Well I thought that my cough was getting better and it did.. but then it came back really bad.. so I went to the ER and I expected them to diagnose me with bronchitis but I wasn't expecting them to diagnose me with Asthma. I have Asthma now.
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
My trip to the ER
- Thread starter babygirl2000
- Start Date
I'm you have something treatable.
I've had asthma my entre life. Fortunately, my mother is a nurse and was able to keep me out of the hospital. I'm also lucky in that my body gives me one of two signals just prior to a major episode - this lets me start on medication to minimize the episode.
See an allergist. If allergy shots work for you, they can be life changing. And an allergist wil be better at getting you on the correct medications than the ER docs, bless their hearts.
I've had asthma my entre life. Fortunately, my mother is a nurse and was able to keep me out of the hospital. I'm also lucky in that my body gives me one of two signals just prior to a major episode - this lets me start on medication to minimize the episode.
See an allergist. If allergy shots work for you, they can be life changing. And an allergist wil be better at getting you on the correct medications than the ER docs, bless their hearts.
aww! i know how you feel, i've had asthma since i was a kid
I know how you feel. My last bout with a cold lasted for 6 weeks. I had 4 lots of antibiotic, 1 course of prednislone & still had a cough. The doc said I had broncitis (sp). Never been diagnosed b4, but mum said my chest used to rattle as a kid. My youngest son is also an asthmatic.
- Joined
- May 11, 2006
- Messages
- 8,028
- Purraise
- 22
Maybe this is a silly question, but why would you go to the ER for a COUGH?
An ER is an EMERGENCY room. It's for patients with heart attacks, strokes, just cut a limb off, car accidents, etc. It's where you go in an emergency, life or death or OMG I just caught my arm on fire situation.
Is there a specific reason that you went there as opposed to a health clinic or your own doctor's office?
ER doctors are famous for working 36+ hour shifts, and they are usually exhausted when you see them. I've had more WRONG diagnosis from ER docs than correct ones. An ER doc told me that the facial paralysis I was experiencing wasn't Belle's Palsy, it was a "small brain stem stroke." If that were the case, I would have been physically unable to walk in or out of there on my own.
My daughter was once diagnosed at age 13 as having "exercise-induced asthma." As it turned out, the reason she was coughing so much is because she had started smoking cigarettes. So she was given an inhaler to use, which helped her clear out her lungs so she could SMOKE more.
Honestly, if I were you, I'd make darned sure that I was seen and diagnosed by my regular primary care physician rather than go by what an ER doc, who is acccustomed to taking care of TRAUMA patients, diagnosed you with.
And I hope that your cough gets better.
But please, to EVERYONE, unless it is a REAL emergency, please don't go to the ER for treatment. They do not appreciate people coming to them for coughs, colds, sore throats, etc. Because then you are taking treatment time away from those who may need their lives saved.
An ER is an EMERGENCY room. It's for patients with heart attacks, strokes, just cut a limb off, car accidents, etc. It's where you go in an emergency, life or death or OMG I just caught my arm on fire situation.
Is there a specific reason that you went there as opposed to a health clinic or your own doctor's office?
ER doctors are famous for working 36+ hour shifts, and they are usually exhausted when you see them. I've had more WRONG diagnosis from ER docs than correct ones. An ER doc told me that the facial paralysis I was experiencing wasn't Belle's Palsy, it was a "small brain stem stroke." If that were the case, I would have been physically unable to walk in or out of there on my own.
My daughter was once diagnosed at age 13 as having "exercise-induced asthma." As it turned out, the reason she was coughing so much is because she had started smoking cigarettes. So she was given an inhaler to use, which helped her clear out her lungs so she could SMOKE more.
Honestly, if I were you, I'd make darned sure that I was seen and diagnosed by my regular primary care physician rather than go by what an ER doc, who is acccustomed to taking care of TRAUMA patients, diagnosed you with.
And I hope that your cough gets better.
But please, to EVERYONE, unless it is a REAL emergency, please don't go to the ER for treatment. They do not appreciate people coming to them for coughs, colds, sore throats, etc. Because then you are taking treatment time away from those who may need their lives saved.
Where I live, everyone goes to the ER for stuff thats not an emergency. We don't have any clinics and it is impossible to find a doctor around here. Pretty much anyone with a real emergency goes to a different city to a big hospital.
It's good to get a diagnosis, and after all, you had asthma before it's just that now you have a name for what you were experiencing.
It's not that bad to live with but make sure you do some research on your own and get informed. Good luck!
It's not that bad to live with but make sure you do some research on your own and get informed. Good luck!
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2006
- Messages
- 13,498
- Purraise
- 39
I agree, you must follow up with your regular doctor. If you don't have one, you need one now.
With asthma there are several medications now that can help, but you must work with a doctor to get the dosages correct. A simple rescue inhaler won't do much, that's only treating the problem after it happens - not preventing it and the damage it causes.
