Breathing Issues

For as long as I can remember, I have had issues with breathing. When I was young I would constantly have a blocked nose/sinus problems and from a very young age started using nasal sprays, decongestants with anti-histamines to alleviate the problem.

I used to think that possibly my issues were related to hay fever or pollens in the air but that really did not account for my having the blocked nose problem at any given time of the year, winter, spring, summer or autumn/fall.

At one stage I did those pin prick tests for allergies with nothing of significance being detected. On another occasion I thought I might have a deviated septum although I never really got that checked out. I was told my condition was not related to asthma.

I used to surf a lot and found that the salt water tended to help. I can remember as a child my mother giving me inhalations which also tended to help. However, the problem never really went away.

As I grew older I would depend more and more on my nasal spray and never left home or traveled without it. I was warned many times not to use the spray more than 5-7 days in a row but I guess it would be fair to say that fell on death ears given this was usually the only way I could get relief and fall asleep.

At age 21 I took up smoking which no doubt more than likely only aggravated the problem.

This went on for years, through my teens, when I moved from Sydney to Melbourne and then later to Israel where even there I still had the same problem although it must be said the problem seemed to diminish somewhat living in Jerusalem where the heat is a lot drier and there was significantly less humidity.

On returning to Melbourne, Australia a number of years later the problem continued although with hindsight I can say that in Melbourne the problem seemed to have less impact as it did when I lived in Melbourne previously - possibly due to the fact there is less humidity there and the summer heat tends to be drier as compared to Sydney.

So life continued. I left Melbourne after a family breakup, moved back to Sydney where humidity can be horrendous and the blocked nose problem continued. Then later I moved to the Gold Coast in Queensland where the weather is tropical and with it comes high humidity. And the nose problem continued, and probably worsened.

I found my greatest relief would come from air-conditioning with cooler air and some of the moisture being taken out of the air.

Life continued with me smoking and using a nasal decongestant spray just about everyday.

Then in 2007 I had a massive heart attack. Whether the fact that I had Graves Disease and later was diagnosed with T2 diabetes contributed to the heart attack, I can only guess with an answer of YES! Whether smoking contributed? well I can only comment that I am sure it did.

Did my having many interrupted nights of sleep due to breathing issues contribute to my heart event, with hindsight and having read up on this since my heart attack, I am convinced that there was a relationship.

Through all this I continued to use a nasal decongestant spray although I should add the night of my heart attack I gave up smoking and have not had one since!

After my heart attack I had issues with anxiety and panic attacks and many times found I was struggling to breathe, to take oxygen in into my lungs. I was told that this was common for people like me who had had a heart attack and subsequent bypass surgery - nice to hear but didn't really solve the problem. As these attacks seemed to present mostly at night when I went to bed and would often prevent me from falling to sleep, I took to taking half a valium tablet which seemed to help.

I also had issues with going into a lift, especially if it was full, and would experience panic attacks in these situations.

In the first couple of years after my bypass surgery I did a couple of lung function tests to determine if there was a problem there. None were found. My medications were checked to see if possibly they might be causing a problem.

I was sent up to Brisbane to do a V02 Max test to check my lung capacity and again, no issue was found. Thoughts of COPD went through my mind but I was told this was not a concern.

VO2 Max Test

At some stage I was put on an inhaler called Symbicort 400 which it must be said seemed to improve my oxygen intake and after a year or so I stopped taking this as my lung issue seemed to have resolved itself. As this problem disappeared so did the incidence of anxiety attacks seem to lessen.

It would be fair to say that my lung issue, the actual taking in of breath was now no longer an issue although on occasion it would crop up again and I would use the Symbicort and it would resolve itself within a few days.

Whilst this was going on I was still using a nasal decongestant spray just about every night and sometimes during the day.

Now, over seven years after my heart attack my breathing issues have definitely deteriorated and the nasal decongestant spray is virtually of no assistance. I again started having issues lying down to go to sleep and struggled to breathe through my nose and on occasion would have panic attacks again and sometimes have trouble getting oxygen into my lungs. I bought some nose cones on eBay which helped having tried nose strips before this with minimal success.

Last year, after a two year wait to see an ENT specialist, I saw a doctor who determined that I have turbinate hypertrophy, a not unusual condition in older people and that surgery maybe indicated if the condition worsens. He put me on a steroid spray (Nasonex) and for eleven months I used this and a saline nasal spray to help with my problem. During this period I did not use a nasal decongestant spray but that changed about six weeks ago when I just couldn't cope anymore but it must be said the decongestants spray is having virtually no effect anymore.

Earlier this year I did a sleep test which determined I have mild sleep apnoea. I did a follow-up test to see if one of those machines would help but was unable to complete the test due to having a panic attack trying to sleep with the mask over my face.

I was referred to our hospital's sleep clinic and last month saw a specialist there and am now waiting for an appointment at the respiratory clinic which is scheduled for May next year with a view to ascertaining my issue and the impact it is having on my heart and diabetes - surgery is on the cards.

In the meantime I am struggling at night, sometimes taking a valium to at least get some sleep and all the time worrying about the impact the lack of quality sleep is having on my diabetes which no doubt is impacting on my heart and possibly contributing to some of my angina issues.

I decided to write the above after yet again another night of interrupted sleep seeing me get up at 3.30am in the morning with breathing issues. Thought it relevant to put down in writing what I have been dealing with for months, years knowing that I can not be the only person who has these issues to contend with on a day to day basis.