Anxiety & Asthma!

[andrewjdavid2005]

Does anyone know how asthma and anxiety affect each other?
I keep getting shortness of breath feeling and sometimes i think its asthma or a blood clot or just anxiety!

But alot of the time my peak flow goes from around 370 which is my normal to around 300 its like a yo yo it seems to go up and down its even been below 280 acouple of times i dont know how asthma and anxiety affect each other.
I get lots of symptoms but when i feel breathless sometimes i take my inhaler but i feel no different and sometimes that really worries me that it could be something bad but then again it could be anxiety making me think im out of breath but really im not although sometimes my peak flow proves i must be breathless.

[Quirky]

Hi Andrew,
Anxiety can trigger asthma. I have mild asthma but luckily my peak flow is usualy 500 and only if I have a bad cold does it drop to 450/480.
I can tell the difference between asthma and anxiety breathlessness now but I used to worry about my asthma when I was breathless. Now I just take my peak flow and if It's ok I believe it's just anxiety. An asthma nurse once told me that anxiety (i.e hyperventilating) feels worse when you try and breathe in, whereas Asthma feels worse when you try and breathe out. Most of my trouble has been on breathing in as I hyperventilate. I don't know if that helps at all.
if your peak flow is dropping to 280 it does suggest it could be the asthma causing that but it's probably a combinaton of asthma and anxiety. When our asthma plays up our breathing feels odd and we panic about it slightly causing it to feel worse. Some peoples peak flows drop a little when anxious but mine often increases as I have too much oxygen. I hope this makes sense!
Have you had many tests for asthma e.g lung spirometry? This can give a good indication of how your lungs are and can be more efficient than a peak flow. it can usually be done at your doctors surgery.
Take care,
LJ

[Quirky]

Hi Andrew,
I just wondered how you're doing, as you haven't replied? Is your asthma ok etc?
LJ

[nomorepanic]

Andrew never replies to post I am afraid to say. He posts but never replies.

Nicola

"Nearly all happiness comes into our lives through doors we don't even remember leaving open"

[Quirky]

Ok thanks Nicola.