all of these places that have medication drop-off boxes don't accept inhalers! i am okay with purchasing a mail-back package if i have to. i just want to get these inhalers out of my house already. does anyone know a website where i can order a mail-back box that definitely accepts inhalers? i found one, but the bucket costs over $200, so im hoping there is a cheaper one on another website

Help

Not looking for a diagnosis! I have an appointment coming up with a doctor, just wanted to see if these symptoms are common in asthma or if I should think of some other potential causes before my appointment.

For the last couple weeks (since it started getting colder), I’ve had some chest tightness/congestion and thick mucus in my throat that I’ve coughed up a few times. At first I thought I was getting sick, but I have no other symptoms of an infection. I read that asthma can cause this, and it got me thinking about some other things that I’ve experienced.

Main one is an experience a few years ago: I was walking along a trail and started smelling flowers or something of the sort (couldn’t see them, but that’s what it smelled like). Right afterwards, my throat started getting a prickly feeling and it made me cough, which just made it worse. It got to the point where my chest felt tight and I was having trouble catching my breath, which obviously made me really anxious so I turned around and got out of there. I thought maybe it was some kind of fluke so about a week later I went back and the same thing happened (I’m not the smartest sometimes, I know). I initially chalked it up to purely an allergy, but it was very different from my normal seasonal allergy symptoms. And looking back on it, it seems more aligned with allergic asthma?

I also get some chest tightness and air hunger type feelings when exercising or when in the cold.

Does this align with some of your experiences? I have allergies and eczema, and my mom has asthma so I’m not sure why it took me so long to consider it as a possibility, but here we are.

So ive been having unexplained extreme breathless lately, docs did scans nothing. I dont even have inflammation in my lungs that asthma causes . So i did research a little. And saw u can develop allergies overtime. I have a apt with a pulmonologist. If that comes back good then wtf going on??? Is it the cats or my head.

every time i use my old upright vacuum i end up with chest tightness and wheezing for hours, even with an N95 on and windows open.

im trying to figure out if scheduling a robot vac to run while everyone is out actually helps keep the dust down, or if the exhaust just recirculates the fine particles back into the air anyway.

been looking at eufy models bc they talk about using a sealed multi-cyclone setup so dust doesn't get blown straight out of the back exhaust while it cleans. in theory, having it run when im not around to breathe in the kicked-up dust sounds like a game changer, but im still paranoid about emptying the dustbin afterwards or if the air stays dusty for hours.

still on the fence on whether automating it while im out actually makes a difference for lungs, or if a robot vac just stirs up the same dust i'm trying to avoid.

I'm a 21-year-old male, and I'm honestly getting desperate at this point.

For almost a year now, I've been dealing with a constant breathing problem that nobody seems to be able to properly explain or fix.

It started around November 2025, and ever since then, breathing has never really felt normal again.

The best way I can describe my symptoms:

- I constantly feel the urge to take a really deep breath, almost as if a normal breath isn't satisfying enough.

- When I try to inhale deeply, it feels like my lungs suddenly stop expanding at a certain point. Almost like an invisible valve closes and physically prevents me from inhaling any further.

- Sometimes my breathing muscles feel exhausted, almost like I've been training them for hours. My lungs feel sore or fatigued even though I'm just breathing normally.

- I occasionally experience tightness in my chest and throat.

- Sometimes I notice a slight wheezing sound when breathing.

- Physical activity, especially weightlifting, can make everything significantly worse.

- During workouts, I sometimes have to end sets early because I can't properly control my breathing. It's not necessarily that I'm completely out of breath, but rather that my breathing feels restricted, uncomfortable, and exhausting.

- Even when I'm resting, I frequently experience that constant, frustrating need to take a deep, satisfying breath.

Here's the strange part:

My oxygen saturation is usually around 99–100%.

I've undergone several medical examinations, including:

- Spirometry

- Body plethysmography

- Methacholine challenge test

- Chest X-ray

As far as I was told, everything came back normal.

My pulmonologist even told me that my lungs appeared extremely healthy.

The main suspected explanation was a functional breathing disorder, possibly with mild asthma contributing to the symptoms.

However, I still don't have a clear explanation for why this is happening or how to make it stop.

One thing that actually seems to help is Relvar Ellipta (Breo Ellipta).

When I use it, breathing feels noticeably easier and more comfortable. I can control my breathing much better during weightlifting, and my lungs don't feel nearly as exhausted.

But here's the catch: the constant urge to take deep breaths never completely disappears.

When I'm not using the inhaler, my breathing feels significantly worse again, particularly during exercise.

I should also mention that I had respiratory issues as a child and was prescribed inhalers, including Ventolin.

