RE: doggie dreams

[Guest guest]

i USE ADVAIR, AND i LOVE IT. sINCE THE DOG THAT YOU ARE PLANNING TO GET HAS LONG HAIR, YOU WILL HAVE TO DUST VERY WELL, AND PROBABLY USE SPECIAL CLEANERS. i AM CURIOUS NOW. wHAT WENT WRONG WHEN YOU TOOK THEOPHYLLINE?

yOU ARE RIGHT, THIS IS A GREAT GROUP TO BE ON. i DON'T RWRITE AND AWFUL LOT, BUT i JUST FOUND OUT i HAD ASTHMA A FEW MONTHS AGO, IN jUNE, AND i'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF HELP FROM THIS GROUP. lOVE, gLENNA

doggie dreams

Hi! I just found this group and you all seem to be a knowledgeable and supportive group of people! I am like the other woman who posted tonight: age 39, have had asthma all my life and well I think it's time to take better control of it. Cats trigger my asthma worse of all, to the extent that I often have to decline social events if the person has a cat (in fact I need to e-mail someone to that effect after this posting! a holiday party I can't make!)Anyway... my family has wanted to get a dog for quite a while. Not all dogs trigger asthma for me, but I have noticed I have become more and more sensitive in recent years. I am hoping that if I try mediation like advair that is long-term acting (I have avoided anything "stronger" than albuterol since 1992, when I had a horrible experience with Theophylline!!) UGH... oh I was saying... I am hoping it will help me to the extent that I can fulfill a dream for my dear daughters (4 and 1) and my husband, and heck, myself! I'm interested in reading what folks' experience with advair have been. I am more the type to look for holistic/herbal relief than medication, but with asthma, I am not interested in fooling around. ALSO I am still nursing my 19 month old and imagine I will be continuing this for at least six more months (if my oldest daughter is any indication!) So if anyone has any immediate comments for me I'd be appreciative; otherwise I will read the archives and all the future posts and comments.I now live in New Mexico, (native New Yorker) where my asthma has greatly improved; we go to South Carolina for a month every May and last year the humidity really did me in! And the house was full of dust. I was a mess. It was a wakeup call. Oh, the kind of dog we want? (I am afraid to divulge!) a great pyrennees. Extremely hairy! But what a beautiful soul these creatures have. And this is more of an outdoor dog than most breeds (though my husband reminded me if we do get a dog we are not going to perpetually banish her (believe me, we'd get a she-dog b/c they get HUGE) to the backyard...I am hoping to give myself a one-year plan to get my asthma in check so we could possibly get a dog when the baby is close to age three. So you see I am planning ahead LOL!Thanks everyone!Rozie******

[Guest guest]

hi rozella -

ive had asthma since i was 6 yrs old (im now 39 yrs) and ive always had an

allergy to dogs and cats. unfortunately, when my allergies were diagnosed

as a child, i had a beloved dog who was my constant companion, slept with

me, everything. the dr recommended that we not have a dog any longer, but

my parents could not bear to take away my friend. the solution was inhaled

steroids and allergy injections. both helped tremendously. i have always

had a dog (have had 2 for many years now) and have them close to me

(although not in my bed anymore...lol). interestingly, there are only

certain breeds that i feel allergic with... those are not the long-haired

breeds, but the short-hairs like dobermans. you see, long hair will wisk

their dander away and off of the dog while the short hair keeps their dander

close to their skin and makes it easier for me to come in contact with. it

is not the hair that one is allergic to, it is their dander which is raised

from their skin through licking. anyway as ive grown much older my allergy

to cats has pretty much gone away (ive been living with 2 cats for a number

of years now)... my allergy to short-haired dogs has also decreased.

exposure to the allergen might help in de-sensitizing you. but only you

will be able to tell for sure, of course.

i suggest that you treat your asthma with an inhaled steriod and try

over-the-counter antihistimines and see if that helps. i think that an

antihistimine might go a long way in helping you to be able to visit a

friend who has a cat, can also help with your dog allergy, along with

frequent brushing and bathing of your dog and keeping close contact

minimized. i dont mean that you cant love your dog (i certainly love mine)

but designate a special sleeping place for her (no laying on the furniture

or bedding or anywhere you may sit/lay down) and have someone keep up with

her grooming... also i have removed all of the carpeting from our home...

it is much easier for me to keep on top of cleaning up dog/cat hair and dust

on bare floors than carpeting.

