ASTHMA DIARY UPDATE

[Guest guest]

Monday February 28, 2005

This morning I woke up feeling fine. I went to

bed last night with a headache and was feeling

dizzy and lightheaded. I did walk all the way to

Main & 33rd from & 20th before taking

the bust to Main & 25th. While walking I wheezed,

was short of breath, had chest tightness, was

feeling dizzy and light headed. I walked slower

and slower, staggering almost like a drunk person

or an old lady shuffling along the way. I did not

feel the need to take my blue puffer medicine as

I was unsure if this was the right circumstance

to take it. For the rest of the day I’ve been

feeling dizzy and light headed. I feel as if the

room is spinning all around me. Even when sitting

down I feel dizzy and lightheaded. I don’t know

if this is asthma related or not or of a concern

but I sure would like to know. If my asthma is

out of control then is there any other meds I

should be taking to get it under control? Do I

have any options available to me? I’m also

experiencing a slight sore throat which I woke up

with today and took a halls to calm my sore

throat down. Is this a concern for asthma? Are

there other ways to make sure I am using my blue

puffer correctly? I am using the technique I was

taught but I feel at times I miss by getting the

medication at the side of the mouth. At least I’m

using the spacer daily for my Flovent which I

always take. Does my medication need to be

adjusted to help better control my asthma? I hope

my questions can be answered.

Tuesday March 1, 2005

Today I woke up with a slight heaviness in my

chest. Taking my Flovent twice daily with my

spacer does help with the heaviness of my chest.

I also still have a sore throat and am trying to

keep it at a minimum by taking a cherry halls.

I’m feeling somewhat dizzy right now (since the

moment I woke up) and I feel like the room is

spinning all around me. I still feel shortness of

breath-going up and down the stairs, moving about

the house but have not taken my blue reliever

medication as I am unsure if this is the right

time for me to use it. What if I use it when I

have shortness of breath then 1hr later I feel

shortness of breath again? If I have shortness of

breath when sitting down should this be a concern

for me or not? I hope I can get some answers

because I want to get my asthma under control and

live a normal health life. I am coughing a bit

today but it could be from the cold I’m skirting

since December 2004. Throughout the day I’ve felt

dizzy, lightheaded. I’ve also experienced some

chest tightness for a few hours in while in

class. I had a bit of trouble breathing-shortness

of breath even when sitting down. I did not take

my blue reliever puffer but I waited it out which

passed after a bit. I’m starting to cough up a

storm today along with my sore throat which gets

more noticeable throughout the day. I’ve got a

headache now (9:16pm) and still feel dizzy.

Should I be concerned? I talked to Dr. Chernick

yesterday who told me the Effexor is not a

problem for me to take (i.e. I’m not having an

allergy reaction to it). I also picked up my last

refill for Flovent today which means I have to

see Dr. Loubert for a new prescription. Should I

evaluate my meds more carefully to see if there

are other asthma meds I could be taking to better

control my asthma? Which course of action should

I take?

Wednesday March 2, 2005

This morning I woke up with a sore throat like

you wouldn’t believe. I’m coughing a lot more now

- could be I’m catching that cold I’ve been

skirting since December 2004? Well, who knows. I

felt a bit dizzy and lightheaded when I woke up.

Walking around the house, going up and down the

stairs in the basement made me short of

breath-huffing, puffing, gulping/gasping for air.

I wheezed slightly with the walking. I met with

the asthma educator today who said my asthma is

DEFINITELY out of control. The meds I’m using are

not the right dosage for me or right kind for me.

So she told me to double up on the Flovent puffs

to two puffs/day and I’m also prescribed a

medication called SereVent salmeterol xinafoate

inhalation aerosol in which I take 2 puffs 2

times daily. I took it already once at 11:44am

this morning with my spacer and boy is that stuff

strong. I could feel it rushing to my head when I

inhaled it. This is supposed to help with the

inflammation of my lungs (which are quite

inflamed already) and help me not to be so out of

breath. It is a bronchodilator for oral

inhalation and using this will help me not use my

blue puffer as often. It is a tricky process

managing my asthma. To know which dosage and

which medication is right for me is something

that seems to take a long time and when to use my

blue reliever puffer is tricky - should I use it

every time I wheeze or am out of breath? Should

it be for chest tightness only? How do I know

when I am having an asthma attack? What are my

personal triggers? Because my peak flow meter

readings are very wide range, I have to wait

another 2 weeks to get my peak flow readings

closer before I can get an asthma action plan

done. So another two weeks of waiting with loads

of questions that need answering still. At 6:54pm

I am noticing already what a difference the

SereVent has made in me. Even though I still have

trouble breathing and pain breathing I don’t feel

as breathless any longer. I don’t feel the

wheezing and I’m not dizzy or lightheaded any

longer. It’s as if a cloud has been lifted over

me making me more able to walk without getting so

out of breath all of the time. GOD BLESS

SereVent! I still have a sore throat and am

coughing more and more.

