I have been coughing for a while but haven't been othersize sick. Saw a pulmonologist, he did physical exam, blood test, chest xray, and breathing test in a testing booth. The breating test and xray were ok but my blood white count was elevated, he said due to alergies, but he couldn't determine what the allergen(s) were. So he said I have Asthma and gave me a once daily prescription and inhaler.

I asked him about a CT Lung Scan because of the prevalence of cancer in my family and being in a general high risk group because of other chronic comorbids. He said insurance would not pay for it because I had never been a smoker. Lovely. So I paid for the scan. After knowing healthy and productive people pass from it I decided if I were to have it I'd like to know earlier because of its pernicious nature.

I heard an emergency doctor say he told his new doctors in traning that "the blood goes round and round and the air goes in and out" as prerequisites to other treatments. A few months ago I got a clear bill from a Cardiologist, so I wanted to check out the other system given my coughing. If it makes any difference my job is a career IT office drone, but I use N95 and P100 breathing protection when messing with all the crap I expose myself to working on my house and cars, pool chemicals, brakes, acid mist wheel cleaners, quickcrete cement dust, fiberglass, lawn chemicals and pesticides etc. Being a lifelong DIYer I've become more serious about PPE over the years.

Anyway I would appreciate any advice regarding handling my new Asthma and anything else related to lung health. And if it's possible, how to minimize risks for developing lung cancer.

1st. take care of yourself; meds, diet, rest, reduce stress and cardio if your doc says it's ok and follow his recommendations.
2nd. watch for allergens that can inflame your condition; dust, types of vegetation, pollution and cold-dry air are often not your friend.
https://www.aafa.org/

See if you can get an allergy test done. Now I think they can do it with a blood screen. Back in the medieval days I had two of the histamine tests done.
They prick the skin your back in a grid pattern of different allergens and compare it to a “histamine” prick on your skin. I looked like whipped stepchild. Some of the reactions bled over so bad into the others they couldn’t even tell them apart.

Anyway, I was in IT most of my life also. I used to joke I’d get some weird lung disease from static charged computer dust.
Diagnosed with Pulmonary Sarcoidosis back in 2012.

What I’m saying is, don’t just take the asthma diagnosis and forget about it. I’m not trying to be a doomsayer, but depending on your genetics (you’ve already said you’re worried about cancer) it could progress into something else.

I recommend going past the dust masks and getting at least a 1/2 face respirator. I use one when I mow or do other dusty stuff and it seals and filters a LOT better than a dust mask. All I smell is activated charcoal when I’m using it.

Also, humidity bothers me more than heat. I breathe lots better if I can keep my house at 50% or less humidity. But 78 or even 80 is ok on the thermostat.

I’d still push for a CT if you can. That’s how they found my Sarcoidosis. There is a world of difference between an X-ray and a CT when it comes to lungs.

Had asthma my entire life. Three pieces of advice

1) Avoid triggers and there can be a lot of them. Everyone is different and some you can't avoid

2) Get a rescue inhaler (Ventolin for me) that works in conjunction with a daily dose of an inhaled medication (Advair, Breo, etc.)

3) Keep Prednisone in your drug inventory and use it when you feel your lack of breathing is getting out of control. It won't take long to figure it out. When 1 and 2 don't work, Prednisone keeps me out of an emergency room visit.

My advice is similar to Bytes' in general. Haven't used Prednisone though.

When I was young it seemed like it was exercise induced. I'd be playing with friends and get an attack. Had allergies as well. Horses of all things were and still are my worst trigger, but not the only one.

Now that I'm older it has kinda reversed. It's more like an allergic condition that comes and goes, but regular exercise is what really helps me feel better instead of worse.

Singulair (Montelukast) has helped control my wife's asthma along with a rescue inhaler. She's an avid exerciser also.

Once I learned that inflammation is at the root of most chronic disease processes I began a low carb lifestyle about 3 years ago. This lockdown crap hasn't helped much but as a rule I avoid foods with multiple ingredients, especially fake "vegetable" oils and sugars of any kind. Breads and grains are out. Fruits are mostly genetically modified food porn that are just nature candy. My breath quality improved so much I thought I had received new lungs. I still need the inhaler for the occasional spasm but the inflammatory component (which corticosteroids address) has been eliminated. Try to lower the omega 6/3 ratio down closer to 4:1. I hope this helps.

Ps. Yeah, most doctors don't really have a clue about nutrition. It's about selling meds. Thank God for medication but treating metabolic disorders with medication is a downward spiral imo.

Also, elevated WBC is an indication of CLL but I'm too naive about that but the above still applies.

quote:

Originally posted by SigSentry:
Once I learned that inflammation is at the root of most chronic disease processes I began a low carb lifestyle about 3 years ago. This lockdown crap hasn't helped much but as a rule I avoid foods with multiple ingredients, especially fake "vegetable" oils and sugars of any kind. Breads and grains are out. Fruits are mostly genetically modified food porn that are just nature candy. My breath quality improved so much I thought I had received new lungs. I still need the inhaler for the occasional spasm but the inflammatory component (which corticosteroids address) has been eliminated. Try to lower the omega 6/3 ratio down closer to 4:1. I hope this helps. ...

Seconding this as while on keto (low carb) I no longer needed antihistamines or decongestants and could breathe significantly better.

