Asthma vs anxiety

[Guest guest]

Hi all. I'm new to the group. I have been a severe asthmatic for

nearly 17 years. Steroid dependant. Have been on prednisone every

single day for 17 years (Halloween will be my anniversary date for

prednisone) I had recently had my son (6 months prior to developing

asthma) I've been hospitalized countless times, at least 10 times a

year though. This past Saturday something strange happened. My

airways felt very constricted, I was coughing miserably. My peak

flows were down. I had all the symptoms of a classic asthma

attack. I ached all over though. What was strange is all I could

do is smell smoke. Memorial weekend, everyone cooking outside,

people burning trash, camp fires, etc. Didn't matter where I was,

smoke was consuming me. I increased my prednisone to 120 mg po to

not much avail. I was overusing my nebulizer, using it approximately

every hour with the combo neb. My heart obviously felt racey. I

felt as though the smoke was choking me, felt very panicked. Well,

needless to say, I called the on call physician who recommended I

come to the ER. I did. I had a fever, which as many of you

probably know is unusual for asthmatics, as low grade fevers are

more prevalent. Well, despite the fever, the doc on call seemed to

think I was suffering from anxiety and gave me 50 mg of xanax. It

did calm me down. I was scared to death though. I felt as though

every breath I took was sure to be my last. I am 36 years old. I

have had some severe asthma attacks, but have always thought I was

too young to die and that asthma was not going to be my way of

dying. I'm petrified. I'm not getting younger, nor is my asthma

getting better. I believe the high dosage of prednisone and the

over use of the albuterol were contributing factors in my " anxiety

attack " . I am back to my baseline on the prednisone, 30 mg. I feel

better. I certainly don't feel 100%, but I'm not in a panic mode

today. Has anyone else had similar events happen?