If you smoke, have smoked for years, or are regularly around smokers that may change your diagnoses some too.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt about using the ER - were you truly having an asthma attack it would have had to be a bit frightening. It's not just a simple cough. A person coughs and gasps and cannot get their breath at all. Asthma attack related ER visits are common and are an emergency.
A little tip - coffee. DH says it helps him some when he has an attack.
I hope you can get this under control and treated.
With asthma there are several medications now that can help, but you must work with a doctor to get the dosages correct. A simple rescue inhaler won't do much, that's only treating the problem after it happens - not preventing it and the damage it causes.
If you smoke, have smoked for years, or are regularly around smokers that may change your diagnoses some too.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt about using the ER - were you truly having an asthma attack it would have had to be a bit frightening. It's not just a simple cough. A person coughs and gasps and cannot get their breath at all. Asthma attack related ER visits are common and are an emergency.
A little tip - coffee. DH says it helps him some when he has an attack.
I hope you can get this under control and treated.
I also have asthma. I strongly suggest seeing a doctor that specializes in asthma and allergies- they can test you for stuff you never even thought you could be allergic too! As they say, knowing is half the battle. If you can figure out your triggers and treat them you won't have to use your rescue inhaler nearly as often and perhaps won't even need an asthma preventative medication. I never realized that cold air is a trigger for most asthmatics, for example- so I wear a scarf outside when its cold.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #10
I went there not only for the cough. I also had alot of trouble breathing.
Those of us with asthma understood.
Thankfully I grew out of the asthma I had as a child. Mine was allergy induced. If I get around dust or cigarette smoke till this day though i get choked up. I would follow up with your primary just to make sure.
OMG, Of course you would go to the ER for that!!!
Im sorry but the ER is for ANYONE who is having a problem that THEY feel is an emergency!! I have interned at the hospital and on the ambulances!!
ER doctors have more training than just your everyday family doctor. They go to school LONGER so they can get their specialty degree in trauma, but that doesn't mean they didn't have to take the family doctor stuff too!
The doctors do work long shifts, but depending on where you live, the trauma patients are sent to TRAUMA centers!! The hospital in my town, which is a very good hospital only has two trauma rooms! We had two girls come in for cramps, and a ton of people come in just looking for drugs! Now those I dont think should go to the ER, but in the middle of the night there is no place else to go....
Im sorry to hear that you have asthma, but at least its treatable! Did they give you any specific medication?
Im sorry but the ER is for ANYONE who is having a problem that THEY feel is an emergency!! I have interned at the hospital and on the ambulances!!
ER doctors have more training than just your everyday family doctor. They go to school LONGER so they can get their specialty degree in trauma, but that doesn't mean they didn't have to take the family doctor stuff too!
The doctors do work long shifts, but depending on where you live, the trauma patients are sent to TRAUMA centers!! The hospital in my town, which is a very good hospital only has two trauma rooms! We had two girls come in for cramps, and a ton of people come in just looking for drugs! Now those I dont think should go to the ER, but in the middle of the night there is no place else to go....
Im sorry to hear that you have asthma, but at least its treatable! Did they give you any specific medication?
I hope you are feeling better.
If you were having trouble breathing and I presume it was this weekend, then the ER is the right place to be.
Sorry that you have asthma. I strongly suggest you go to an allergist. Mine is great.
Sorry that you have asthma. I strongly suggest you go to an allergist. Mine is great.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #16
It happened about 3am Saturday morning. I woke up due to my coughing and wheezing. I was in the ER but not in a trauma room. They had me breathing through this thing (I don't know what it's called) and they also took chest xrays. The medicines they have put me on for now are.. Delsym.. Albuterol.. and Prednisone.
I what to say thank you to everyone for you support and best wishes. It means alot to me.
I what to say thank you to everyone for you support and best wishes. It means alot to me.
I agree, but if the cough was so bad that you couldn't breathe, you'd be in there too. Asthma can be incredibly scary and no, when you start coughing like that, you feel like you can't breathe - it's like trying to breathe through nothing but a 10 foot straw - and when you panic (as often happens) it makes it worse. My son has asthma and I've had to watch his little face go blue because he coudln't get a breath. Not being able to breathe is pretty life-threatening too, you know. So please calm down a little....
Yes, ER is for emergencies... and your point is well made and well noted... but Trauma and ER are different things in some places. I took my little boy in at 1am one morning to ER because he coudln't breathe - but they did have a seperate area specific for accidents..... that's why in the UK those parts of the hospital are called Accident and Emergency. Trauma and other emergencies treated equally as efficiently in the same part of the hospital by two separate teams of specialists.
And babygirl, glad to hear you got thre treatment you needed at the time
Latest Posts
-
-
-
-
Featured Picture of the Month Competition: April 2024: Cats and Clothing- Latest: catloverfromwayback
