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Help me beat asthma
Moe Fwacky
Right Here, Right NowDrives a BuickModerator Mod Emeritus
Right Here, Right NowDrives a BuickModerator Mod Emeritus
I was diagnosed with bronchial asthma back in 1992. I've made use of an albuterol inhaler since then and I've also taken Advair 250/50 twice daily since 2003. After six years of daily medication to keep breathing, and several emergency room visits when that medication has run out on me, I'm absolutely sick of it. Everybody I've known who had asthma as a child has since overcome it, so why not me? I am most interested in relieving myself of the need for Advair as I despise daily medications and the cost is prohibitive with no generic alternative in sight. I've heard that exercise can help, but I'm unsure of the details.
I am aware I should consult a doctor before undergoing an exercise regimen, but I thought I'd ask here first to see if anybody has some advice or firsthand experience beating asthma. So, advise away, H/A.
I am aware I should consult a doctor before undergoing an exercise regimen, but I thought I'd ask here first to see if anybody has some advice or firsthand experience beating asthma. So, advise away, H/A.
Moe Fwacky on
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I usually go 3 times a week now, but when I started I'd do it every other day. Best of luck to you dude, I feel your pain with not being able to breath when getting fit.
Get dust microbe resistant bedsheets/carpets/curtains/everything.
Air Purifier (kills bacteria and dust mites)
If you're going to start doing cardio, i'd suggest looking at the Fitness thread in this forum.
One other thing, early studies show that vitamin C seems to prolong asthma medicines effect, and omega-3 helps regulate the mucus production in the lungs of children, (which is a byproduct of asthma)
Taking suppliments of both wont do you any hurt, and omega three is amazing for many other health related issues anyways.
Also cardio I've found helps. Know your triggers and do exercise in a enviroment where they aren't prevelent. I try to run everyday, but if it's dusty and/or cold it's pretty much impossible for me to get around the block without a flare up.
Advair has a short term and a long term medicine in it. You should not use your Advair disc like a rescue inhaler.
I'm not really sure how it works but it's sort of become my rescue inhaler other than albuterol. Maybe my brain is playing tricks but it seems to work just fine.
Oh and going to a sauana would help with all of the steam and what not. I remember in dire instances I would run hot water in a sink (say i'm at a friends who has like a kitty and i don't have my inhaler) and breathe in the steam for a while as a way to clear things up a bit.
Oh and look into Yoga dude. It will help you strengthen a lot of your muscles and it's not cardio intensive. Plus it has a lot of a breathing exercises that can help in a pinch. Better muscles = better respiration.
The only thing that has managed to completely remove all my asthmatic symptoms was to force my doctor into giving me different medications (I'm not sure where you are but you mention cost as a factor of this so I assume US). I was on a red inhaler every day, and my brother was switched to a purple one called Seretide and stressed to me to switch too, so I bothered my doctor about it and he put me on a trial. Seriously, after less than a week I had no tight chests at all. I'm not keen on medication but this stuff is magical - I think it's approx. £35 but ymmv of course.
Eating apple cores alleviates asthma symptoms, according to a few studies and my own anecdotal experience.
Always have your albuterol and cell phone in hand if you go out running.
he was always pretty active and basically beat it by being fit and working through his attacks.
If this were me, I would try to use the inhaler less if possible (like if you have smaller attacks). but IANAD and whatnot.
Other than that, as others said, exercise really is the best advice - while I would be pretty hesitant to say that you're going to be able to "beat" asthma and stop your daily medicine just by exercising more (especially if it's bad enough that you have emergency room visits), it can only do good things for you.
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
Advair does contain a fast acting medicine, but it also has a long term bronchodilator you don't need.
As I've gotten older the severity has gone down, I've only been to the ER twice in the last ten years for an attack, but I've never gone a day without my albuterol.
I think some people tend to grow out of it, and others like us maybe not so much.
Other than that, I have no real specific advice. I think there's something to be said for being able to avoid attacks and that doing so makes it less likely to have future attacks. But I'm not sure if I've got the cause and effect mixed up in that case. Either way, avoid exertion in cold air, it'll fuck your shit up.
Singing. I've always been singing, and about the time I started taking it seriously and learning the proper way to push air, my symptoms started vanishing.
Huh. My brother hit the choir in gr 7 and sustained it until he graduated. I can't be certain but that might've been about the time my mom finally stopped worry he might die if he did so much as run across the street.
For activity-based, you need to be aware of your breathing. That's why swimming helps so much, it makes you breathe during specific intervals. As an asthmatic, I've often found that I stop breathing and don't notice it right away, so I always try to moderate my breathing when exercising. If it happens during sleep, you need to make sure that there is appropriate ventilation (maybe more than your average person needs) and that you are propped appropriately. Sleeping on your side can be helpful too.
For the allergen-based, other than the obvious pollen, dust, cigarette smoke type of allergens, you need to look your environment in general - I lived in LA for six years and while my allergies were not as impacted, it wasn't the best for building strong lungs. I also lived in Boston during the Big Dig, and it also impacted my ability to breathe. Also, look at perfumes and air freshners used around you. You want to be able to eliminate the things that really hit you hard and medicate your immune response appropriately for the things you can't.
I've only heard of a few other asthmatics suffering from the emotional triggers, but I know that it's there. Essentially, I used to have attacks when I was upset or excited. These may be the hardest or the easiest depending on your personality to get over. I just had to learn to be in control of my body more when I experience strong emotions.
As for medication - I've actually been told by my doctor that there are generic forms of the combination medicine that make up Advair. Of course, you'd have to buy the two of them separately, but if you're paying out of pocket, it might be cheaper and give you the same result. Also, if you're going to the ER that frequently, you might think about investing in one of the Pulmo Aides/breathing machines. I had one growing up and it made life a lot easier. Unfortunately, you are going to be stuck with taking daily medication if you want to breathe in the near future. They are still doing a lot of research on asmtha, but no one has come up with anything long term that will treat or cure us long term. I have heard anecdotal evidence about the allergy injections (I forget if it's IgG or IgE) helping asthmatics to some extent, so you might talk to your doctor about that.
About six months ago the Advair stopped helping. I needed my albuteral about 40-60 times a week. So they put me on Zyflo as well as the Advair, which means I'm paying $60 for each med now. Zyflo is a pill, still have to take it daily, but it's much easier than Advair.
I really do hate Advair and I don't think it helps all that much. I'm now coughing every 10-15 minutes. Allergies are KILLING ME.
Have you tried Allergy shots? They seem to help me out. Combination of those and taking your Advair once a day (talk to your doctor, etc) should reduce it for you. Hopefully.
I'll have to try this swimming thing. I'm absolutely serious that I'm nearly at my breaking point in dealing with my asthma.
But as soon as I moved to Ohio all hell broke loose.
http://aafa.org/pdfs/FinalPublicList_AC_2006.pdf
List of the top 100 worst cities to live in for people with asthma.
Cleveland is #6, and Dayton (where I am) is 34th. That's really bad.
Doctor's appt is in about an hour, going to get ready know. I'll post what the doctor comes up with when I get back.
<- not a doctor
MKDS: 420-970-341-758
ACWW: 0516-0316-2323 Bobby G/Wichasaw
(2 hours behind)
It sucks to have to shell out for Advair, but it's the only thing that's been able to help get my asthma under control. The expense sucks, but not being continuously out of breath is nice
I've used Advair, but it pretty consistently gives me oral thrush. Because my asthema is allergy related, Singulair pretty much nipped it in the bud. At this point I only have an occasional need for a hit off the albuteral inhaler.