I’ve had it all my life (43 years), and it hasn’t stopped me from doing anything I really wanted to, even though I have been very ill at times. If you work with your doctor it CAN be controlled- the little blue inhaler is fantastic- literally a lifesaver. You might also need a ‘preventer’ inhaler if you are getting lots of attacks- check with your doctor. For me the preventer really changed my life, I very rarely get bad attacks now.

I also have a Bionaire air purifier & ioniser which helps get rid of allergens and pollutants. Aromatherapy massage can help (especially with stress) and you smell fab afterwards too!

Alot of research has been done on breathing techniques- I have a friend who swears that yoga breathing exercises have really helped her.

Anyway there are lots of ways of managing asthma, I am sure you will find your own way, and good luck with it.

busylizzie xx.

But what do I know? :D

phil-hoping you’re doing well

Can’t say I’m jealous of your situation Gia. Here’s hoping it improves.

I developed Asthma when I was in my early teens but it only really effected my after playing sports. When I moved into my twenties I could play most sports most of the time without using my inhaler.

After spending 4 months in Hong Kong with work I came back to Edinburgh and had such a bad asthma attack that it put me in hospital. I’ve never had such a bad attack again but I think it was definitely related to the environment changes.

Hopefully it won’t impact your life too much

Still, not fun. My commiserations.

FWIW, I suffered from awful breathing problems and nasal drip when I lived in NYC, which completely disappeared when I moved back to the UK. Even dirty London air feels like sunshine by comparison!

The only way I’ve been able to get through them is by serious mental control and a weird ability to both slow my heart rate and move my brain wave patterns towards Alpha state (yes, this was tested once) purely by thinking about it. That way my lungs don’t constrict any further and I just ride it out on minimal oxygen.

But doing that for the hour or two it takes to get through the attack completely is extremely, extremely exhausting and takes me a couple days afterwards to really get back to normal.

Should I ever have serious attacks two nights in a row, I’d probably die the second night as I’d not have any mental strength left.

So, I’m glad I’ve got an inhaler.

Just about everyone I meet has not heard about intrinsic Asthma. They usually sit on the allergens side of the conversation , they only know about extrinsic Asthmatics whose allergies promote attacks.

The instrinsic is more likely to have attacks related to stress levels. This doesnt have to be related to Anger it can be related to Depression, Excitement or Worry.

I learnt that much of my own attack triggers were stress related to tension and worry. In learning to manage my emotional triggers ( no start trek or hippie malarky here ) I was managing the attacks.

Not being stressed or allowing long term worry to create anxiety greatly reduced the attacks to almost nil.

Yes I still get wheezy if I get a cold or the flu or ill but my attacks are not brought on my pollution, pollen or other airbourne infectants.

bearing in mind that some of the side effects of Asthma treatments are increased anxiety, palpitations and an increase in adrenaline these would actually make managing intrinsic asthma harder not easier.

meanwhile enjoy your inhaler with thought it can be a fun friend for all to enjoy ! ahem !

http://www.aafa.org/display.cfm?id=8&sub=17