ErikW Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 What a horrible feeling. Like you are laying in a grave and someone is shoveling dirt onto your chest and it's getting heavier and heavier and each breath is getting shallower and shallower until you're not sure you will even be able to inhale again if you exhale. It's like a slow and tortuous version of getting the wind knocked out of you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeeper Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 I've had it my whole life and couldnt agree more. The worst feeling is when you forget an inhaler and know that you wont be near one until the end of the day and must suffer until then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 Erik, Is this new for you? Or have you been living with it for a while? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted May 19, 2004 Author Share Posted May 19, 2004 I thought I had outgrown it. I had a really bad attack in Bend during the nationals last year and just had another one this weekend. It runs in the family. My brother and I have been the ER for it and my brother was even admitted to the hospital when he was very young. We used to sleep outside on my grandmother's porch because her mobile home induced severe asthma attacks. With all the trouble I've had lately I'm starting to think I've got some bizarre respiratory ailment. I wasn't in Gulf War I or southeast asia (Agent Orange) but I was in affected areas when California governor Jerry Brown sprayed malathion for fruit flies. And a few years ago I was sure I got the hantavirus from moving a wood pile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 What a horrible feeling. Like you are laying in a grave and someone is shoveling dirt onto your chest and it's getting heavier and heavier and each breath is getting shallower and shallower until you're not sure you will even be able to inhale again if you exhale. It's like a slow and tortuous version of getting the wind knocked out of you. And the worst is when you don't know what it is because you never had any decent medical care (I had asthma for months before a doctor diagnosed it). I thought I had some kind of pneumonia that never went away. ERIK: get to an asthma specialist. There are very good inhalers now that control attacks. i am on Azmacort, and there is another turbo charged version about 10X as strong called Flovent. If you stop the inflammation, the attacks go away and you never have to use the epinephrine or albuterol "pure speed" inhalers to blast open your lungs. Those things make my heart jump out of my chest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 I wasn't in Gulf War I or southeast asia (Agent Orange) but I was in affected areas when California governor Jerry Brown sprayed malathion for fruit flies. Me too. They would post the times of spraying and then not go by the schedules. I was driving home and my car got sprayed with it and they said it would take off paint... so I washed my car immediately when I got home while they were still spraying overhead (dumb move). That was 25 years ago and I have had endless ailments of the immune system and nerve system since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted May 19, 2004 Share Posted May 19, 2004 ERIK: get to an asthma specialist. Erik, I couldn't agree more. About ten years ago I spent a week in the hospital --- twice a year apart --- with asthma so severe that my primary care provider was concerned about me kicking the bucket. The year between the two admissions, I was in the ER being treated about 8-10 times. After the second hospital stay, I finally learned to be in tune with my lungs ----I managed to take better care of myself, and to see a doctor earlier when I felt a cold or allergy problem cropping up. A couple of years ago, during a bout with the flu, my doctor also prescribed a nebulizer --- which lets you inhale the albuterol/air mixture over a longer period of time. I find the ability to give myself breathing treatments when I really need 'em to be incredibly beneficial. Good luck --- and feel free to message me with any questions you may have... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 If you stop the inflammation, the attacks go away and you never have to use the epinephrine or albuterol "pure speed" inhalers to blast open your lungs. Those things make my heart jump out of my chest. Mine too. I call the whole phenomenon "inhaler sickness." