[Closed] Anyone 'lost' asthma when they lost weight??

Possibly is the answer. You respiratory symptoms will improve if you lose weight.

I stopped snoring. Though I still snored at BMI 24, was only when I got down to 23 that it stopped. And that was pretty lean!

Sorry if that's no use at all!

I would say definitely.
My wife was a bit overweight and her asthma was quite bad. She then lost three and a half stone and although she still takes a preventative, it's so much better. I'm sure this is all to do with her general fitness getting better too. Losing weight is a win win situation, and you'll feel so much more positive if you give it a go.

I didn’t lose my asthma when I lost 7 stone but an inhaler now does last about a year so the attacks are much less frequent.

Nothing to add other than best of luck mate, hardest part for me was admitting I needed to change my lifestyle. 👍🏻

Seven stone!
Thats amazing slowbloke.
Well done you.

When I lost 35kgs ( I was around the weight you are , if not a bit heavier) I a) reversed my diabetes ( though still pre diabetic), stops the acid reflux I had had since I was 25 ( even when I was thin and fit), and my asthma had hugely reduced. From 600mg of Symbicort a day plus other stuff, I now take a light preventer most mornings - Relvar , as you mention, which is a very light medication. I rarely wheeze unless it is very damp or bad air quality ( such as going to Shanghai, or Singapore when the Indonesian were burning rain forest).
I suggested giving up the medication - but the advice was “no”. I do carry a salbutamol in inhaler with me when I cycle - just in case - and it also makes going up hills easier 😉

If you only started getting the symptoms when you piled on weight, chances are that losing weight will alleviate them.

Reflux can be associated with asthma-like symptoms, or exacerbation of existing asthma - basically the acid is irritating your airway without you realising it. 'Silent' reflux is a thing - you don't get the burning symptoms, but acid is still getting out and into your airway.

If you're trying to cart an extra 3 stone up the hill, your lungs will be working harder anyway, so any issues will seem worse.

I put on a fair amount of weight (for me) at the start of the year. At one stage a few months back, my asthma was so bad I was struggling on even easy hills, and having trouble doing my short local loop.

Well done for getting stuck in and losing some weight, keep going! GPs are busy right now, but some reflux medication may be a good plan. If the brown inhaler is ineffective, perhaps ask to try something else. I have a combined salmeterol/flucticasone puffer which has been a revelation.

I stopped snoring. Though I still snored at BMI 24, was only when I got down to 23 that it stopped. And that was pretty lean!

Sorry if that’s no use at all!

I started snoring really bad too so this does help!

Well done Slowbloke, that's some going

I started snoring really bad too so this does help!

If your snoring is that bad, you may have some form of sleep apnoea, which can make you feel generally unwell, lethargic and less likely to want to exercise - it's also associated with heartburn.

Obesity is a bit of a vicious circle, every extra symptom makes getting rid of the weight a bigger effort.

I grew out of my asthma at 21, but it sharp returned, probably more to do with smoking than anything else. I am still asthmatic now, but losing weight a few years ago did help. I'm presuming this is more to do with a general increase in cardio-vascular fitness as opposed to 'losing' asthma. As above, I now take Relvar daily (previously on Seretide), and have a salbutamol inhaler that is about to go out of date that's how infrequently I take it. It does not make going up hills any easier IME, however, not coughing a lung up at the top is an added bonus 😉 and as if to prove my theory (as all self proclaimed theories on STW must be correct); I have put weight back on over the last 2 years and my overall fitness has decreased. No major impacts on the asthma, however, I am now attempting to reverse the trend once more...I will stay away from the red wine, I will stay away from the crisps...

Well done!

In answer to your question though, I have exercise induced asthma and the answer is no, it didn't go.

But the fitter/lighter I am, the easier it is to stay below the level of exertion where an attack is likely to occur.

If your snoring is that bad, you may have some form of sleep apnoea, which can make you feel generally unwell, lethargic and less likely to want to exercise – it’s also associated with heartburn.

Obesity is a bit of a vicious circle, every extra symptom makes getting rid of the weight a bigger effort.

The heartburn has gone now i don't drink any carbonated drinks! I get a little if I had an pastry but always did.

I had an MRI in 2020 for sinus issues and the doctor said my septum isn't deviated and it's probably my excess weight causing it. Right up until I hit 19 stone i never snored.

Interestingly since dropping over 23 kg, giving up the fags, and basically getting as fit as I've ever been, the asthma I have had since I was 18 has got significantly worse

Probably coincidence rather than anything else and heart desease/ lung cancer will kill me far quicker than asthma ever will so its an acceptable trade off

Every winter i always got what I thought was a period of chest infection type symptoms and used to use a blue salbutomol inhaler to chase away a very slight wheeze.

This is classic cold weather induced asthama
from https://www.asthma.org.uk/advice/triggers/weather/#cold
"Breathing in dry, cold air irritates your airways. Your lungs then react to this by becoming tighter and this makes it more difficult to breathe."

If you are walking up stairs with an extra 3 stone at the same pace as always you are doing almost 17% more work, that would make me breathless, so yes losing weight will help in that regard as there is less of you to move around.

If the reliever is not sorting this out, go back to your GP. I had a similar issue with breathlessness going up just a single flight of stairs a couple of years ago, in my case blood tests showed I was mildly anaemic and had a folic acid deficiency.

If your inhalers make no difference then you should go back to your doctor and ask him to investigate other things that can give the same symptoms as asthma. Cardio-vascualar disease for example, there is sometimes an overlap between the two.

Really interesting reoplies coming through.

I haven't physically seen a doctor, they won't see me in person or give me s spirograph?? cos of Covid.

My two last blue inhalers both had so little use they were both two years out of date by the time I felt the need to use them and that was more because my chest had an irritating whislte/wheeze than any lack of ability to breathe.

Interestingly the nurse mentiones COPD which killed my mum in 2017, but she was an absolute chimney for 60 years and had an alcohol addition as well as cholesterol issues, but she wasn't overweight. She had both her legs amputated too.

I've never smoked except hers when I was a kid. Could COPD be a thing for someone at my age??

I can't google it, i'd be booking my funeral by the end of today if i did lol

Could COPD be a thing for someone at my age??

Seems unlikely without the chimneying/some other cause. Does your surgery have an asthma nurse? See if you can book an appointment if so. Might help get your medication reviewed more quickly.

Do you have a peak flow meter? If not, ask them to prescribe you one, then keep a record for a few weeks, morning and evening.

It's worth getting your condition as well-controlled as possible before winter.

Reflux can be associated with asthma-like symptoms, or exacerbation of existing asthma – basically the acid is irritating your airway without you realising it. ‘Silent’ reflux is a thing – you don’t get the burning symptoms, but acid is still getting out and into your airway

I get silent reflux, only recently diagnosed.

I do have a history of asthma, when recently I had issues my GP thought I had all sorts wrong with me, basically said slightest twinge in the chest get to A+E fast.
He suggested my liver was damaged.
Did some blood tests, all came back fine.
Next doctor had a look at my throat and it looked like one of my tonsils was growing back.
Referred to the cancer peeps a couple of months later after her forgetting to do the referral and me doing an ostrich impression.
MRI scan to have a good look.
Had another tonsillectomy. Was phoned by the hospital after saying they needed me to come in (they'd said they wouldn't need to see me if it was ok) No cancer, consultant wasn't sure why they called me in.
Still having breathing issues, referred to a local private clinic. 10 mins look

Silent reflex, take lots of gaviscon. Problem under control. So yes acid reflex can cause breathing issues that the reliever won't help. Gaviscon and cutting back on certain foods control it usually.

Blood pressure magicly improved too.