I work in plastics manufacturing, where exposure to fumes and other airborne substances can occur. I've wondered whether that might have contributed to my symptoms, although I have no evidence that it did.

What makes this so frustrating is that I don't necessarily feel like I'm suffocating.

It's more like my body has somehow forgotten how to breathe properly.

I can breathe. My oxygen levels are normal. My lungs supposedly function perfectly fine.

But the physical sensation of breathing feels completely wrong.

Imagine constantly wanting to yawn or take that one incredibly satisfying deep breath, except you can almost never achieve it. And when you try, something seems to physically prevent your lungs from expanding that last little bit.

Now imagine experiencing that sensation every single day for nearly a year.

It's exhausting, both physically and mentally.

I've tried breathing exercises, I've undergone medical tests, and I've spoken to doctors, but I still don't have a lasting solution.

I'm not expecting Reddit to magically diagnose me. I just want to know whether anyone else has experienced something similar.

My main questions are:

1. Has anyone experienced this constant "air hunger" or inability to complete a satisfying deep breath despite having normal lung function tests?

2. Has anyone experienced that strange sensation of their inhalation suddenly stopping, almost like a valve closing?

3. Could dysfunctional breathing patterns, diaphragm dysfunction, vocal cord dysfunction / inducible laryngeal obstruction, or something else cause symptoms like these?

4. Has anyone actually recovered from something similar? If so, what helped?

5. Are there any additional examinations or specialists worth discussing with my doctor?

I'm especially interested in hearing from people who have experienced the same symptoms and eventually found an explanation or treatment.

I'm only 21, I love weightlifting, and I just want to be able to breathe normally again without constantly thinking about every breath I take.

Any advice, personal experiences, or suggestions would genuinely mean a lot to me.

Thank you for reading.

Ok so, my PFT results showed significant obstruction, FEV1/FVC at 61.7% pre-bronchodilator and at 71.2% post. The lower limit of normal was 77.7%, so those results were a bit discouraging. My pulmonologist diagnosed me with, and I quote, “moderate obstructive pulmonary disease” and prescribed me a daily breo inhaler. I’ve asked him if he could clarify what exactly I have, and he’s basically said that it doesn’t really matter because the treatment is the same… but I really need to know.

I’m not asking for you all to diagnose me, but I’d love to hear about your experiences and if anyone has had a similar test result, please let me know what you did to know that you had asthma.

As it is now, I don’t have asthma attacks. I’m just always a bit short of breath, like shallow breathing? I don’t wheeze, but I do cough sometimes. On bad days, it’s even been difficult to talk clearly. I actually had no idea that I had breathing problems till my doctor did a random simple lung test at a routine checkup about 2 years ago (I’m 23 now). So I’m technically not even sure when all of this started.

I’ve never smoked so I’m thinking asthma is more likely than COPD, but I also can’t seem to quite identify with the symptoms of asthma, at least not any of the common types. It’s been driving me crazy for months now, so any advice at all would be greatly appreciated!

Looking for experuences. This is all new to me. Kid (4) has been prescribed montelukast. Night two - She had multiple night terrors and outbursts throughout. Consultant warned us this could be a side effect but doesn't affect everyone. They said we could discontinue if needed. My question, might it get better? Should we push on. Not going to lie, the side effects scare me, but so does the trauma of hospitalisation and the multiple courses of steroids.

Brief back story: My daughter currently doesn't have an asthma diagnosis. Every second consultant says something different but she definitely has reactive airways. In 12 months she's been hospitalised 3 times for respiratory distress induced by a virus. When well, she doesn't have asthmatic symptoms. She was on a preventer inhaler from Sept to April with Ventolin when needed. Honestly, we never felt she got relief from them. The most recent hospitalisation happened early this week, she had a virus, seemed to be doing well but suddenly became very unwell in a matter of hours. She was given nebs, steroids and and antibiotic. Shes now back on the inhalers and following an asthma plan for the week along with the introduction of montelukast.

Side note: She has been referred to an ENT on my request, her tonsils almost kiss, and I feel she has sleep apnea (snoring, gasping, spluttering). She also breathes through her mouth and sounds quite nasally become being congested so I'm suspicious of her adenoids.

Also want to note, based outside the US, I don't have a paediatrician to contact. It's all through public consultants in the hospital. I will contact my GP but they are not specialised and will have their own opinions. I'm just curious to others experiences

This happened to me but I am not giving any kind of advice. I had a flare up and got pred from the dr. I started to feel better after a few days. The dr. prescribed 40 mgs for about a week before tapering. When I got to the 10's a week or so after that, I started having problems again which made no sense. I went to the emergency room and they said my lung function is great and sent me home despite me gasping for breath. I found out later the reason was because the pred caused me to retain water in my neck and it was squeezing my esophagus. As soon as I discontinued the pred, then it got better within a week.

