Respiratory specialist
I was diagnosed with asthma around 1999 or 2000 following a methacholine challenge. Before that I'd had multiple lung function tests that came out completely clear, showing no signs of problems, even though I was constantly coughing and wheezing and gasping for air everywhere *except* where they did the lung function tests. If it hadn't been for the methacholine test I probably would still not have a diagnosis.
I've been on Advair for about ten years, currently 50/500, but I still get attacks when I'm around triggers such as smoke or strong perfumes, and I have a lot of trouble doing any kind of exercise other than walking slowly on a flat surface. I have trouble climbing stairs, walking up hills or trying to run to catch a bus, for example. My doctors are always bugging me to get more exercise, so I bought myself a bicycle, but I can't ride for more than a few minutes (again on a flat surface) without having to pull over and cough my guts out on the side of the road. I asked my GP for help, and the response I got was "Stop riding your bicycle."
I finally got my endocrinologist (diabetes doctor) to refer me to a respiratory specialist, but the specialist refuses to listen to me. He doesn't even believe I have asthma because all my lung function tests have been clear and because I was not having an active attack in his office. He says I'm wasting my money on expensive medication for absolutely no reason. He says my exercise problems are due to my being "out of shape." (I know the Advair works because if I don't take it, my symptoms get much worse very quickly. A few years ago I tried taking it only once a day instead of the usual twice a day, in order to save money, and I was having coughing attacks and wheezing constantly.) He can't explain why I have attacks when around smoke or other triggers. Even if I did have asthma, the Advair is supposed to prevent attacks when I'm around triggers, he said. I do agree that I am out of shape. However, I have been trying to improve that by getting more exercise, and the asthma is making any kind of exercise extremely difficult.
He has ordered me to take yet another lung function test (I think this will be the fifth or sixth time). I am sure this one will come out perfectly normal, just as the previous four or five did. They tell you to make sure you take all your medication as usual before the test, to avoid triggers and to sit quietly in the waiting room for 20 minutes before the test (no exertion of any kind). Therefore, there will be no reason for the test to be any different from any of the others.
Unless I deliberately stop taking my Advair for a few days before my follow-up appointment, I don't know how to get this specialist to take me seriously. For the entire appointment he acted as if I were wasting his time and he was openly hostile to me. I wonder if his attitude was because I am an overweight person with diabetes (though I've had diabetes for 40 years and it is not related to my weight) and saw me as somebody who is the popular stereotype of a fat, lazy diabetic.
I've been on Advair for about ten years, currently 50/500, but I still get attacks when I'm around triggers such as smoke or strong perfumes, and I have a lot of trouble doing any kind of exercise other than walking slowly on a flat surface. I have trouble climbing stairs, walking up hills or trying to run to catch a bus, for example. My doctors are always bugging me to get more exercise, so I bought myself a bicycle, but I can't ride for more than a few minutes (again on a flat surface) without having to pull over and cough my guts out on the side of the road. I asked my GP for help, and the response I got was "Stop riding your bicycle."
I finally got my endocrinologist (diabetes doctor) to refer me to a respiratory specialist, but the specialist refuses to listen to me. He doesn't even believe I have asthma because all my lung function tests have been clear and because I was not having an active attack in his office. He says I'm wasting my money on expensive medication for absolutely no reason. He says my exercise problems are due to my being "out of shape." (I know the Advair works because if I don't take it, my symptoms get much worse very quickly. A few years ago I tried taking it only once a day instead of the usual twice a day, in order to save money, and I was having coughing attacks and wheezing constantly.) He can't explain why I have attacks when around smoke or other triggers. Even if I did have asthma, the Advair is supposed to prevent attacks when I'm around triggers, he said. I do agree that I am out of shape. However, I have been trying to improve that by getting more exercise, and the asthma is making any kind of exercise extremely difficult.
He has ordered me to take yet another lung function test (I think this will be the fifth or sixth time). I am sure this one will come out perfectly normal, just as the previous four or five did. They tell you to make sure you take all your medication as usual before the test, to avoid triggers and to sit quietly in the waiting room for 20 minutes before the test (no exertion of any kind). Therefore, there will be no reason for the test to be any different from any of the others.
Unless I deliberately stop taking my Advair for a few days before my follow-up appointment, I don't know how to get this specialist to take me seriously. For the entire appointment he acted as if I were wasting his time and he was openly hostile to me. I wonder if his attitude was because I am an overweight person with diabetes (though I've had diabetes for 40 years and it is not related to my weight) and saw me as somebody who is the popular stereotype of a fat, lazy diabetic.