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin c Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 The new steroid inhalers work wonders. For the asthmatic with irregular but fairly severe symptoms that crop up unexpectedly, they won't turn around the flareup (albuterol inhalers, the ones that make your heart pound, are what are need there), but, used on a long term preventive basis, Flovent, Pulmicort, etc., can keep you from getting that bad. It's useful to know when you are headed into an attack (sometimes, it isn't obvious that that nagging cough is more than just a passing virus). Self monitoring with a flow meter is useful for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted May 20, 2004 Author Share Posted May 20, 2004 I've been on a cortisosteroid (?) inhaler and allergy pills for a while. Both of my prescriptions ran out recently. I think my body depends on those things now because from Sunday to Tuesday I was severely asthmatic. Within a couple hours of refilling the Rx and taking the doses I could breathe again. I was never really asthmatic (only exercise-induced) until my Dr. put me on this stuff now it seems I can't live without it. > Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 I hear the air in Arizona is good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDean Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 4 years after moving from Tucson to the Seattle area, I suddenly developed "athletic induced asthma" at 28 years old? I've got that Albuterol in my range bag incase I need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shooter Grrl Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 I wonder if it's the lead/smoke we're inhaling from shooting? I developed "allergy induced" asthma at the age of 33! I've had 2 attacks the last couple of months that required breathing treatments (at the hospital!). All this while taking SERIOUS amounts of allergy medicine! Regardless of the ribbing about living in Kalibanfornia, don't move Adjusting to a new climate really sucks! Ask your Doc (or maybe Kevin C can comment) about Singulair. It's a pill, not an inhaler - so there's no heart pounding out of your chest type side effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted January 11, 2005 Author Share Posted January 11, 2005 I had a bad attack after snowboarding Saturday and it's not getting any better. It's impossible to sleep when breathing is a conscious, laborious effort. Off to the doctor tomorrow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 Asthma--been there. Not good. Hasn't happened in awhile, though. Thank God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessej Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 I hope you feel better soon Erik. I thought the clean crisp non-poluted air of the Sierra's would be beneficial. Or maybe your lungs just miss all that smog in the city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nik Habicht Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 I had a bad attack after snowboarding Saturday and it's not getting any better. It's impossible to sleep when breathing is a conscious, laborious effort. Off to the doctor tomorrow... Exerting myself in cold weather has been a trigger for a while. Before snow blowers, I used to shovel for ten to 15 minutes at a time --- then I needed to take a break for an hour or so..... If you don't already have a nebulizer --- please discuss it with your doc. I found it to be more effective than an inhaler --- especially for really severe or long lasting attacks..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted January 12, 2005 Author Share Posted January 12, 2005 (edited) Went to the Dr. today and I'm on Prednisone again. Let the heart palpitations begin! Update: 6.5 hours after taking the pills my breathing has improved 90% and the side effects are minimal. I might actually sleep for more than one hour at a time tonight. Edited January 12, 2005 by Erik Warren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeeper Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 They give prednisone to treat tumors in dogs. It sure works good though for asthma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgary Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 As a lifetime asthmatic, I can relate A couple of things I have found that really make a difference: -- know your "triggers". Mine include freshly-cut grass, cold air (or, specifically, sudden changes from warm to cold), dust (not "regular" dust or "range" dust, but the dust that lurks in those musty antique places my wife loves to haunt), etc. You can't avoid everything but you can improve your odds. -- find a doctor who actually "gets" respiratory things. Most don't understand asthma, so they treat the symptom. A good one knows how to manage the underlying stuff. Best bet I've found is to talk to "sports doctors" - they understand both respiratory issues and dealing with chronic inflammations. -- get on a *preventive* program. I lived on the albuterol things for years, and finally a doctor told me how Really Bad that is. He said that if I continued doing nothing but pounding an inhaler, I'd be in an oxygen tent inside 10 years. All those things do is stifle the inflammation, but the mere fact that the inflammation keeps occurring is, itself, a bad thing. The analogy he used was a scratch on your arm... if you keep re-injuring it and never let it heal, it becomes scarred and hardened. Not a perfect analogy, but... do you really want your bronchii to be scarred and hardened? I've been on "Advair" (www.advair.com) for about 2 years, and I almost *never* have to hit an inhaler anymore... in fact, some days I forget to put one in my pocket, which would have been a life-altering mistake in past years. Advair is a corticosteroid, which has its own implications, but all in all it has proven to be the most effective thing I've used, and I've tried just about all of them (Flovent, Serevent, Azmacort, Singulair, you