My husband is 35 years old. He has had asthma his whole life and has been in out of hospitals his whole life. He has been out of work for the past 5 months and now his symptoms have come back and seem to be worse than ever. He has been on prednisone twice in the past 5 months. We have the nebulizer at home. He takes albuterol and combivent inhalers at least 6 times a day, lately, it has been at least a dozen. He takes the advair for his preventative. Allegra, albuterol, prednisone, wellbutrin, remeron, presently on antibiotics for a sinus infection, that keeps coming back. He told me today that he doesn't plan to live long enough to see retirement. I don't want him to die. He is so discouraged about seeing a specialist or trying new meds. Nothing has ever helped before. Please help us!!!

He is so discouraged about seeing a specialist or trying new meds. Nothing has ever helped before. Please help us!!!

You've probably heard this already, but perhaps I can give you some ideas to ease the asthma.

Anything that your husband breathes or smells, or eats or drinks, or that touches his skin can irritate his asthma condition.

So, to improve an asthma condition, you need to remove as many things that touch his skin, or that he breathes or smells, or that he eats or drinks.

Wall to wall carpetting or upholstered furniture, are bad for asthma sufferers.

Even the smallest amount of dust can bring on asthma symptoms.

Since there are ALWAYS dust and mold particles in inside air, your husband might try wearing a surgical mask, especially when sleeping. Make sure the mask he wears doesn't irritate his asthma. Some masks have a really bad smell.

Fabric softeners and detergents contain many chemicals. Your husband may be allergic to several of the chemicals in fabric softeners. Don't use them.

Stop drinking diet drinks. Don't use artificial sweeteners.

Have husband wear non-allergic gloves when reading the newspaper or the mail. Inks and chemicals in paper are common allergens.

Limit the foods your husband eats. No lunch meats. No sausage. No pre-packaged or frozen dinners. No sauces. No gravies. No takeouts. No desserts. Use vinegar and oil for salad dressing.

Why these food items? You will never know which things provoke your husband's asthma. You need to simplify what your husband eats. If you pick up a food item and look at the label, and it contains a bunch of ingrediants, don't get it.

If your husband KNOWS certain food sensitivities, such as wheat, or milk, or beef, or corn, etc., then, of course, eliminate those from his diet.

Electronic devices could be part of the puzzle. Anything that your husband touches could irritate his asthma.

Limit the cleaners that you use. There are many different, harsh chemicals in cleaners.

Keep all windows closed, either at home or in the car, but you need to air your home out every few days to remove the harmful indoor air.

If you use central AC, make sure the unit is as clean as possible from molds and gunk.

If you have some wooden furniture of cabinets in your place that has an odor, put it in the garage or porch, away from your inside environment.

Your husband could be sensitive to dyes. There are many dyes in clothes and bedding. Your husband might consider wearing a bathing suit all day long, as a test, to limit contact with his skin of materials and dyes.

An allergic reaction can take three or more days to leave the body. So, if you are going to implement a plan to restrict your husband environment and life, then you need to test each "removal" for at least three days, or more.

These steps might seem extreme and difficult to do. I've got asthma and profound heart disease. I've done every one of these steps and my asthma and heart disease is under control.

Good luck with getting your husband's asthma under control.

I'm 36 years old and I have had severe persistent allergic asthma since age 3.

I totally know how your husband feels. This time last year, all I could think about was the fact that I would die from this disease. I was on antibiotics and prednisone every 4-5 weeks. I had severe headaches from having to use the albuterol nebulizer every 4 hours. I had to take it to work with me. I thought that if asthma didn't kill me, the meds would. I took 5 meds on a good day, not including the allergy shots, and up to 8 meds on a bad day.

Then I started Xolair a couple of months after it was approved in June 03. Xolair is for allergic asthma. it costs about $2600 per month. It is only available through doctors who get it from specialty pharmacies. It has changed my life completely. I have not had a severe episode since late December. I had some trouble in February when the grasses started blooming and needed a pred taper then, but otherwise, I have had such little trouble that I have quit all the meds except daily antihistamine.

I say this to tell you that this is the best time ever to be an asthmatic. Why? Because it is a persistent disease, pharmaceutical companies are doing all kinds of research into drugs to prevent and treat asthma b/c they know that all of us need these drugs on a regular basis and that they will be able to pay their research costs and make a great deal of money over time. Xolair is a miracle and I know there are other miracles coming.

Your husband needs to see the best pulmonologist available in your area. I go to a pulmonary-allergy specialist.

There is hope. There is hope. There is hope!

At least give vitamin C a try. It is cheap and safe and it only takes 3 or 4 days to know if it will help but you have to take it to bowel tolerance or forget it. Please read my post on "Wow this cured my husband's asthma" if you are interested in learning more. My husband doesn't have any asthma now, he can jog and everything. But when he stopped taking the vitamin C for a couple of days the asthma started coming back, so he takes it twice a day every day now.

