Hi all,

For years I've had very mild intermittent asthma (related to my cat allergy) which has always responded well to my albuteral inhaler. Because my allergy to my cat was so mild I was able to keep her (treated with acupuncture and occasional claritin). Well, she passed away in January so recently I've been looking for a new one. Last week I developed a strange response after sitting in an enclosed room at a pet store with about 8 cats. I got this tightness in my chest with little to no wheezing at all, and my inhaler doesn't help at all! I went to my dr who gave me Asmanex (an inhaled corticosteroid) but it sure is taking a long time to clear up. I was wondering, however, if perhaps this is something other than asthma? My doc seemed a little bored during my appt - I wonder if he did a thorough enough exam....I've just never had chest/throat tightness without wheezing. Now that I think about it, I don't remember having a tight throat before, it almost feels like my throat is being squeezed. Also, in this enclosed room of kitties, the volunteer was spraying this disinfectant stuff (like Lysol) and I'm wondering if my reaction is more to that than the actual kitties.

Thanks for any thoughts!
Suzanne