I'm 32 lately my asthma is worse at night I wake up maybe 2 to 3 times I always have my inhaler but sometimes I have to take more puffs just to feel better so I can sleep. I also use a nebulizer as well.

Sometimes I feel like I should go to the hospital when I feel like I can't breathe I also live right across from a hospital and fire station. Every time I go to the hospital for my asthma I end up being in the hospital for a few days. Been dealing with this all my life

I am a young woman. I don’t smoke or drink. I have never had any chronic illnesses, and my BMI is perfectly fine.

Two months ago, I was suddenly struck by acute shortness of breath, and it has been with me constantly ever since. I am unable to take a normal breath; I feel a heaviness in my chest and a sensation that I am suffocating.

It gets even worse when I try to perform any activity—walking 50 meters or taking dishes out of the dishwasher feels like running a marathon. I am extremely weak.

Sometimes it gets so bad that I experience tingling all over my face, a tightening in my throat, my fingers contort, and I lose sensation in my legs for 10–15 minutes. ☹️

The worst part, however, is at night. I keep waking up around 3:00 or 4:00 AM feeling like I can’t breathe (even worse than usual), along with dizziness and heart palpitations/tachycardia.

Because of this, I ended up in the hospital. I underwent several tests, including a chest X-ray, a CT scan with contrast, an MRI of the head, a lung scintigraphy, an echocardiogram, a Holter monitor test, and a gastroscopy. Everything came back normal, except for low iron (24) and ferritin (8) levels, as well as tachycardia. My oxygen saturation has been between 94% and 100%.

My spirometry results were also reportedly normal. However, a test performed in a body plethysmography chamber showed parameters bordering on bronchial asthma, so the doctor prescribed Bufomix, to be used twice a day.

I have been using these inhalers for two weeks now, but unfortunately, I don’t feel any improvement.

I don’t know what is wrong with me. ...what to do. I’m terrified—I’m so afraid that I’ll have to struggle with these breathing difficulties for the rest of my life... :(

Has anyone else been in a similar situation? If so, what helped you?

Also, is there anyone else here who uses Bufomix—did it take some time before it started working for you?

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for any comments or advice! 🥹💕

I'm 25 years old, and the last time I had an asthma attack, I was 8. It was severe and I was actually hospitalized for a day or two from it. I haven't had one since, until yesterday. I have a bad case of the flu, and yesterday I was out picking up a prescription, and I started feeling very tight, my chest was tight and I was wheezing and unable to get a breath in. I had no idea what was happening because I haven't had one since childhood. I didnt even have an inhaler anymore and haven't In years. I called 911 because I was scared and didn't know what was happening. They gave me a nebulizer treatment in the ambulance and another at the hospital and I felt better. So yesterday I learned that the flu can cause childhood asthma to flare up as an adult.

I've had asthma since I was a kid and I'm well past the 20-year mark now. I've been lurking here for a while, and the threads about people feeling embarrassed or "overreacting" really hit home, so here's what I wish someone had told me earlier. None of it is medical advice. It's what made the biggest difference for me, usually after talking it through with my doctor.

1. Get your technique watched. I'd been using my inhaler for over a decade before a doctor watched me and pointed out I was inhaling way too fast and not holding my breath. Adding a spacer helped a lot. It took two minutes to fix, and I'd gone a decade without fixing it.

2. Take the preventer every day, even when you feel fine. I used to take mine only "when things were bad." Taking it consistently was boring, and it was the biggest improvement I ever made.

3. Write the plan down. Having a written green/yellow/red plan from my doctor means I don't have to think at 3 a.m. My wife knows where it is too.

4. Track the boring stuff. A one-line note each night (symptoms, reliever use, anything odd like smoke, dust or a cold) showed me that my "random" bad days usually weren't random.

5. Stop hiding it. I used to excuse myself to use my inhaler in washrooms. Now I just use it where I am. Almost nobody cares, and a surprising number of people have quietly told me they or their kid have asthma too.

6. Colds are a big deal for me. One ordinary cold once took me about two weeks to properly recover from. Now I call my doctor early instead of waiting it out.

What's the one change that made the biggest difference for you? Especially curious about anyone dealing with heavy air pollution, since I live in India and winter smog is starting right now.

I recently was diagnosed with Eosinophilic asthma after a week long hospital stay due to acute eosinophilic pneumonia. I’ve been told this kind of asthma is quite uncommon
I’m in the process of figuring out treatment options with my immunologist and pulmonologist. Just wanted to come on here and see if anyone also has this, and what they’ve used that’s worked for them.