Thursday March 3, 2005

Last night when I went to sleep I had a mini

coughing up storm before finally getting to sleep

for good. But I had a great sleep thanks to the

SereVent. I don’t have that heavy chest feeling

in the morning nor do I feel dizzy, light-headed

or wheezing & shortness of breath by simple

walking. I can feel my breathing become clearer

and it is a bit easier to take breaths. I thank

God SereVent saved my life in terms of breathing.

Now I feel I can take up the task of walking

farther distances without feeling so wheezy and

out of breath. I’m still coughing today but it is

more of a wet cough than anything else. There is

still some pain when I breathe but not as bad as

before. I get a bit out of breath when walking

and have trouble breathing when walking fast but

at least I don’t feel so wheezy and a tightness

in my chest like I used to always experience when

walking or doing any exercise. And for the first

time ever my peak flow reached 500 last night and

this morning-YAY! Well at 2:53pm I can say I

managed to walk to school with no huffing

puffing, wheezing or chest tightness. I was out

of breath but that was very short lived as well

as the gulping for air. When I got to my TOPS

meeting at 51st Avenue I arrived with a regular

breath. I had some chest tightness and had some

trouble breathing at the TOPS (Taking Off Pounds

Sensibly) meeting but there were women wearing

perfume (very heavy perfume) which I think could

be a trigger for me. Should I use my blue puffer

for that or now? My mommy smokes in the house

which makes me can’t breath and I can feel my

throat close and I start to cough. Is this a

trigger for an attack? Should I use my blue

puffer for this instance? I get the same feeling

for hairspray which my mommy uses on her hair on

a daily basis. The strong smell also makes me

choke, cough, not breathe and I get headaches

from the smell. I live with that on a daily

basis. My room has a new carpet (installed Aug.

2004 before we moved in on Sept. 2, 2004). I

can’t take it out since it is not my house so how

should I deal with the carpet? Is this a concern

for me? I’m told I should keep the house in a

very clean condition. I’m very busy with school

and a social life so how do I keep a dust free

place with the current schedule I keep? I’m told

I should take a lung test on a yearly basis to

test that my lungs or in working order. Should I

do this for myself? And what about talking to my

doctor every 6 months even if I’m well? Is that a

good idea? I’ve got loads of questions and

concerns about asthma and asthma management that

need answering. I hope I can get answers for my

questions & concerns about asthma & asthma

management. 6:33 pm - I’m coughing more and more

now. The cough is in my throat - I can feel it

but I have a hard time getting the cough out so

it is clear from my throat. I feel the phlegm in

my throat which just won’t clear. I hope I’m not

worrying too much abut this in regards to my

asthma.

Friday March 4, 2005

Last night when going to bed I coughed up a

storm. It took awhile before my coughing calmed

down and I was able to sleep. It is now official

that I’ve started a cold. I’ve been coughing on

and off all day, at times to the point where my

throat becomes raw and I’m short of breath. I had

toast w. crunchy Skippy Peanut Butter & homemade

freezer bing cherry jam for breakfast. I sort of

did a hiccup where part of my breakfast came up

where I could see my breakfast bits clearly in

the sink when I spit it out. this is frequent for

me. I get this on a weekly basis for as long as I

can remember. As well I do get frequent heartburn

where I am awakened at night by it and I have to

take Tums for it. Mommy says if I lost weight and

stop eating so much the heartburn would stop. Al

day long I cleaned the entire house – dusting,

vacuuming, changing my bed sheets, dusting my

closet. I used London glass cleaner and

dishwashing soap & water for dusting. I’ve

noticed how easily I got a tight chest when

cleaning and dusting the house. The glass cleaner

stung my eyes a bit and I had a hard time

breathing when dusting out my closet and cleaning

my closet window (it was covered in dust &

cobwebs & had not been cleaned since before Sept.

2004). I kept rubbing my eyes a lot-they seemed

to be itchy and I also kept rubbing my nose which

became runny. The more I dusted and cleaned the

tighter my chest became and the harder it became

for me to breathe properly. I didn’t take my blue

puffer because I am unsure if this is the right

circumstance to take it. The chest tightness

became a sharp, stabbing pain as I continued to

clean and dust. I also got a bad headache – after

cleaning mommy’s room which smelled of perfume

and hairspray. It was hard to breathe in that

room and I coughed a lot in that room. Later on I

was using white out on my stuff and the smell

gave me a violent headache, I coughed a lot and

had trouble breathing. The smell made me a bit

dizzy. I was not out of breath today and I found

going up and down the stairs easier to do. No

wheeziness or shortness of breath so I think that

is a result of me taking SereVent. When I was

cleaning the washroom I noticed my cheeks getting

a bright shade of red – almost like a rash. Is

that normal to do that?

Saturday March 5, 2005

It’s about 4:14 am and I had to use my blue

puffer reliever medication. I woke up at about 1

am to go to the washroom and to get a class of

milk to drink because of my thirstiness. All

night long I’ve had chest & lung pains making it

hard for me to sleep. After getting up at 1 am I

didn’t get back to sleep because the pain became

too unbearable for me. Even trying to sleep

upward didn’t help at all. My whole chest, sides

& lungs feel as if somebody doused them in

lighter fluid and lit them on fire. That’s how

painful my breathing has become for me right now.

