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Concerned about Tight Chest: Testing for asthma

Asthma & Allergy | Last Active: 2 hours ago | Replies (9)

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@emtaylor

Thank you Colleen! Yes, I've noticed a major improvement, and am following up with my pulmonologist in a few weeks to see what's next.

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Replies to "Thank you Colleen! Yes, I've noticed a major improvement, and am following up with my pulmonologist..."

Hi, @emtaylor - it sounds as though you've been through quite a bit of testing with the laryngoscopy, endoscopy, chest X-ray, pulmonary function test, many blood tests, plus taking allergy meds and a budesonide inhaler. I also have asthma. My symptoms were mostly coughing and chest tightening, which I later recognized with a physician's help as inaudible wheezing.

I took a lot of the same tests you mentioned, including spirometry, chest X-ray and body plethysmography (also called lung or pulmonary plethysmography). I also did a test for reflux medication, to see if that might affect my symptoms, which it didn't. Sounds like you did something similar. My allergist also trialed me on a maintenance inhaler plus a rescue inhaler. Since that worked effectively, I was determined to have asthma.

I'm glad to hear you've had major improvement of your chest tightness. That is a big relief, literally and figuratively.

You mentioned your pulmonologist said that based on my symptoms and the testing she had seen, you have asthma or reactive airway disease. Will you share more about which symptoms and results from your testing most made her feel you had one of these two diseases?