The story so far...

For as long as I can remember, I've had breathing problems.Most of the time it was due to hayfever. From April to August every year I would be up 5 nights a week coughing, feel breathless, have a tight chest, and wheeze whenever I did exercise. I always just accepted that this is what happened, this was 'me'. I got a prescription for a salbutamol inhaler when I was about 9 and just kept using the inhalers as and when I needed then (usually every day). I don't know when the prescription ran out, I'd tell my mum I needed a new inhaler and a week later I'd get one. I suppose for a while I didn't even know they could run out! Last year, I decided that when the inhaler I had ran out, I would go to the doctors. Every year the symptoms get worse and it got to the point where I could only dance for 5 minutes before I was unable to breathe, eventhough my overall fitness had improved. I used to be able to last for an hour.

I had a chest infection when I was a few hours old, so I took it as given that every winter I would get around 10-12 colds and that I would constantly have a cough. Last year, in November, it was worse than ever. I was literally unable to breathe, using my inhaler 4 times a week and awake all night coughing. I saw a nurse practitioner but also had tonsillitis and laryngitis at the time so I couldn't explain myself. She told me I didn't have a chest infection and that I should just ride it out. By Februaruy it hadn't gone so I made an appointment with my GP. My inhaler had run out anyway by now. This was 5 weeks ago. He asked me a few questions, listened to my chest and then told me to use a salbutamol inhaler morning and night, and whenever I needed it, to keep an symptom diary and to see an asthma nurse in 6 weeks.

So, I'm going next week. My GP said she would do breathing tests, but didn't say what they are, or what they involve. My breathing had improved and, though I still get symptoms, I'm back up to 10 minutes of dancing a night and am generally more awake. Hayfever is my main problem at the moment and this year my tablets aren't working after a month of taking them, so I'm going to ask about something stronger.

Thinking about this, and after having done work experience in health centres, I know now that I have probably always had asthma. I've always had symptoms. I should have been reviewed in the last 9 years since starting to use an inhaler- no even showeed me this, I had to read the instructions in the box- but for some reason I have been missed. Maybe it was because I have never put myself forward, made an appointment to complain about breathing, so everyone just assumed I'm ok. Maybe I was just missed by accident. This is one question I'm hopefully going to get an answer to next week.

The other questions that I have include:

• what happens when you see an asthma nurse for the first time?
• the salbutamol inhaler is a reliever, so why am I using it daily, almost like it's a preventor?
• will I ever be able to get back to dancing for an hour?
• will doing a science degree cause me problems, since I'll be around chemicals all day and chemistry practicals that I do in sixth form now affect me?

There are loads more. These are just a select few. As soon as I know the answers, I'll post them.

More than anything at the moment, I'm just scared. I have seen my GP twice through illness, the first time for the inhaler when I was 9, the second time for something else, which turned out to be just a horrible bug that lasted ages, when I was 13. As you can imagine, it's a bit of a shock to the system that I've had two appointments within 6 weeks, have daily medication, and potentially will have more appointments and medication in the future. Writing this blog is helping me, and I hope it helps you too.

Now, it's time to go back to revision, maybe some biology? The lung diseases section? :)