An old girlfriend once told me: "you have a problem - carry the solution"

Meaning, always have your rescue inhaler with you. Keep one in your car too.

Also try not to get too pissed off when stereotypes of weaklings sucking on inhalers become more noticeable to you.

It isn't easy, but try.

quote:

Originally posted by apprentice:
My advice is similar to Bytes' in general. Haven't used Prednisone though.

When I was young it seemed like it was exercise induced. I'd be playing with friends and get an attack. Had allergies as well. Horses of all things were and still are my worst trigger, but not the only one.

Now that I'm older it has kinda reversed. It's more like an allergic condition that comes and goes, but regular exercise is what really helps me feel better instead of worse.

Pay attention to that recommendation for regular exercise, it really does strengthen the lungs.

BTW, I don't have asthma but do have friends with this disease. What I have is COPD due to 54 Pack Years of sucking on cigarettes. The FINEST AND MOST EFFECTIVE therapy for COPD is regular aerobic exercise. Seems everyone I know with some type of lung impairment has discovered that a good long fast walk every day turns what was once a real hindrance to daily life into a pretty much symptom free life. Heck, I don't take any meds at all for my COPD because I just don't need them.

Did he happen to say your eosinophils were high? That would show up on your blood test and indicate a specific type of asthma.
Did he mention using a peak flow meter? It’s a small little device that measures expiratory air flow. An impending asthma attack will graph days before the actual attack. A PFM is used a couple times a day, can be graphed out, and will warn you ahead of time. Very easy to use, cheap, and effective. He probably has samples in his office. Not to be confused with the PFT you had done at his office/hospital. Eventually you’ll know your normal/abnormal peak flows and it will make it easier to head things off at the pass. Sounds like you/Dr have a good handle on things.
Avoid the irritants, use your meds, and do Peak Flows morning and nite at least to start. Good Luck.

quote:

Originally posted by MRBTX:
Singulair (Montelukast) has helped control my wife's asthma along with a rescue inhaler. She's an avid exerciser also.

Has your wife seen the newest Black Box warning on Singulair? In fact I was reading the comments and going to ask wrightd what the daily scrip he received was. I know personally of 2 people who were taking it and DC'd it due to this issue.

When I'm going through my patient's med lists, I make sure they are aware of this new enhanced warning for it.

As others have said, figure out what triggers your symptoms and either avoid altogether or learn to recognize the symptoms quickly and get away.

Things that trigger you may not be obvious like pollen or animal dander. Chemicals might do it too. For me, it's bed bug spray.

And like adobesig said, cold, dry air is not what you want, even if it seems like a good idea when you're having an attack.

FYI, keep track of any acid reflux as well. There may be a connection between asthma and acid reflux of some sort. I was asked to be part of a research study by my allergist years ago, but unfortunately I was moving out of state when the study started.

Lifelong asthmatic here. Back in the early sixties, the best advice my pediatrician had for my mom was "give him caffeine when he wheezes". No home nebulizers, no rescue inhalers back then.

As Bytes said, discover your asthma triggers and avoid them. Get ahead of the curve, don't wait until you have significant chest tightness or difficulty in brething before you start to treat yourself.

I never had an inhaler until I was in my late 50's. I just dealt with the occasional breathing issues. I don't use mine very often but as I said above, if I'm having a time when I'm noticing some breathing difficulty, I get ahead of it with a puff of my RI.

Coffee still works as a bronchodialator.

On the booboo bus, we give a nebulized treatment with Duoneb and re-evaluate. If we give a second round of Duoneb, we also give Solu Medrol IV. You have to be in pretty bad respiratory distress for that.

As AB said, back in the old days there were no MDIs or bronchodilators. Coffee/tea and chocolate were what was used. Some people also used Epinephrine (Primatene Mist) but that had a lot of side effects. Eventually a drug called Theophylline (same family as coffee/tea) was used but it has fallen out of favor for the most part. The early Nebulized meds (Isuprel, still on crash carts, and Bronchosol) had a lot of cardiac stimulation (increased heart rate) while delivering some bronchodilator effects. The meds used now have come a long ways to make hospital/home use easier for someone with lung disease.

quote:

Did he happen to say your eosinophils were high? That would show up on your blood test and indicate a specific type of asthma.
Did he mention using a peak flow meter? It’s a small little device that measures expiratory air flow. An impending asthma attack will graph days before the actual attack. A PFM is used a couple times a day, can be graphed out, and will warn you ahead of time. Very easy to use, cheap, and effective. He probably has samples in his office. Not to be confused with the PFT you had done at his office/hospital. Eventually you’ll know your normal/abnormal peak flows and it will make it easier to head things off at the pass

Good advice! Peak flow meters have revolutionized the treatment of asthma.
I would add: ask for referral to allergist to be tested to see what you’re allergic to, and see if allergy shots are recommended.
There is a lot to learn about what pollens and other allergens trigger your asthma: for my inhalant allergies it was cats and ragweed at the top, followed by many other things.

Grew up with asthma and eczema.

Asthma, I've found keeping a consistent cardio regimen helps stretch the lungs which helps prevents attacks. I haven't had to use an inhaler for nearly 2 decades now. I used to run, but injuries to both knees forced me to switch to cycling and swimming.

Found a medication that has done wonders for the eczema.

Are you at risk for GERD ?