name it....) -- keep your "resistance" up. Avoid getting things like colds, if at all possible. If you're anything like me, everything you catch turns into bronchitis and takes forever to get rid of. Again, prevention is a Good Thing. -- If you do wind up with a respiratory infection, ask your doctor for antibiotics that target respiratory things. Some antibiotics work really well for me, others do pretty much nothing. The best IMO are Bactrim and Zithromax (often called Z-max). Ciproflex (C-Flex) can also be pretty good. -- Prednisone is great - it helps the inflamation, and makes you feel like Superman. But, get off it as soon as you can. It is something that your body really wants to "get used to", and coming off it can be a real drag. Plus, ironically, coming off Prednisone can make it really tough to get over infections (such as, oh, say, bronchitis), so... work on using it as little as you have to, get off it as soon as you can, and try not to transition either way while you are in the middle of dealing with an infection. That's all I can think of.... Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 "...keep your "resistance" up. Avoid getting things like colds, if at all possible. If you're anything like me, everything you catch turns into bronchitis and takes forever to get rid of. Again, prevention is a Good Thing." This is the ONLY thing I still have left over from my earlier asthma days--the propensity for a mere headcold turning into a life-threatening, lengthy, pneumoniac bronchial infection! Other people get "colds"--I get "death" on a stick! Fortunately I actually DON'T get colds much at all any more... thank god. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.40AET Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 Other people get "colds"--I get "death" on a stick! Both of my little boys have asthma, the 5 year old has outgrown it for the most part. My 2 year old has the death on a stick thing. We've been in and out of the emergency room for 5 years with the two of them. Long nights in the oxegen tents and so forth. The two year old has been on Pulmicort and Xopenex nebulizers for almost all of his little life. Many of the better drugs are too potent for little guys so they can't take them for now. That Advair sounds awesome, I'll ask his doctor about it. Asthma sucks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted January 12, 2005 Author Share Posted January 12, 2005 I'm on a tapering Prednisone program, 60 mg yesterday, 50 today, 40 tomorrow, etc. There's a forum member who has been taking it long-term and he said it wasted away his muscle mass. I'm also on a two-week program for Biaxin for the infection. Apparently my nasal congestion/infection triggered the asthma. It didn't help when ong45 tried to get me killed in the cold weather, double-black-diamond, two-feet-of-powder chute at Mt. Rose. My old Dr. had me on Advair but I never refilled it when it ran out. My new Dr. re-prescribed it but I didn't fill it yesterday because it's $130. (I had to pay out of pocket for everything yesterday due to a #&@% insurance F-up... would have been $500 for all the drugs!) Advair is a preventative drug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
driver8M3 Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 I've been on "Advair" (www.advair.com) for about 2 years, and I almost *never* have to hit an inhaler anymore... in fact, some days I forget to put one in my pocket, which would have been a life-altering mistake in past years. Advair is a corticosteroid, which has its own implications, but all in all it has proven to be the most effective thing I've used, and I've tried just about all of them (Flovent, Serevent, Azmacort, Singulair, you name it....) advair is actually a combination drug inhaler (non-aerosol type)...the 2 drugs that it has in it are flovent (fluticasone) and serevent (salmeterol). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bountyhunter Posted January 14, 2005 Share Posted January 14, 2005 "...keep your "resistance" up. Avoid getting things like colds, if at all possible. If you're anything like me, everything you catch turns into bronchitis and takes forever to get rid of. Again, prevention is a Good Thing." This is the ONLY thing I still have left over from my earlier asthma days--the propensity for a mere headcold turning into a life-threatening, lengthy, pneumoniac bronchial infection! Other people get "colds"--I get "death" on a stick! Fortunately I actually DON'T get colds much at all any more... thank god. I have two words for you; STEAM TENT. (not a cold humidifier, a hot steam vaporizer in a confined area). My father was a chain smoker and I am allergic to cigarettes. I had bronchitis/pneumonia 5 - 6 times a year starting at about age two. I have asthma now, not too bad. A lot of lung damage left over. Put a warm staem vaporizer next to you while you watch TV. Put one by your bed at night. It will greatly relax bronchial tubes without drugs and also reuce inflammation. Most important, it liquifies mucous to keep it from standing around long enough for an infection to breed. good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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