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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Asthma / February 2007How asthma affects your life.
I was diagnosed with asthma when I was 17 years old Before that my life was somewhat normal. For the next Year and a half I was on prednisone for a short period of time Like every 4 months plus different inhalers. After that I have had some asthma symptoms almost all the time. And I have to use a combination of medicine every day. I also have to use some medicine every day for my nose Allergy. I managed to go to college and I have a job. For years I have felt somewhat tired most of the time. And my asthma gets worst a few time a years and I have to take more medicine. As a result, a lot of times I only have enough energy To go to work and come back home and rest. I am 34 years old now and I realize that I have spent Long periods of time making a big effort to perform My daily duties and come back home and rest and wait Until I get better and have more energy to perform other activities. Sometimes I wonder how my life would have been If I haven't Had to deal with this disease. My family members know that I have asthma and that I take medicine but, hardly know How much this have affected my life. I used to spent time Trying to explain things to them but they don't seem to Understand. I would like to know the experience of others asthma suffers Especially of those who started having this problem when they Were young and how this has affected their career, love life etc. Sounds very familiar (inculding the prednisone pattern), except that I got it when I was 29, and I am now 31. It happenned almost instantenously and turned my life upside down. I used to be a well- conditioned endurance athlete (not anymore), had a nice career (still trying to hang on, but right at the edge), and a happy family (still trying to hang on, but right at the edge). I spend 50% of my time at work just thinking of, or researching on my condition, since I still believe that I can beat it rationally. I am very frustrated with doctors who use population-average numbers to tell how healthy a given patient is. By their standards I am healthy and I am making up my disease. I produce a peak flow of 750 during my sick days (with predicted of 600), and 900+ (beyond the scale) when my asthma is under control. I hate to repeat myself like this, but whenever I hear that the quality of life has really declined with asthma, it makes me wonder if the asthma wasn't caused by bacteria. I just posted this as a reply to another poster, but will cut and paste it here, too: I'm just wondering if you had an illness within the past year that hit you hard in the chest? Flu, bronchitis, pneumonia or a really bad cold? In some cases, an illness can be the onset of adult asthma. There are bacteria (mycoplasma and chlamydia pneumoniae) that can accompany one of the above illnesses, and sometimes it remains in the tissue long after the acute illness. It can either cause asthma or make a persons asthma worse. The fix is taking Azithromycin for three days in a row at 500mgs, followed by weekly doses of 750mgs up to twelve weeks. There's a support group that I'm moderating where you'll find a lot of studies about this: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/infectious_asthma/ I had asthma for more than thirty years before I took the antibiotics as prescribed, and I've been asthma and asthma-med free for over 3.5 years, and my son has also been asthma and asthma-med free for over three years. Most asthmatics find the right combination of medicine that helps them function fully. When you've tried different combinations and still struggle, it's often because bacteria has either caused your asthma, or made your asthma worse. If so, the right antibiotic at the right dose for the right period of time, can either improve asthma, or completely eradicate it. It doesn't work for everyone, but it worked for me and a lot of other people, so you may want to look into that. On Jan 31, 8:01 am, "NorthShoreCEO" <NorthShore...@NOSPAMaol.com> wrote: > I hate to repeat myself like this, but whenever I hear that the quality of > life has really declined with asthma, it makes me wonder if the asthma [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > It doesn't work for everyone, but it worked for me and a lot of other > people, so you may want to look into that. I had a history of bronchitis infection especially in winter, Once in a while like every two years Or something. before I was diagnosed With asthma I never had to take any medicine For asthma. An antibiotic would usually Solve the problem. That winter I had What I thought it was (and maybe it was) A bronchitis infection. This time though, I Had a little harder time breathing. When I went To the emergency room (I didn't want to Wait two months to see the doctor) I told The doctor my history of bronchitis infection Yet the only thing he do is prescribe some Prednisone. I got better but got really sick Again in like four months. When I went To see de doctor again I explained everything To him. He prescribed more prednisone. Long story short. Every time they prescribed The prednisone I got better but got sicker Again in a few months after that. Like a year and a half later when I was Using several inhalers and still feeling Sick I went to see a pulmonologist. He told me when he saw me that it seemed More like an infection than asthma. He started treating me with antibiotics. Including azithromicin for three days. And Some others like clarithromicin And I got better. The main problem is that Before I got asthma, I Had a tendency to Get a throat infection. My asthma is somewhat Sever. So when I take the inhalers regularly Including one with corticosteroid I feel better but I start getting An infection in my throat and eventually bronchitis. Or a cold that usually develops into a bronchitis infection Too. So if I don't use my corticosteroid inhaler (and I have Tried several different types with the same results) I start Having a real hard time breathing. But if I use it regularly, I can breath well for a few days but I start getting Signs of infection. That get worst and worst and the Infection develops in a few days. So what I do is as soon As I can breath better but getting signs of infection, I start using my corticosteroid inhaler Less often and this usually stops the infection from developing. But I start having breathing difficulty a few days after this. I read your article and it made sense to me. I managed to buy The azithromicin and I took it the way you described above. During those weeks, I didn't feel the signs of infection sometimes I felt while using the corticosteroid inhaler. On the eleventh week though, I felt like I was getting a cold the symptoms disappeared after taking the pill. Same thing during the twelve week. And finally on the thirteen week when I was not taking the azitrhomicin anymore I got a cold. My twelve week was two weeks ago and I am just getting over the Cold. As far as my asthma symptoms I feel pretty much the same. Is there a chance I am going to get better after getting over the cold because of the azithromicin I took? It sounds like you may have the kind of asthma caused by bacteria. If interested, join the yahoo group and check out the studies in the Links section, and additional information in the Files section. The azythromycin protocol of Dr Hahn can indeed be very helpful to some patients, but it;s not a panacea. I did not benefit from it. But it's definitely worth trying. >I was diagnosed with asthma when I was 17 years old >Before that my life was somewhat normal. For the next [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > Myself, I started off young and had been prone to bronchitis-like illnesses at one point. As others have mentioned, there is the possibility that there is a bacterial source and I am hoping that when a trial of the Hahn protocol is undertaken locally that I will be able to be involved. I basically went undiagnosed from childhood until I was in my mid 20's. In my case, as compared to my current "in control" levels, I was living with a "normal" peak flow of about 55-60% of what it should have been. Needless to say, I didn't like sports or phys. ed. as I felt horrible doing it. Became a bookworm and fairly heavy as a result. Now at 32, though I'm not big on all the meds, I'm routinely running in the low 80% range for peak flow and can get out and enjoy things like mountain biking / cycling (including long distance stuff). I'm getting back into shape and acutally getting a little more zest back into my life. Short synopsis, but that's bascially the story, Mike |
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