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Breathinstephen

Breathinstephen

Badass-matic, Health Advocate, Marathon Walker

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Albuterol King

February 24, 2021February 24, 2021 by Breathinstephen Leave a Comment

Anyone care for some Albuterol? (Hey…..how did the Primatine mist inhaler get in there?) I sometimes jokingly claim that Im a hopeless Albuter-holic, because Ive probably inhaled more bronchodilators (asthma medicine) than any living person. Well, after doing the math, that claim might not be as far fetched as it sounds. When I first wrote […]

BI does care

February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 by Breathinstephen Leave a Comment

Im referring to the Pharmaceutical company, Boehringer Ingelheim and it’s patient assistance program called “BI Cares” Tiotropium, or Spiriva as its known by most patients, is a long-acting anticholinergic (or muscarinic antagonist) bronchodilator, that up until 2016 was not recommended for asthma and was used primarily in the treatment of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). […]

Be mindful of your asthma, but not too mindful.

January 2, 2021January 2, 2021 by Breathinstephen Leave a Comment

A while back I wrote a post titled “That feeling”, (you can read it here if you want). In that post I described that punch-in-the gut or sinking type feeling that I sometimes get at the sudden realization that my asthma may be starting to flare again. I wrote about it because it’s one of […]

4 String Therapy

December 2, 2020February 2, 2021 by Breathinstephen Leave a Comment

Instead of another depressing asthma related post, this time I thought I thought Id take a break and write about something a little more cheerful. Im referring to a favorite hobby of mine….playing the bass. Its no secret that I’ve become quite an accomplished marathon walker, despite severe breathing difficulties. But, I bet you didn’t […]

Asthma, the gift that keeps on giving.

November 14, 2020November 29, 2020 by Breathinstephen Leave a Comment

Once again Im way behind on my blogging, this time because I just haven’t been in the mood to write or talk about anything even vaguely related to asthma or hospitals. My last hospitalization a couple months back, continues to f-ck me up….mostly in the head. Other than the usual prednisone induced insomnia and resulting […]

You know that feeling?

October 14, 2020November 14, 2020 by Breathinstephen Leave a Comment

You know that feeling you get after youve survived a really bad asthma or COPD exacerbation? One that probably put you in the hospital for several days?  Where it took weeks of painstaking recovery and a slow prednisone taper, but then you finally started feeling pretty good again? You felt victorious that you beat it […]

ICU delirium is still a huge problem for me

September 14, 2020September 20, 2020 by Breathinstephen Leave a Comment

My life as chronic lunger is pretty much an open book…or would that be an open Blog? In any case, I might as well include all the mental stuff too. What I post most about is my life with Life-long Severe Asthma, Obliterative Bronchiolitis and newly acquired Posterior Glottic Stenosis (not to be confused with Vocal […]

A life in General update

September 1, 2020November 14, 2020 by Breathinstephen Leave a Comment

I try to update and post something new to my blog at least once a month, but on the social media front I’ve barely been visible lately and I think some of my friends were starting to worry. So,to keep them in the loop, and anyone else who’s interested, here’s a brief update on what’s […]

Oh that’s right, I’m a Respiratory Therapist.

August 12, 2020September 3, 2020 by Breathinstephen Leave a Comment

Spending a lot more time at home, thanks to the pandemic, last week I found myself digging through a cardboard file box full of old miscellaneous paperwork. I was looking for a receipt for a roofing job we had done on the house several years earlier. Doug insisted that we had it done prior to […]

Taking another look at Palliative care.

July 27, 2020 by Breathinstephen Leave a Comment

After briefly broaching this subject a few years ago with a Palliative care specialist at UCSF, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from this brand-new appointment. Heck, I wasn’t even sure why I was referred to the Palliative Care Dept again in the first place. What was my Pulmonologist thinking? I mean seriously, I […]

Blast from the past

June 27, 2020June 29, 2020 by Breathinstephen Leave a Comment

A sign of the times, I guess. As with other large sporting events worldwide, foot races of all kinds and sizes have understandably been cancelled this year due to Covid 19. The vendors who work with and rely on these events have taken a huge hit as well, and apparently the Marathon photography market is […]

Asthma 23/7

June 23, 2020July 13, 2020 by Breathinstephen Leave a Comment

I was racking my brain trying to come up with an appropriate title for this post and finally settled on this one. I think it works, because in many cases living with and managing asthma can be a full time, around the clock, job. Kind of ironic when you consider all the people who are […]

Asthma’s mental toll

June 2, 2020 by Breathinstephen Leave a Comment

I remember someone asking me recently, how it was possible that I was able to post a video and update my status while I was on a ventilator struggling to breath? I really had to think carefully about how to answer that question. Actually, I was responding to all the get well wishes from my […]

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Popular posts

Putting a face on severe asthma

May is asthma awareness month, so I thought it would be fitting to share with you a 6 hour slice of a typical morning in this asthmatics life. No ...

