Breathless

[ellyssian]

So while I was getting the ultrasound, this was being cleaned up, just a few blocks away. Almost excitement!

We have the results back from the 2nd set of liver enzyme tests, and the levels are even higher than the first. The doc called in two of my asthma meds, as breathing and I weren't really on speaking terms, especially this morning. Still feels like someone is poking firebrands around in my lungs, and if their was any smoke I'd have all the proof I need. Hope to be able to breathe tomorrow - I've heard rumors that it is considered a healthy thing to do.

In a miraculous new study, diet alone isn't enough to help overcome health problems - big surprise there. I've altered my diet considerably in the last two years, and will continue to do so, but it's down there on my list a bit.

That priorities are:
1) Breathe. Asthma must come under control. Missing too much work (usually working from home, but still...) and it's just too disruptive.
2) Exercise. At some point, it will help the asthma, and it certainly will make the largest difference on the blood pressure (which I was able to control when it first reared up its ugly head more than a decade ago,) cholesterol, and NAFLD.
3) Get rid of this damn ear infection, or start charging the bugs rent. Attempt to confiscate any torture implements they're using during their parties in my lungs. Yes, I S-U-S-P-E-C-T something.
4) Diet. If I can get any cash out of the freeloading limited-cellular set, I'll apply it to the food budget. Big goals here involve continued development of (mostly) native plants in the garden. Blueberry season is only a gazillion months away, and fresh sassafras leaves will be ripe for the pickin' before that. Not really any edibles planned for the spring planting (unless I give in to the half-off coupons and stock up on pawpaws and hazelnuts,) but one of the fall planting orders will be 66% edible (if it winds up happening as planned.)

Comments

[celticess.livejournal.com]

Ever considered trying a home nebulizer or a portable unit for when it gets bad? Some of my friends take advar but I'm not sure what is special about that. In past I was on ventolin then beclovent and now flonaise as needed. So I'm pretty mild unless I have a bad cold or exposure to an allergen.

Have you ever had allergen tests done to see if something that way is provoking asthma? Dealing with my allergens is what I think in the end got me off everything by flonaise.(well ok I still get it when running but rare I run with arthritic gibbled feet) I know there are a few foods that might not show on the skin prick test though that can bother asthmatics. Though the ones I particularly know of that way are artificial food colours or flavours. The known ones that I did react to on skin prick where wheat, egg white, milk, mould, pollen and dust mites. I'm still intolerant to those food items out of that lot but only show allergic to 2 of them now.

[ellyssian.livejournal.com]

So far, I've hardly considered much of anything. The doc's original focus (starting 2 years ago) was on the blood pressure, the asthma was secondary - the bp might be the deadlier of the two, but over the years of (more or less) ignoring the asthma, I need to focus on it as the primary issue.

I need to look into a peak flow meter - I think that might help, maybe give me advance notice of when things are going wrong.

The two meds I have now are a rescue inhaler and an inhaled corticosteroid. I was on Astelin and before that Flonase (the former was stronger but terrible; the Flonase seemed to work best, but not good enough for the doc: I think long-term, they both failed to achieve what they were supposed to.)

The most common triggers right now are physical activity and eating (not any food in particular, just any food some of the time.)

I'll discuss the other stuff with the doc when I see him next week, see what he thinks about it!

[celticess.livejournal.com]

I'm suprised they've not tested you. If I remember right certain alleriges can also invoke hypertension. I think wheat can do that as when I was smaller they had to keep checking my blood pressure when I was asthmatic and going through allergy shots.(or maybe it was eggs or the combo of. Btw my good cholesterol is a little low but only mildly and my bad cholesterol is very low)

You could get the wear for a day oxygen meter. I tried one of those before my sleep study. They watch your oxygen flow to get a profile for how your body is handling things.

