UPDATE:

Just after posting this thread last night, I decided to take a Phenergen (antihistamine) which I had with me as a sleep aid. Within minutes the band around my chest eased for the first time in days! This despite being on all the other asthma
meds...and the hospital had not mentioned an antihistamine.

Now the next morning still no SOB and I have had about 5 hrs of sleep in my car! I did take another Phenergen around 1am.

It is definitely an allergic response to something in the house...maybe the dog and/or mould. I do have a dog allergy but it rarely bothers me and never has given me respiratory problems before. Thankfully I leave here today after the week's dog/cat/house sit.

I am so relieved! I was getting to the end of my tether...it has been so severe..and it follows weeks of asthma problems presumably from other environmental triggers.

I have learned one or two things from this and have further questions.

Certainly I have learned that this wetter climate does not suit me and I won't be relocating from WA.

1. The band around my chest feeling which I have had when I lived over here 50 years ago and for which the doctor gave me a script for Valium was probably also an allergic reaction. (Thankfully my boyfriend who knew what they were and how addictive threw them in the bin)

2. While at the Emergency Dept of the hospital 2 days ago I was asked about my coughing, which caused me to realise that I had barely coughed all day and was not needing to spit (very unusual for me). I wonder if that was because of the amount of salbutamol (Ventolin) I had had during the night before in my attempts to relieve the sob...maybe 8 puffs.

3. This leads me to consider in a different light the conclusions the specialists have come to in the past regarding my symptoms...that is my 'mild' Be could not account for the volume of mucus i am producing (at least 1x7oz cup on each nebulising). The specialists all had me on Symbicort for asthma symptoms I was not aware of for years. I never noticed the slightest difference and therefore became uncompliant. This recent experience has made me wonder if asthma is the basis of my mucus production and may be better controlled with more regulat Ventolin - because Symbicort didn't appear to be changing anything. However I don't think I want to be taking the volume of Ventolin I had been the other night to achieve a 'no mucus' result either.

What are the side effects of so much Ventolin?

4. I was considering staying on the Symbicort beyond the 2 weeks prescribed to help offset this flair but now i am wondering if hzt is worthwhile...it didnt help my Be symptoms previously and nor did it this tme. Maybe I should tzke Ventolin instead...however I already take 2 puffs before nebbing and that hasn't decreased mucus. Sorry...just thinking aloud.

5. (Doing this on phone and guessing number here)
What does this say in regard to the predisone solution? I had only taken 2 of the 3 days of pills, but it wasn't touching the breathing problems...only the antihistamine did that. So is the histamine reaction following a different course to that which the predisone is supposed to be addressing...or does it just take longer to achieve an outcome with predisone?

I apologise for all of this ramble and hope some of you can understand my thoughts and questions...possibly Sue who seems to have a similar disease mix to myself and has been this route (although it seems the Symbicort has worked for her)??