Asthma can suck it!

[SuperRunt]

I have very severe asthma and allergies, but stubbornly keep running and biking. I have a few tips, take'em or leave'em :-)

If you take Symbicort and/or Singulair: Go to their websites and download a pdf of their coupons. I get a big discount on the Symbicort and a smaller one on the Singulair. (Not sure how they work if you don't have insurance...)

If you have not looked into vocal cord dysfunction: Please do! Especially if you have a lot of post nasal drip. Breathing through pursed lips and swallowing 'just so' every now and then can make a big difference! And it's free.

If you take Xolair, you should look them up online. Give their patient line a ring. They might be able to hook you up with some financial help.

If you're located somewhere reasonably close to Denver (it's worth a short flight!), check out National Jewish Hospital and their Lung Line. Unfortunately, I'm in the 'please wait for further research category', but they were still able to help me out a LOT.

Hope this can help someone....

[jordanpattern]

I have very severe asthma and allergies, but stubbornly keep running and biking. I have a few tips, take'em or leave'em :-)

If you take Symbicort and/or Singulair: Go to their websites and download a pdf of their coupons. I get a big discount on the Symbicort and a smaller one on the Singulair. (Not sure how they work if you don't have insurance...)

If you have not looked into vocal cord dysfunction: Please do! Especially if you have a lot of post nasal drip. Breathing through pursed lips and swallowing 'just so' every now and then can make a big difference! And it's free.

If you take Xolair, you should look them up online. Give their patient line a ring. They might be able to hook you up with some financial help.

If you're located somewhere reasonably close to Denver (it's worth a short flight!), check out National Jewish Hospital and their Lung Line. Unfortunately, I'm in the 'please wait for further research category', but they were still able to help me out a LOT.

Hope this can help someone....

Thanks for this, especially the tip about the symbicort website. I just went and signed up, so I can print off the discount card on Monday and hopefully get my first prescription for free (fingers crossed).

I saw my doctor on Friday, and yes indeed, my lung function is not good! The clinic was able to give me 3 weeks worth of Advair samples, which was really nice, and then I'll be saving my pennies to buy symbicort every month, which should take care of my problem if it works the way it did last time I was on it.

I will definitely try the pursed lips thing, and I'm also hoping that getting back into playing french horn (I was a music major who has since moved into other fields) and doing yoga will also help me regain some of the control I used to have over my asthma.

[jordanpattern]

I have very severe asthma and allergies, but stubbornly keep running and biking. I have a few tips, take'em or leave'em :-)

If you take Symbicort and/or Singulair: Go to their websites and download a pdf of their coupons. I get a big discount on the Symbicort and a smaller one on the Singulair. (Not sure how they work if you don't have insurance...)

If you have not looked into vocal cord dysfunction: Please do! Especially if you have a lot of post nasal drip. Breathing through pursed lips and swallowing 'just so' every now and then can make a big difference! And it's free.

If you take Xolair, you should look them up online. Give their patient line a ring. They might be able to hook you up with some financial help.

If you're located somewhere reasonably close to Denver (it's worth a short flight!), check out National Jewish Hospital and their Lung Line. Unfortunately, I'm in the 'please wait for further research category', but they were still able to help me out a LOT.

Hope this can help someone....

Thanks for this, especially the tip about the symbicort website. I just went and signed up, so I can print off the discount card on Monday and hopefully get my first prescription for free (fingers crossed).

I saw my doctor on Friday, and yes indeed, my lung function is not good! The clinic was able to give me 3 weeks worth of Advair samples, which was really nice, and then I'll be saving my pennies to buy symbicort every month, which should take care of my problem if it works the way it did last time I was on it.

I will definitely try the pursed lips thing, and I'm also hoping that getting back into playing french horn (I was a music major who has since moved into other fields) and doing yoga will also help me regain some of the control I used to have over my asthma.

[ehirsch83]

Hope everyone is doing better!

I ended up having to go to urgent care Thursday after work b/c I wasn't getting any better. Received a Nebulizer treatment and a steroid injection. Now on prednisone. So far, still coughing and the bronchitis is still there, but it is getting better slowly! Taking another week off of training There goes this race year probably, oh well.

[zoom-zoom]

Emily, I am really sorry. These lung issues just really suck. I am no stranger to the nebulizer. It's why the flu scares the crap out of me. It's a guaranteed trip to urgent care. Be good to yourself. Don't push yourself too hard while your lungs are healing. They can be such a delicate organ.

[jordanpattern]

Emily, I'm sorry to hear about that. I hope your lungs feel better soon, and you're back to your usual breathing self!

Since seeing my doctor on Friday, I've been taking the Advair samples twice a day. It's not as great as I remember Symbicort being, but man, did I ever notice a difference when I rode to work today. I'd been thinking that I'd felt bonked by my commute because I wasn't used to it or something, but no, it just felt really hard because I wasn't breathing properly, so everything was working harder than it should have been. Now, it feels much, much easier, and the hills that had given me trouble (small ones!) are like nothing.

