Take My Breathe Away

Before I continue, let me just say this was written in early April this year... way before H1N1 was brought to our attention. It was the day that we shifted to our new office in Scotts. So new that the fumes from the empty desks made my eyes water. That very same night, I coughed so bad and started wheezing. I was fed cough mixture at home and hushed back to sleep but before long, I was awoken again because it was getting hard to breathe.

When I got to TTSH, I was immediately put on this mask that released some gas.


Within 15 minutes, I felt so much better!!! Instantly, my chest felt clear and I could take large breathes with amazing ease. This mask thing is really a miracle!!! I was really impressed. But either it was the gas that made me so drowsy that I can barely keep my eyes open; or I was really tired since it's 3am. So I slept while waiting for the duty doctor to see me properly.

After a flurry of x-rays and examinations, TTSH diagnosed me as having bronchitis and suspected asthma. By the time I got home, the sun is rising and I was so so tired.


So I search for some information about bronchitis and this is what I got from the net.

Acute bronchitis is inflammation of the tubes that carry air to the lungs. It is usually caused by a virus and follows a cold or influenza. The infection moves from the nose, mouth, and throat to the bronchial tubes, causing the tubes to swell and mucus production to increase.

Symptoms usually include:

• A cough, which is the main symptom of acute bronchitis. It may be dry at first and after a few days may bring up mucus.
• A mild fever, usually less than 101F. A higher fever may indicate pneumonia.
• A general feeling of tiredness.
• A sensation of tightness, burning, or dull pain in the chest under the breastbone that usually is worse when breathing deeply or coughing.
• Whistling noises (Wheezing) when breathing, especially during physical exertion.
• Hoarseness

What needs to be done?

• Avoid cigarette smoke. If you smoke, stop. People who smoke or are around smokers have more frequent bouts of acute bronchitis as smoke reduces the body's ability to remove bacteria and viruses that can cause infections in the lungs.
• Wearing a face mask while working around irritants, such as dust. Specially designed masks are available to filter out dangerous chemicals or dust.
• Avoiding contact with those who have upper respiratory tract infection, such as a cold, especially if you have an impaired immune system or another medical condition.
• Wash your hands often during the cold and flu season.

So I thought it was just a fluke occurrence and attribute it to the fact that maybe my shifting of office was too 'dusty' for me. About a month passed before I went back to TTSH for review. The doctor started by explaining to me the possibility of asthma. Although it is rare to develop asthma in adulthood, it is not impossible. He just wanted to rule asthma out before carrying out the appropriate treatment programme. So I was sent for this test - Histamine Bronchochellenge test.

Little did I know that this turned out to be a two hour affair. Test indeed!!! So challenging some more.

To keep the long story short, the lab guy introduced different types of 'irritants' into my respiratory system to check out how I react. Below is the test graph.

Basically, I tested positive - so yes, I have asthma now! The horizontal line at 80 was meant as the test line so during the 3rd round (see the 3rd vertical line), it dipped to below 80. That's a drop of 21% and after inhaler, the line went back up above 80.

The doctor explains that essentially, whenever I feel uncomfortable at night, it is because I am 'applying' the above test on myself when I was sleeping. Haha! Now I know why my night cough is a on-and-off thing. For so many months.

I am on this program now which supposedly would keep asthma under control. I have the red inhaler and the blue one. Blue for emergencies, red to puff twice a day which will treat the inflammation part.

The next review will be up soon. Naturally, I hope for good news; or at least news that I am making some progress.