Looking back on my past I now realize I have

woken up on many occasions because of this pain.

In fact this pain at night time is quite

frequent. I get this at least once a week at

night time. But I can sleep through it most of

the time. I started my “P’ on Wednesday march 2,

2005 but I’m not sure if it contributes to this

pain. I have 2 feather pillows on my bed that I

sleep with. One is a baby pillow that belonged to

my Great-Grandmother when she was alive. The

other a regular sized pillow mommy bought used

awhile back. Our vacuum cleaner is an old

reconditioned Electrolux vacuum cleaner. The only

two rooms with carpets are my bedroom and mommy’s

bedroom. I have one no cat zone-my office in the

basement. It’s very toasty there and I feel fine

in my office with linoleum tiling down there.

4:24 am – I feel better from the chest pains. The

reliever medication really helped me a lot. I

guess I was having an asthma attack at this time

in the morning. I write everything down here to

help with what is triggering my attacks and to

help better manage my asthma. I’m not going to

bed now since I have to get up soon anyway. I’ll

get rest later day. I have been coughing on and

off all night. I think it’s because of my cold I

have now. When I was a child getting ear

infections were the norm for me. I would get 2-3

ear infections when I was a child. I don’t know

if this is relevant to asthma or not but I am

putting it down in case it is important to my

personal medical history. The allergies my aunt

Baiba had when she was alive were deadly (makeup,

bees eventually milk after a trip to Egypt etc.).

mommy’s allergy to scallops are also deadly.

She’s also allergic to sulfur. She also gets

colds that last a long time just like me. When

she was younger she had trouble running (pains)

but when she had bypass surgery in 1994, it

turned out she was born with very small arteries.

I’ve been walking from 40th & to below

Main & Broadway (a good 2 hr walk w. some hills

on Broadway along the way). I’m at Broadway &

Carolina at Subway getting something to eat

because I was hungry. While walking I noticed I

had normal breath – no huffing, no puffing, no

wheezing, no chest tightness at all. I was able

to do the hills with great east with a tiny bit

of heavy breathing – but that was slight compared

to how I would really get out of breath on hills.

I still experience pain when I breath as always

and I’m still coughing on and off during my walk.

But I feel really great for a change. It’s so

nice to walk and not huff and puff and get

shortness of breath so easily like I have in the

past. The SereVent really helps me – I see a

great improvement in my breathing capacity. I can

finally walk long distances with no problem at

all. The only thing which bothered me when

walking were the care fumes and fumes from

commercial vehicles as well as the fumes coming

from professional cleaners. That always bothers

me greatly, making me unable to breathe properly.

I have noticed when I walk a lot for long

distances my cheeks get a really bright red

covering most of my face – almost like a rash. Is

that normal? Another thing to note when walking

my chest felt a bit funny but I don’t know what

it could have been. It felt a bit quivery &

trembly when I was breathing in & out but it went

away after a bit. I’ve always had red cheeks on

me – permanent blush that when as a child &

teenager my classmates would always ask what was

wrong with my cheeks – why are they so red? Even

mommy said that and thought my red cheeks to be

abnormal. They get really red after a very hot

and steamy bath. I blush really easily. I have a

deep sharp stabbing pain in my right lung that

goes up the back of my right ear whenever I

breathe. I get this almost all the time. It’s

normal for me to experience pain when I breathe –

not exercise related. Yesterday while I was

cleaning and dusting I could feel my eyes get

tired & sleepy & I kept rubbing them to get the

sleep out of my eyes. On the buses on the way

home there were some very strong smells including

perfume and other unidentified stuff that gave me

a violent headache and made it hard for me to

breathe properly.

Sunday March 6, 2005

This morning (as usual) I woke up with really red

hot cheeks. They were flushed – like a rash –

going all across my entire face and nose. I’ve

been coughing on and off all day long. My eyes

have been feeling itchy as well as my nose and

I’ve been rubbing them all day long – almost non

stop to take away the itchiness. As well my nose

has been feeling slightly runny whenever I would

rub it. When I went out to London Drugs today

there was some strong smell of car soap (somebody

had been washing their car next door) and made me

feel ill to my stomach. It was hard to breathe

but that was short lived once I came indoors. I

bought myself a medical alert bracelet for $8 at

London Drugs today in which I will fill out and

send it in for the $12 fee to get myself

registered. My instinct says to do this for

myself. When I was a child I remember once with

my Omit & Opa eating some raw corn (this was in

the summer time when I would visit them in

Toronto) and throwing up and feeling ill after

that. It only happened once and from then on I

only touched cooked corn. It was a good day

asthma wise – I’ve been feeling good with no pain

breathing today.

http://www.tarakimberleytorme.com

AspergerGal , TaraAspieGal ,

PhantomAspiePhan

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