for i woke up coughing like crazy not able to breathe correctly. I called my generalist the next morning for an appointment.
He said it could be a bad cold, he gave me pulmicort and that's it, I began using it the way he told me to. But unfortunately
it wasn't working, I still used to wake up coughing and out of breath. Once I called an emergency doctor service, the
lady who examined me told me it wasn't asthm since I wasn't wheezing, and gave me cough syrup.
Not satisfied with it I called my doctor back, he made a prescription for
prednisone and asked me to take a leave from work. I took the prednisone and felt a bit relieved until the 3rd Night! I was
attenting a concert and felt suddenly really bad. Began coughing and gasping for breath again, spitting out white mucus.
My mother who was with me drove me to hospital, there the doctor said it wasn't asthma because I wasn't wheezing the right
way. He sent me back home without giving any meds to me.
I called my doctor for another appointment he gave me a long acting bronchodilatator
still refusing to say it was asthma.
It worked fine until I ran out of it during Easter week end, unfortunately
I was in a really smocky and dusty place, it triggered an attack, my mom drove me to hospital again.
There the nurse claimed it was a panic attack, and told me to wait for
a while 2 hours later a doctor finally took me, and of course I was all tensed by the asthma attack but it was over, so the
guy decided it was a panic attack due to a depressive state. He gave me a sleeping pill to take at night, and I had to fight
to get a prescription for my inhaler.
That emergency doctor calld my generalist and together they agreed I was
mentaly unstable. So my doc suggested that I should see a psychiatrist. I never went to that guy but tried to convinced
myself it was in my head.
Courageously I endured nights and nights of coughing, taking my meds only
when I couldn't bear the pain, forcing myself it was in my mind, I ended not being able to exercise, and a friend who
is a student nurse. Told me to see her generalist instead of mine, I phoned the guy and he refused to see me before I made
an appointment with an allergist. it was in January 2002.
I went to that specialist, and for the first time in my life I felt listened
to, and understood. I told her I were suspecting a pollen allergy since I were 15 (I'm 25 now).She did all kind of tests,
and then declared that what I thought was allergy actually wasn't. And that I had asthma. I've been living with
mild asthma without any treatment for years, and now I was facing a flare up due to the fact it was untreated. I have
now mild persistant asthma and well treated for it.
Now I can only recommend everybody who suspect asthma to see a specialist,
suffering in silence is not a solution.
