A:Wheezies et al (long)

[Guest guest]

Hi y'all,

Nice to see some traffic here on ye olde list. Let's see if I can comment for

each of you.

Jeanne, I was raised in the San Valley (Yes, that's right I am a

valley girl, but I say the Neander Valley. Ugh. Rhonda friendly Neanderthal.

Ugh.)

I developed adult onset asthma when I was 26 years old. I do feel that some

of those unholy inversion layers and the SantaAnas and my parents both smoking

(my mother quit when I was 5 but my father still smokes a pipe) plus all of

those other unknown factors, plus my father's sister was a lifelong wheezie

and died from complications of asthma. All I can say is hang in there. Learn

everything you can. Listen to everybody, but make your own decisions.

Hi Cat,

I hope your DD is not allergic to cats. (Sorry, I never learned to resist a

pun.) I agree with Jeanne that a peak flow meter is a good idea. Also, you

may need to look at food allergies. I cannot give you all of the input on

what you need to check for food allergies, but I will try to find some sites

for that.

Fair warning, she is in for a lifelong battle of having to 'prove' she has

asthma. I am a cougher and a 'no air'er and also not a wheezer. Everytime I

inherit a new Dr. I have to go through a full test history to 'prove' that I

have asthma. It is frustrating.

You did not say where you live, but with most wheezies, cold air exacerbates

asthma. Both of you should always wear a mask or a muffler or something to

allow the air to warm before it assaults your favorite lungs. Cold air is one

of the few near universals that will 'set off' a wheezie.

,

Prepare yourself for a thundering scold. SCOLD!!! There, I feel better. You

need to stay on your prevention meds. Ventolin or other albuterals are not

prevention. They are a short acting broncho-dilater. They do not help in the

long term, just in response. Your Provental or any inhaled steroids or long

acting medications are used EVERY DAY. In fact, your Ventolin may be what is

causing your morning hacks. One of the results of a broncho-dilater is by

opening up the airways, it allows the mucous and other gunk to move and come

out to play. That might be your AM coughing. It is uncomfortable, but it is

better than storing the stuff.

BUT, your prevention meds also may make it so that you do not have the morning

discomfort. So, please, please, please, stay on your prevention meds and stay

current.

As the Dr's. learn more, we can learn more. They are making progress by leaps

and bounds. They are coming out with new meds and new applications of older

meds that have fewer long term side effects and are much more effective.

I don't want to scare any of y'all (much) but remember, Asthma is a life

threatening fatal disease. It is also a lifelong disease. While it may be

controlled or appear to go into remission, it can always return. The more we

know and prevent, the better off we are. Every asthma episode that we have

does cause deterioration of tissue. Just like every heart attack causes

damage to that muscle, the same thing occurs with asthma. Every episode we

can prevent , helps to keep us from a later problem. Also, if we can

'partially' prevent an attack or episode (by this I mean lessen the severity

of the episode) we reduce the damage that can occur.

I apologize if any body has been offended by my preaching, but I take this

stuff pretty seriously. There is so much we can do to protect ourselves, that

even when it gets out of hand, we don't have to be helpless. And I grieve

everytime I hear of anybody dying from asthma. And I get angry.

I spent most of today at National Jewish Center for Respiratory Diseases (or

whatever it's full name is) in Denver doing my quarterly check up. 3 hours of

tests, but I am staying consistent. No crises during the last three months.

The only thing that may be of interest to someone was, my Dr. increased my

Prilosec. For those folks that are not familiar with GERD (Gastro-Enteric

Reflux Disease) or heartburn/burps etc, they do identify it as a factor in

exacerbating asthma. I have been on 20 mg a day for a while and it has really

helped. But I have been noticing an increase in nocturnal asthma and that is

a common indicator of GERD. So, Dr. Routes increased me to 20 mg twice a day.

According to him, in Europe, 40 mg a day is a much more normal dose and they

do not understand why our Dr's. don't just start us in the US on 40 mg.

If anybody wants to check out the information from National Jewish or read any

of their papers or etc. here is the URL

<A HREF= " http://www.NationalJewish.org " > http://www.NationalJewish.org</A> or

<A HREF= " http://www.njc.org " >http://www.njc.org/</A> . They have a lot of

data and are always helpful. They are one of the best resources that I know

of.

Ok, this is long enough.

Have a good evening,

Rhonda E.

Colorado Springs, CO

puffaroni@...