For your liver at this point I'm guessing it's meds you were on or maybe an autoimmune thing. :/ Which I can relate because my own could be either or. Though temporary benign cysts can be caused by body toxicity as the liver filters out ick and they may go away when other issues cleared up causing the liver to not work as hard.(one of my friends had that sort of benign cyst though I don't remember if their liver enzymes were ok or not)

breathing

[(Anonymous)]

It too is a problem here...after 30 some years of free breathing...right before christmas ...my big attack begun...feeling quite like an elephant on my chest and nothing moving in the lungs i reluctantly went to the doctors...It is back and moved into my lungs with ahold that only matches super glue...why..after so long why...they say it never goes...I hope though you find relief the inhalers just aren't cutting it like I hoped...I'm not real thrilled with steriods....and hope I don't have use them...I can feel my self explode...sherry

[nhmetalchick.livejournal.com]

While you're talking to your doctor, ask him about Singular. When he actual takes it the way he's supposed to Jimmy has pretty good luck with that, and I believe he was on Flonase too, but would have to check his pump which he has with him in his car. He seems to use his Albuteral pump like its going out of style, then when I manage to get him to take the singular he hardly has to use it at all. Few other suggestions, as odd as they may sound, strip down your bed and vacuum it, check and see what your pillow is made from and consider changing it, if your laundry detergent has perfumes in it, consider changing that too, as to not offend your "masculinity" I won't ask if you have any stuffed animals on your bed, but if you do put it in the freezer over night. Are you sure that the cat's don't flair you up too, I know sometimes if JImmy's sitting or laying near something that the cat was all over his asthma tends to kick up, and no, hes not alergic to her. You should go poke around the asthma website, asthma dot com I think. They have some good suggestions on other things to try, besides meds, that help to keep it in check.

[ellyssian.livejournal.com]

Cats are outdoor animals - they come in for maybe 20 hours a year, tops, and have spent maybe an hour in the bedroom over the nearly 3 years we've been here! =)

The Singular - I finally discarded sample boxes and the first bottle of pills from 2 years ago - had absolutely no effect. It was the first attempt, IIRC, to get this under control.

[patrixa.livejournal.com]

Strange, my asthma causes and treatments are very similar to celticess'. I'm wondering if asthma is the whole deal, as you seem to get worse and worse as the years go by. Bronchitis was a problem for you when you were younger. Allergies would not be a surprise; they seem to go hand in hand with asthma -- I guess all are immune system connected.

Besides food, you may have to change all cleaning products: laundry, personal and household. Is the house damp? you might need a dehumidifier to run at least in the bedroom. Is the house too dry? then a humidifier is called for. However, when I tried one, many years ago, it did not help at all.

Ordinary dust can do it too; it collects on all surfaces and rises when an object is moved; piles of books, magazines, clothing -- all send up motes when moved. All surfaces should be kept clear or wiped down. Spray cleaners should be switched to cleaners on cloths, especially aerosols.
Do you have one of those vacuums with the filter? Since you have carpeting throughout the house, you will need one. I also had to get a special cover for my mattress to keep allergans out and I have to wash bed linens in hot water each wash plus bleach. I wash my pillows and drier dry them every other month, too. Otherwise, I'm unable to sleep and breathe

OMG -- what if it's like the glue in your carpeting? I've read, and I bet you have too, about that sort of thing affecting people. And, like it or not, you all get a lot of colds and coughs. I don't know how that gets checked out,
but your health seems never to improve and everything has to be considered.

[wolfette]

My brother is asthmatic. As a kid his was fairly severe and we had several emergency admissions to hospital, and several other scary moments. We even moved to East Lothian from Glasgow because the air quality was supposed to be good for asthmatics (LOTS of folk did too - our wee town had a very high proportion of asthmatic kids).

Then in his early teens he discovered Martial Arts. Kung Fu, Tai Chi, etc. (he and his friends were into "cross training" - each of them took a different style of MA and then they got together and shared what they learned).

He's still asthmatic, still needs his inhaler now and again, but you'd never know it to look at him - unlike many adults who grew up as asthmatic kids his shoulders are broad and straight, no "pidgeon chest", and his endurance is good.