Exposure to this …… And this…. Is there anything Im not allergic too? I think I need to live in one of these… So two hospitalization in just two months has me and my Pulmonologists scratching our heads as to what it is that keeps causes my asthma to spiral out of control so often. [...]
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Just one of the advantages of being an asthmatic Respiratory Therapist, though the hospital staff might not be so thrilled. They get a little grouchy when the patients start adjusting ventilator settings Now for the serious educational part: The rational for using non -invasive bipap therapy during a severe asthma exacerbations is simply to reduce [...]
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For the life of me I can’t figure out why my breathing was so good from those last 2 weeks in January all the way till Feb 3rd. When I say “good” I don’t mean like a return to normal lung function or even a significant decrease in symptoms, but still what I experienced during [...]
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It’s almost 2013 and I just realized I really haven’t posted a breathing status update in almost a year. Probably the biggest change that I’m noticing, is that my dyspnea is getting more pronounced and more constant. Where I used get 8 or so “good” breathing hours a day, Im down now to less than [...]
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Ive written about this before, but this is such an important topic; one that effects most chronic lungers and causes more suffering than any other respiratory symptom, that Ive decided to come out of blog retirement to write about it again. Most of the information that Ive been able to find on the internet regarding [...]
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The idea for this post came to me during the middle a recent severe exacerbation. Actually, it was the same exacerbation that put me in the hospital for 12 days, for which I am still recovering. Foremost on my mind during one of these really bad flares is the question….how bad will it get? Is [...]
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Everyone experiences a little indigestion and bloating from time to time. Did you know that it’s very common for people with chronic lung disease to experience frequent abdominal bloating? What’s not so normal however, is to actually become so distended that it impairs your ability to breath effectively, but that’s what was happening to me. [...]
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I haven’t blogged about this experience until now, because frankly, I been too sick to sit in front of the computer for more than a few minutes at a time. You see exactly 2 weeks today, I stopped taking one the most physically addictive substances known to man…Methadone ( Some might say even worse than [...]
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We all know what it’s like to be in asthma purgatory for a few days or maybe even a few weeks, but for 2 months? Geeze, cut me some slack would ya! Seriously, except for a string of 6 days in the middle October when I still on high doses of pred, Ive been in [...]
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You train hard and wait months in anticipation to accomplish a goal you’ve been aiming for, and then BAM! ….in a matter of hours, a severe
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I actually had something else prepared for this weeks post, but since there’s a good chance I’ll be heading to the slammer shortly, I thought Id do a quick update on what’s been happening. If you’ve been watching my sidebar lately you probably noticed that my numbers have been all over the place. Ive been [...]
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I often find it frustrating that here I am, a life long asthmatic, a Respiratory therapist and an asthma educator, yet still unable in normal conversation, to describe what makes my type of asthma so different from others. When asked to define asthma in general, I usually give the spiel about how asthma is an [...]
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It’s been almost a year since Ive updated my asthma status. Here’s the latest report card. For the year, I give myself a C + In general my lung function has only declined a couple percent which is good. The problem of course, is that when you’re down in the lower ranges like I am, [...]
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