I'm in dire need of advice about my asthma/situation

[Edgie]

Hello,

I'm in a bad situation and need some advice.

Let me elaborate.

I am 24 years old and still live with my father.

I have dealt with allergies, sinus, anxiety, and depression problems since I was born.

I tried to go to college when I was 20 and things have just been going down hill for me since then.

I had to drop college because I ended up developing panic disorder. I couldn't leave my house without having a panic attack.

It took a few years to get over. I didn't want to cope with it by taking medicine, I tried, but the side effects were too much for me. Nothing seemed to work.

Anyway, I had finally gotten over that and was considering giving college another go, but then I got the swine flu.

I never suffered from asthma until after I got the swine flu. Once I recovered from the flu I noticed about once a week I was having an episode at night where my chest was tight and breathing took a little more energy than normal.

As time progressed my asthma got worse, which at the time I didn't know was asthma.

It got to the point where I was tight chested and wheezing daily.

Now I don't have health insurance and my father is one of those stubborn people who think they know more than the doctors and won't go see one even if he was on his death bed.

It took me a couple months to convince my dad to take me to the doctor.

Every day I would wheeze to his face and tell him I'm having trouble breathing. Then he would make himself wheeze by forcefully exhaling kinda like a cough and say "See I can do that too." Trying to suggest I was fine.

He took me to a local walk-in doctor who didn't tell me anything about asthma. He prescribed me $300.00 worth of prescriptions, only two of which were asthma related and had no refills.

My father was actually upset with me that I had cost him so much money. He didn't think I needed to be there to begin with and I didn't know the doctor was gonna prescribe me a $150.00 bottle of heart burn medicine. (Which I didn't need, heart burn does make my asthma worse but I almost never get it. I think dust-mites and allergens are my main triggers.)

I did use the rescue inhaler and took the pill form steroiRAB prescribed to me. The steroiRAB didn't work.

After using up the rescue inhaler I managed to get my father to take me back to the doctor again. He thought we wouldn't have to pay the regular walk-in price since we were just coming to get a prescription for the inhaler, but we did.

This time I was prescribed a rescue inhaler with 6 refills and some type of powder inhaled steroid. Again the steroid didn't help. Although I'm not sure I even used it right. It was a weird twist to load steroid that didn't have any taste or anything. I'm not sure I even inhaled anything out of it.

My asthma is continuing to get worse. I'm using my rescue inhaler about twice a day, and I'm enduring a very tight chest and wheezing because I don't want to use it too much. Twice a day is already too much.

My asthma is serious and I need to see a specialist.

I know my father won't take me though and I don't have health insurance.

Like I said he is a stubborn know it all personality type.

I've got my six refills of my rescue inhaler so in his mind I'm "cured"

I'm really really scared of what might become of me if I get the flu or pneumonia.

I just don't know how to get it through to my father how serious this is.

I found a nice informational video on asthma that I could show him, but it would just all be over his head, not to mention he would probably just look at me like I'm crazy or he would think my head is filled with nonsense from the internet.


What should I do?

These visits to the quick care doctor in smalltown smallsville isn't cutting it.

If I don't have health insurance are there any other means of getting actual help?

What would you do in my situation?

 

[Titchou]

Do you have a county health department? I'd go there. If you truly have asthma (and it could be other things), then you need to be on a daily med t o control it.
Or is there a charity hospital? You could try there.

 

[Mari526]

One thing that you could do is develop a nutrient dense meal plan. I think your body must be very nutritionally depleted.

There are other threaRAB here you can look at such as the nutrition and vitamin ones. You would be surprised at how your body can respond to positive changes.

It's not only the physical stresses that deplete your body, emotional stressors can also play a part. Even your dad's negative attitude is a stressor. All your stressors can fatigue your adrenal glanRAB and lead you to poor health.

If you do some research you may find some solutions to your health problems. Good luck, and don't give up. Let us know how you're doing.

 

[Filial]

First of all, if you were sick and didn't fully recover you could have 'walking pnemonia'. I had it for two years because I wasn't properly treated for a cold I got. I have asthma also and now if I get sick it is a requirement that I use my nebulizer machine to keep my lungs strong enough to see through the mildest of colRAB.

If you don't have insurance there is public health insurance. There is no requirement to pay a premium and I think your dad would be quite pleased to not have to spend money on you again.

However, because you are male and young, the income limit is very low (making it harder to qualify) and you may very well be quizzed as to why you don't have work. (if you don't)

But if you let your asthma go too long untreated you can weaken your lungs as I did. Rescue inhalers are NOT a long term treatment.

I had an emergency room doctor send me home with one while my lungs were in full constriction. My fingernails were blue and I could not move without panting like I were in a marathon.

The ER did their standard breathing treatment with a nebulizer but even the one treatment wasn't enough to release the constriction. I went home, suffered through the night and went the next morning to my MD.

The secretary saw I was barely moving and hunched over. She called the nurse out and they pulled me into the back immediately where I was given another nebulizer treatment.. My Dr put me on a tablet steroid, an inhaled steroid (TAKE THIS IT MOST CERTAINLY DOES HELP!!), an RX for ten boxes of Albuterol for my Nebulizer and a hardcore antibiotic that is effective for Pnemonia. He was very upset that I only had rescue inhalers because they are ineffective when you are that far gone. If your lungs are shut..how is the medicine going to get to the deepest part of your lungs where it is needed to relieve the constriction??

Asthma is no joke and can be deadly if you don't get proper treatment.

Go to the local county welfare department. Find their nuraber and if you don't have a ride they can do a lot over the phone. If you need a ride they can provide one for you. They will even take you to your doctor's appointments if you don't have a ride there. Tell them you have Asthma. It along with Diabetes and Heart Conditions are among those that they take seriously. If you qualify, they can expedite the process because of your serious condition.

Good luck, man

 

[Edgie]

I didn't know welfare did that. Interesting and thank you.


I'll have to look up the local office and see what info I can get from them.


As for my current situation, I managed to talk my dad into taking me to a specialist.

My problem was my casual approach. After a real serious talk he agreed he would take me.

Well we haven't went yet.

Not sure what kind of doctor to see exactly or if we need to call to set up an appointment or what.

Only doctors I've ever seen were in the ER or a walk-in clinic so I'm not sure how to set up with the specialists. I'm sure we'll get it figured out over the weekend though.

I actually did get Pneumonia for almost 3 weeks early last year. Went to the ER for it and got put on a pretty strong anti-biotic.

Though I didn't really start having these asthma like symptoms until after I got the swine-flu in the fall. Although I've read that it's not uncommon for the flu to be accompanied by Pneumonia so you might be right.

I really hope it is something curable. My worst fear is that I go in and find out it's cancer.

I will keep you all updated.

Thanks for your support. It really helps when you got something wrong with you and you don't know what it is exactly. Very scary.

Oh and I can't believe the ER released you in that condition. Wouldn't that be malpractice? I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure when you start turning blue you need to be in the hospital being looked after.