wow- I dunno- when you are suffering an attack, it’s panic time- I can’t imagine takign shallower breaths. I’ve been on Advair for awhile now, and it’s a great medication- I don’t get short of breath anymore, but If I do, I’ll give the shallow breathing a shot- just seems so whacked though because hwen you’re starving for breath, ya just panic and breath deep
There's your mistake. Don't panic. I have always dealt with attacks by taking the smallest breaths I could, so that they were easier. And take them through the nose; the nose warms and cleans air before it hits your lungs so your lungs don't react even more to cold or some irritant. Stay vertical so that you can use the natural aid of gravity to pull down on the diaphragm.
The critical issue, though, is that you should not be having attacks if your disease is being properly managed. Nobody knows better than I do how horrible long-term oral (systemic) steroid use is, but a short-term burst of steroids, long enough to get established on inhaled steroids, is not damaging.
If your personal physician isn't up to the ocmplexities of managing your disease, try to find a provider who has been trained at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver. This is the nation's foremost center for the treatment of respiratory/immune disorders, and they train a number of physicians each year in the management of particularly difficult cases of asthma. See their website at nationaljewish.org for direction and help on the management of your disease.
For me the trick is to immediately and consciously relax. Relaxation can be trained, it should be practiced. Singers, shooters, hi-performance athletes, divers, yoga, energy methods, meditation practitioners all use some form of relaxation methods. For me, I learned a whole bunch of great techniques during pain management therapy. I apply some of them during bronchial constriction events and recover within seconds.
This is sometimes where a second person can be handy, my husband who just passed away had asthma and when he had a problem I would step in and assist him in breathing and it usually helped.
Advair is a good medicine.