Guest guest Posted January 22, 2010 Report Share Posted January 22, 2010 Hi everyone, My name is Aden and I am writing to you from Jerusalem, Israel. First of all, I wish all of you good health. I have joined this list to get some information on managing asthma. I developed asthma as an adult, although I have suffered from seasonal allergies since I was a child. I had a bad case of bronchitis in my early twenties which was not managed well and suddenly everytime I caught the common cold afterward, I could not breathe. So I have been put on bronchodilators and inhaled steroids since then. For the most past I have done well on a continued regimen of meds with minor flareups that were managed successfully with minimum change. The most obvious trigger for me is stress. In 2004, I hit the motherload of stress and my asthma flared badly for three months. We changed my meds a few times and finally got the situation under control with a very short course of prednisone. From there, I was put on advair, first at a high dose and then a gradually lowering. In 2005, I went to a pulmonary dr who reported that my tests show normal results. Since Dec 2005, I have been taking an allergy medication plus the Israeli equivalent of Flovent 100mcg. I keep both a Ventolin inhaler and a Serevent disc with me in case of need. In the past three years, in spite of situations of extreme stress, I have been fine with no breathing problems at all. I have not touched either the Ventolin or the Serevent. I changed docs a few years ago (my previous doc, who I really liked) left the country. This week I went to my new dr to discuss asthma management. I was not pleased with the consultation at all and I realized that I wanted more info. So here I am. I wanted to ask - is there some sort of protocol for management? Is it better to go off all meds and simply treat flareups as they happen? Or does taking an ongoing low dosage of meds prevent a more severe flareup? Should one stop both the asthma med and the allergy med together or one at a time? Please note that I am not asking about what to do; I am asking for general information or a referral an informative website. I will make final decisions about the meds with a (new) doctor. Thanks very much for your help and input. Very best to you all, Aden -- I made my mind up: I can make it. I'll be fine even if I gotta fake it. I'll keep surviving... -Aretha lin, "Another Night" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 22, 2010 Report Share Posted January 22, 2010 Welcome Aden. I hope this group can help answer your questions. Cheryl Burton ncicheryl@... To: asthma Sent: Fri, January 22, 2010 6:30:31 AMSubject: Searching for info Hi everyone, My name is Aden and I am writing to you from Jerusalem, Israel. First of all, I wish all of you good health. I have joined this list to get some information on managing asthma. I developed asthma as an adult, although I have suffered from seasonal allergies since I was a child. I had a bad case of bronchitis in my early twenties which was not managed well and suddenly everytime I caught the common cold afterward, I could not breathe. So I have been put on bronchodilators and inhaled steroids since then. For the most past I have done well on a continued regimen of meds with minor flareups that were managed successfully with minimum change. The most obvious trigger for me is stress. In 2004, I hit the motherload of stress and my asthma flared badly for three months. We changed my meds a few times and finally got the situation under control with a very short course of prednisone. From there, I was put on advair, first at a high dose and then a gradually lowering. In 2005, I went to a pulmonary dr who reported that my tests show normal results. Since Dec 2005, I have been taking an allergy medication plus the Israeli equivalent of Flovent 100mcg. I keep both a Ventolin inhaler and a Serevent disc with me in case of need. In the past three years, in spite of situations of extreme stress, I have been fine with no breathing problems at all. I have not touched either the Ventolin or the Serevent. I changed docs a few years ago (my previous doc, who I really liked) left the country. This week I went to my new dr to discuss asthma management. I was not pleased with the consultation at all and I realized that I wanted more info. So here I am. I wanted to ask - is there some sort of protocol for management? Is it better to go off all meds and simply treat flareups as they happen? Or does taking an ongoing low dosage of meds prevent a more severe flareup? Should one stop both the asthma med and the allergy med together or one at a time? Please note that I am not asking about what to do; I am asking for general information or a referral an informative website. I will make final decisions about the meds with a (new) doctor. Thanks very much for your help and input. Very best to you all, Aden -- I made my mind up: I can make it. I'll be fine even if I gotta fake it. I'll keep surviving... -Aretha lin, "Another Night" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2010 Report Share Posted January 23, 2010 On Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:30:31 -0500, ubi95 wrote > Hi everyone, > My name is Aden and I am writing to you from Jerusalem, Israel. > First of all, I wish all of you good health. I have joined this > list to get some information on managing asthma. I believe the American Allergy and Asthma Assn has a website. I think (but am not sure) it is AAAA.org So that might give you some info. I personally would not use the asthma meds unless I needed them, because unless you need the med you are exposing yourself to powerful medicines and their side effects for no reason. Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2010 Report Share Posted January 23, 2010 Hi Aden welcome to our group. There are many very knowledgeable people here. I have had asthma for only a couple of years, but I have learned quite a bit on this group. First asthma is not the same for any two people. It is a very personal disease. If I understand you correctly, your asthma used to be out of control and for the last several years you have been on a daily controller medication and you are better. So, it seems that the controller medication is doing it's job. It could also be that the asthma is not being triggered as much any more. Have you had any environmental changes like a move or a new job? If you think the asthma is doing better on it's own, work with your new doctor to maybe first reduce the dosage of your meds and see how you do. I wouldn't suggest quitting cold turkey. Also, I am glad to hear that you intend to keep working with the medical staff and not take things completely in your own hands. It can be very hard working with new doctors. They don't know you and you don't trust them necessarily. Good luck. Please keep us updated. Madeline http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Lungs_on_Vacation/ To: asthma Sent: Fri, January 22, 2010 7:30:31 AMSubject: Searching for info Hi everyone,My name is Aden and I am writing to you from Jerusalem, Israel. First of all, I wish all of you good health. I have joined this list to get some information on managing asthma. I developed asthma as an adult, although I have suffered from seasonal allergies since I was a child. I had a bad case of bronchitis in my early twenties which was not managed well and suddenly everytime I caught the common cold afterward, I could not breathe. So I have been put on bronchodilators and inhaled steroids since then. For the most past I have done well on a continued regimen of meds with minor flareups that were managed successfully with minimum change. The most obvious trigger for me is stress. In 2004, I hit the motherload of stress and my asthma flared badly for three months. We changed my meds a few times and finally got the situation under control with a very short course of prednisone. From there, I was put on advair, first at a high dose and then a gradually lowering. In 2005, I went to a pulmonary dr who reported that my tests show normal results. Since Dec 2005, I have been taking an allergy medication plus the Israeli equivalent of Flovent 100mcg. I keep both a Ventolin inhaler and a Serevent disc with me in case of need.In the past three years, in spite of situations of extreme stress, I have been fine with no breathing problems at all. I have not touched either the Ventolin or the Serevent.I changed docs a few years ago (my previous doc, who I really liked) left the country. This week I went to my new dr to discuss asthma management. I was not pleased with the consultation at all and I realized that I wanted more info. So here I am. I wanted to ask - is there some sort of protocol for management? Is it better to go off all meds and simply treat flareups as they happen? Or does taking an ongoing low dosage of meds prevent a more severe flareup? Should one stop both the asthma med and the allergy med together or one at a time? Please note that I am not asking about what to do; I am asking for general information or a referral an informative website. I will make final decisions about the meds with a (new) doctor.Thanks very much for your help and input.Very best to you all,Aden --I made my mind up: I can make it.I'll be fine even if I gotta fake it.I'll keep surviving...-Aretha lin, "Another Night" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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