Man, that feels good.

[ehirsch83]

Emily, I am really sorry. These lung issues just really suck. I am no stranger to the nebulizer. It's why the flu scares the crap out of me. It's a guaranteed trip to urgent care. Be good to yourself. Don't push yourself too hard while your lungs are healing. They can be such a delicate organ.

Kirsten, it scares me also! lol. This all started because of a sinus infection. For me, a sinus infection= guaranteed bronchitis.

[zoom-zoom]

Kirsten, it scares me also! lol. This all started because of a sinus infection. For me, a sinus infection= guaranteed bronchitis.

Boy, do I ever get this! My lung/sinus issues all started with one bad bug maybe 12-13 years ago. DH and I both had some horrid combo of pneumonia, sinus infection, and bronchitis. We both ended up on a ton of meds. I have had fairly frequent upper and lower respiratory issues ever since.

[SuperRunt]

glad to help! I know WAY too much about this stuff by now :-D I get more relief from Symbicort than Advair. Hope it works out for you!

[Miranda]

OK, guys... I had my smart phone out in my asthma docs office pulling up this thread to find a name of a drug mentioned lol. How funny is that?! Wait, wait... I gotta input my cycling net buddies ops lol.

Omg, I am SO sick right now. Also, with doubling up my meds while waiting for my appointment, my blood pressure was high. Usually it's very low. I'm so looped out feeling. Whoa...

OK, my point now that the drugs have had their moment babbling is about this Qvar. I have some samples of some stuff to try again from the doc. This being one of them. However, it's an inhailed steriod same concept as Advair. I think the particles in Qvar are suppose to be diff somehow compared to Advair. Idk, be nice if it didn't have the same side effects. Hafta wait and see. Have some other meds I am suppose to take first. But, just wanted to chime back in about the Qvar a few were commenting about.

I hate being so sick like this *sigh*.

[zoom-zoom]

Miranda, I hope you feel better. Qvar has been a dream for me. I had EVERY negative side effect from Advair. Even relatively rare ones. Constant thrush and a crap immune system were the worst.

My understanding is that Qvar has very fine particles that reach further into the lungs. I think Advair mainly ended up on the back of my throat.

[angelaslc]

I have asthma - mostly exercise induced asthma. I use to get bronchitis about 6 times a year. They would put me on antibiotics and prednisone. Then my doctor told me I needed to take Advair. I still had to use Albuterol before exercise. I still caught several colds a year but I never bronchitis.

About 2 years ago I stopped taking Advair due to no insurance. I still had Albuterol and took it before exercise. 1 year ago I complained to my new doctor about the frequency of colds and she suggested taking 5,000 IU of vitamin D. I was already taking 2,000 IU but she suggest changing it to a liquid gel cap form and uping the dosage.

9 months later, I didn't catch any colds or any illness. However, my asthma was really bad. Even with Albuterol I had trouble exercising. All I could do was walk at slow pace on the treadmill.

In February, I read some books about vitamin C and detoxification – they all recommend powdered buffered vitamin C. I was currently taking 2,000 mg of my Mega C at the time and switched to 4,000 mg of buffered vitamin C. That week I noticed a hug improvement in my asthma. I did a little research and found that other people who have exercised induced asthma noticed huge improvements in their asthma when they used buffered C.

I now take two doses of buffered C each day. I just ran my first 5K – I’ve NEVER been able to do that and I have not used any Albuterol and do not plan to get on Advair or any other daily medication.

I believe that I’ve been able to control my asthma better than medication with good vitamins - but with much higher doses than the recommend amount. I have not gotten sick in the last year. I completed a specific detoxification program and I also have a really good diet: lots of veggies, fruit, nuts and salmon/cod – some brown rice and quinoa. I eat mostly organic and very little processed foods, dairy, soy or gluten.

At age 35 I am feel better than I have in my entire life. I’m looking forward to getting in the best shape of my life and being an athletic person for the 1st time in my life. I feel like I’ve wasted my young years all because I was vitamin deficient and ate a horrible diet. I hated exercise and never considered myself athletic.

We are all different but I believe most of the health problems people face can be fixed by a good diet, proper detoxification and good vitamins. I say good vitamins because most vitamins are a waste of money. I only buy my vitamins from companies who research and test for absorbency. If you’re taking vitamins and don’t feel a difference then you are probably wasting your money.

I am currently studying each vitamin and mineral and how a deficiency affects the body. I’m shocked that doctors are quick to write prescriptions without first addressing diet and vitamins.

[nscrbug]

angelaslc -

I'm glad you've found a natural way to resolve your asthma, but I am curious about something. With taking such a high dosage of Vit. C every day, do you ever get the common side-effects of diarrhea and/or gas? I know in my experience, if I take more than 1,000 mg per day I'll be living in my bathroom.