Re: can't breathe--pulmonologist says its asthma, I think otherwise.

I am a respiratory therapist with many years of experience in the hospital setting. I am not a doctor, so this reply to you is solely my opinion.
As much as we know about asthma, there is much more we don't. If you were diagnosed as a child with asthma, or reactive airway disease, you don't grow out of it. Your airways have always and will always be reactive when exposed to whatever triggers cause your airway response. As we grow, the diameter of our small airways grow. Therefore, your airways still react, or constrict. It just so happens that for a period of time the airway constriction was not noticeable, or did not cause noticeable symptoms. Then as our airways age and are exposed to more pollutants, allergens, cigarrette smoke etc., we can develop symptoms. This may take years. I don't know your age, but that can be a factor as well.
You have to identify your triggers to come up with a treatment plan. I can possibly identify your biggest trigger from your post. Stress and anxiety seem to be your biggest triggers. With all triggers our bodies have an immune response and from that response we have airway constriction. You are just one of the lucky ones to have reactive airways.
so, you must control the triggers to prevent an attack. Then if you do have an attack, you must treat those symptoms. The medications for both are different. If you would like to know about the different meds, let me know. would take a lot more space to get into detail about them here. I would recommend you have a pulmonary function test done if you have not had one done already. This will determine the level of your asthma. Untreated, or uncontrolled asthma over a long period of time can develop into emphysema, because of the constant inflammatory process. That, coupled with smoking, can triple the chances of that happening. Hope this helps. I know it has been awhile since you have posted this. Good Luck!
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