please do some research on advair and breastfeeding... personally ive taken

different inhaled steroids while pregnant and breastfeeding and have not had

many concerns as i feel that it is important for me to be able to breathe...

however, i have not taken advair during that time. also be careful of

thrush while inhaling a steroid... if you contract oral thrush from the

steroid and do not get it cleared up, it is possible that you could be

infected systemically and pass the infection onto your nursling. nipples

and milk ducts that have contact with lots of sweet milk make yeast happy.

dont mean to frighten you with that, as im sure that your oral hygiene is

impeccable but it is something you might want to consider. congratulations

on nursing your daughter for so long.... my youngest just weaned a few

months ago at 19 months and i nursed our eldest for 2yrs 9 months, so i

understand your need to find a steriod and perhaps an antihistimine that is

breastfeeding-friendly. i am positive that you can find something that

will help you and allow you to continue to breastfeed and to enjoy a pet.

i hope that this helps... if i can try to help any further, please just ask.

*~*~*~*~*

Carolyn in ONT Canada

[Guest guest]

Hello Rozie,

Nice to meet you :-) I applaud your determination and desire to get a dog, and to find a way to control your asthma so you can do this for your family. I am also highly allergic to cats, but dogs are not nearly as bad for me. I have 2 English Shepherds (one 10 weeks) and they are house pets! I cannot imagine my life without my dogs. I use beclovent 2xday which works quite well for me. But I still get flare ups because we also have 15 horses (yes I am a sucker for punishment!) and I do need my albuterol occasionally. I am not familiar with Advair, but I see it mentioned here often. I would like to know if some of you have switched from beclovent type anti-inflammatories to the Advair, and if there was much improvement.

I was also very interested to see you had a lot of improvement by moving to NM. We have been considering moving out of these northern Michigan winters, and the southwest sounds like where we want to move, except for the price of hay. We know we would have to get rid of most of our horses. There is always a price I guess.

Here's to (wo)man's best friend!!

Cheers!

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I don't post much either, but I wanted to add to the special cleaning products. A dr told me a cheap, efficient way of neutralising the allergen in dust mites, and I have no idea if it would also work for dogs/cats- but here goes- make up a weak solution of tea- I use one teabag in a big bowl of water, and use it to spray over the carpet, and as soon as it is dry, vacuum up. If you don't have carpets, that is fantastic- but you can still use the tea solution to damp dust all floors/walls/surfaces. It sounds too easy to be true, but for us, it helped a lot. I just thought it might be worth a try, and I hope it helps someone else,

Glenda

PS getting rid of carpet was the best thing we ever did. far less asthma

doggie dreams

Hi! I just found this group and you all seem to be a knowledgeable and supportive group of people! I am like the other woman who posted tonight: age 39, have had asthma all my life and well I think it's time to take better control of it. Cats trigger my asthma worse of all, to the extent that I often have to decline social events if the person has a cat (in fact I need to e-mail someone to that effect after this posting! a holiday party I can't make!)Anyway... my family has wanted to get a dog for quite a while. Not all dogs trigger asthma for me, but I have noticed I have become more and more sensitive in recent years. I am hoping that if I try mediation like advair that is long-term acting (I have avoided anything "stronger" than albuterol since 1992, when I had a horrible experience with Theophylline!!) UGH... oh I was saying... I am hoping it will help me to the extent that I can fulfill a dream for my dear daughters (4 and 1) and my husband, and heck, myself! I'm interested in reading what folks' experience with advair have been. I am more the type to look for holistic/herbal relief than medication, but with asthma, I am not interested in fooling around. ALSO I am still nursing my 19 month old and imagine I will be continuing this for at least six more months (if my oldest daughter is any indication!) So if anyone has any immediate comments for me I'd be appreciative; otherwise I will read the archives and all the future posts and comments.I now live in New Mexico, (native New Yorker) where my asthma has greatly improved; we go to South Carolina for a month every May and last year the humidity really did me in! And the house was full of dust. I was a mess. It was a wakeup call. Oh, the kind of dog we want? (I am afraid to divulge!) a great pyrennees. Extremely hairy! But what a beautiful soul these creatures have. And this is more of an outdoor dog than most breeds (though my husband reminded me if we do get a dog we are not going to perpetually banish her (believe me, we'd get a she-dog b/c they get HUGE) to the backyard...I am hoping to give myself a one-year plan to get my asthma in check so we could possibly get a dog when the baby is close to age three. So you see I am planning ahead LOL!Thanks everyone!Rozie******