People who are living with asthma generally need to take varying types of medication to keep their symptoms under control. While you may start with a certain regimen after you’ve been diagnosed, it doesn’t mean that you’ll always have that routine. It’s not uncommon for doctors to change their patients’ asthma medications over time based on certain factors. Here’s how to know when it’s time to talk to your doctor about changing your medical regimen.
7 Signs That Your Asthma Medications Aren’t Working
1. You’re Coughing More During The Day
Your asthma medication is supposed to be able to control your symptoms unless you’re having an emergency. Coughing or feeling like you’re about to cough during the day is a sign that your medication isn’t enough.
2. You’re Wheezing At Night
Wheezing is a definite sign that your asthma is uncontrolled. This is especially true if the wheezing and coughing are bad enough to wake you up. If your asthma is fine, you should only wake up from coughing or wheezing a maximum of twice per month. Anything more than that means you need to talk to your doctor.
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3. You’re Using Your Inhaler More Often
As with all medications, there are set usage times for your inhaler. If you’re supposed to use a maintenance inhaler two or three times per day, you shouldn’t need it more often than that. An emergency or reliever inhaler, on the other hand, should usually be used once per week to handle a flare-up in respiratory symptoms. Needing to use it two or three times per week is a sign to see your doctor.
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4. You Feel Short Of Breath
Shortness of breath is a characteristic of asthma. However, an effective medical regimen would have it under control. If you’re still short of breath when using your medication, it could lead to a dangerous situation.
5. You Can’t Exercise
Even people with severe asthma should be able to do some exercise. Being able to exercise without having an attack means that your medications are working well. If you can’t work out despite taking your medications the way you’re supposed to, your doctor needs to know.
6. Your Chest Constantly Feels Tight
Taking your medication is supposed to ease chest tightness. If the medication only gives temporary relief or there’s no change at all, then it’s not working. This is definitely an issue that your doctor needs to address.
7. You Can’t Speak Normally
When your asthma is under control, speaking normally shouldn’t be a problem. If you can’t breathe well enough to have a good conversation, then something is wrong. It’s important to let you know about this issue.
What To Tell Your Doctor
Since you might forget all the symptoms you’re experiencing at the time of your appointment, doctors recommend writing them down when they occur. By doing that, you’ll be able to give your doctor a complete list that they can appraise. It’s a good idea to collect the information over time so your doctor can see if the issue is getting worse and how often you have those symptoms.
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What Your Doctor Might Do
After listening to your symptoms, your doctor is likely to conduct a physical examination to assess the state of your breathing. Sometimes, your ineffective medication can put your respiratory system in distress, so you need emergency treatment with steroids. If the issue isn’t as severe, your doctor may prescribe a short-term course of rescue treatment that includes oral steroids. Steroids are great for reducing inflammation in your system that could be affecting your breathing.
Finally, your doctor might increase the dosage of your medication or add another one. For example, some people start out only needing an emergency inhaler that they use when they’re having a respiratory issue. If this isn’t enough anymore, the doctor may add a daily maintenance inhaler.
Not everyone will need to adjust their asthma treatment over time. If you’ve been experiencing the symptoms that are listed here, though, it’s time to talk to your doctor about re-assessing your medications. It can be dangerous to leave your asthma uncontrolled.