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Not just Asthma, Severe Asthma!

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The Recovery phases of a severe asthma exacerbation

Suffice it to say, I wasn't exactly a happy camper when I wrote that last post about a recent hospitalization... I apologize for that. At the time, I was ...

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After 9 years of blogging about life with severe asthma, I still get a lot of traffic from people searching the web for specific information about O2 saturation and how ...

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Air-Trapping

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What's it like to be intubated for asthma?

The search term "Intubation" comes up fairly often on my blog's traffic logs, so I thought I take a moment to write about it. Lord knows I've had my ...

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You're worthy

What is it with chronic severe asthma, self esteem, self doubt or self worthiness? Why do we tend to hide or downplay our disease or the severity of our ...

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My 133rd hospitalization for asthma

My 133rd hospitalization occurred on 10-9-2017. The trigger wasn't the usual environmental allergies or resp infection, this time it was smoke from wildfires that have been devastating portions of northern ...

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The evil candy

(The Prednisone Molecule) Thanks everyone for checking up on me. I'm fine! ( well,... almost) I've been out of the hospital for 5 days now, and ...

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Macrolide therapy

This past week I started on yet another experimental therapy. This time it's long- term Macrolide therapy using Azithromycin. As an add-on therapy, recent studies indicate that the long term use ...

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Here are my legs 6 years ago when I was only averaging 1-2 serious hospitalizations per year.

The wonderful side effects of frequent asthma flares

Think a severe asthma exacerbation only effects your lungs? Check out the photos below. Each photo was taken appx 2-3 weeks after being discharged from the hospital after a serious ...

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Exercise like your life depends on it

Exercise like your life depends on it

Everyone knows how important daily exercise is for maintaining good health, but I believe this is even more true when you suffer from a chronic breathing disorder such as ...

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The A word

Im talking about the other A word.... ANXIETY As a Respiratory Therapist and a lifelong asthmatic, I know all too well that anxiety and breathlessness usually go hand in hand. ...

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Cmon….Thank a Nurse, Thank an RT

Cmon....Thank a Nurse, Thank an RT

As I was mentioning to AsthmaMom, the first rule of etiquette for an asthmatic who has just survived another bad flare and hospital stay, is to thank those who ...

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My asthma has changed again

I'm not talking about the disease itself, I still have the classic text book definition of asthma, maybe even to a greater degree than many. What I'm referring to is ...

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Steve - 9, Asthma---a big fat ZERO!

This might sound corny, but I feel like Ive just been reborn. On Oct 5th I finished my 9th marathon at the Portland Marathon. If you've been reading my updates, this ...

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Tour De Badass YVR

"Badassmatic (adj.): Person with asthma better defined by badassery. Possesses insatiable desire for growth, change and adventure." ( Brought to you courtesy of Kerri Mac Kay)(Part 1 of 8 clips) ***For ...

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Recovering from a bad asthma flare

A lot of attention is focused on what goes on during a severe asthma exacerbation, but very little about what occurs after. What a lot of people ( and ...

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Treatment overload

Yes, another update about treatment options. Things seem to be changing at a lightening pace now and it's making my head explode. Too much for an over-thinker like me to ...

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Did you bring a note ?

Back in the old days when you got sick and ended up in the hospital, it was probably because your primary care doctor put you there. ...

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Opiates and Lung disease

No longer just reserved for severe pain control or to relieve end of life suffering, today a growing number of people with severe lung disease are using opiate ...

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Do you know when it's time to go in?

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 ...

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When did my Asthma become COPD?

Im a Respiratory Therapist who's been in the field a long time, but I was a quite taken aback when my local Pulmonologist blurred out these sobering words... "Your COPD", ...

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Breathing Basics ---O2 Saturation and Oximeters

Today's Breathing Basics review is all about Oxygen Saturation and Oximeters. If you have lung disease of any kind, no doubt you've come across the words "Oxygen saturation" or "O2 ...

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Double Whammy Asthma

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 ...

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Prelude to an asthma flare

So my asthma is acting up again and I feel like I have the proverbial elephant sitting on my chest. I say my asthma is acting up, but ...

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Mike Mc Bride

Think I have it bad? Meet my friend and fellow lung challenged athlete....Mike McBride. Michael has really bad emphysema and has to be connected to supplemental ...

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Asthma guilt trip

How many times have you had a really bad asthma flare, but had serious trepidations about going to the emergency room for treatment? How many times have you ...

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Respiratory Therapist/Asthmatic/Patient

All this buzz about inhalers ,nebulizers and hospitals , got me to thinking of various situations, in which Ive been involved. Not always practicing what I preach. As I'm sure

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Im the conundrum, the outlier, the oddball asthmatic

I can't tell you how many times people have written to me telling me that their doctors can't figure their asthma out or that they have nothing more to ...

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