God bless,
Kime

Reader1:

I am interested in Xolair because none of the other drugs I take (except prednisone) seems to control my asthma. Even the prednisone doesn't control it completely. But I could not afford to pay $2600 a month for Xolair. Does your insurance pay for it? I am on Medicare and don't know if they would classify Xolair as a prescription drug or not. If they classify it as a prescription drug, they would not pay for it.

I'm so sorry to hear that your husband is struggling so much. I may be completely off base but has he seen a GI specialist. Sometimes asthma and GERD create a viscious cycle where they seem to aggravate each other. My son has permanent lung damage due to severe, chronic aspiration/GERD.

Patti

Patti:

:wave: Your post is not offbase at all. For almost 20 years of battling asthma, I've had to battle with severe indigestion and heartburn as a result of the asthma medication.

Just wanted to add, though i've said this previously: asthma has a LOW death rate for as many attacks as there are, the mortality rate is low. It CAN kill, but usually doesn't.
I would start looking into other issues, such as GI problems & anxiety.

i battled with asthma as bad as your husbands when i was only 5. in and out of the hosptial, only eating certain foods, ect. here i am today an 18 year college student who went from taking 4 nebulizer treatments a day (one at school, embarrasing), leaving school for appointments to see an asthma specailist sometimes twice a week, going through several different inhalers, basically everything your husband has went through (the list goes on and on). to (now) eating whatever i want now and only taking asthma medication twice a day, being active, and having no trouble. my asthma was SO severe they had to test me TWICE for cycstic fibrosis. thankful, i didnt have it, but i came pretty damn close.

my asthma has improved because of being aware, doing whats needed to be done, trying different med's, keeping a posititve attitude, ect. and i did all this as a CHILD. PLUS, i dealt with excema (which is so bad it was almost poriaisis) and allergies all at once.

i know your husband is having trouble, but i suggest you tell him if a child who's had asthma all her life (not being diagnoised til age 5 and dealing with SERVERE asthma attacks when nobody could figure out what was wrong, being pushed in a STROLLER at age 4 because walking made her tired due to an asthma nobody knew exsisted, ect ect ect), could deal with THAT and 2 other health problems, and get to where she is today, then he should be fine as well.

you have to keep a strong positive attiude, otherwise you'll have trouble with EVERYTHING in life, not just this. i suggest he maybe should get counseling if hes "preparing to die".

like someone said in another post, asthma has a low death rate. i'd also like to add that maybe he needs his allergies checked on. and be super careful about what he breathes in. definetly do not smoke

I know how he feels. I have chronic problems that go with my asthma as well. Encourage him to live and have him find a way to give to another or encourage someone else because that will help a lot. It will give him a reason to hold on.

Hi everybody! I just want to say thank you to all of you. You have given me some insight and hope. I have talked to my husband and he is still discouraged. He said he has been to an alergist and was told that he is allergic to just about everything and doesn't feel that it is realistic for him to just live in a bubble forever. With a new baby in the house, I would have to agree. We can't keep a sterile environment right now. We can't get any sleep much less wash the sheets every day, steam clean the carpets, etc. Can you tell me something? Will allergy shots help the asthma? My husband seems to be very sensitive to dust more than anything. Would the shots help? It is my understanding that allergy shots will not relieve asthma symptoms. Again, I want to thank everyone! I look forward to your replies.

Hi everybody! I just want to say thank you to all of you. You have given me some insight and hope. I have talked to my husband and he is still discouraged. He said he has been to an alergist and was told that he is allergic to just about everything and doesn't feel that it is realistic for him to just live in a bubble forever. With a new baby in the house, I would have to agree. We can't keep a sterile environment right now. We can't get any sleep much less wash the sheets every day, steam clean the carpets, etc. Can you tell me something? Will allergy shots help the asthma? My husband seems to be very sensitive to dust more than anything. Would the shots help? It is my understanding that allergy shots will not relieve asthma symptoms. Again, I want to thank everyone! I look forward to your replies.

:wave: Well, I have had allergy shots for 16 years and it did not improve my asthma much. So my pulmalogist decided to have me discontinue them. Ultamately, I think it may depend on the individual. You really wouldn't be able to tell how it would respond to your body until you try them. So, you can tell your hubby to give it a try. It may be effective for him.

I already posted about vitamin C. The reason that it helps with asthma is because it is so effective for many types of allergies, including allergies to dust and mold. You just have to take it to bowel tolerance for 2 or 3 days to know if it will help you or not.

He said he has been to an alergist and was told that he is allergic to just about everything and doesn't feel that it is realistic for him to just live in a bubble forever.

I live in a bubble type environment. It doesn't dwell on my mind. I just avoid a bunch of chemicals, odors, foods, drinks, dyes, inks, etc. I read with gloves on. I sleep in a mask.

But......... the thing that I did that made the most significant improvement in my asthma was when I ripped out my wall to wall carpetting. The next day, and since then, I've had much less problems with my asthma. The second most significant improvement was when I got rid of my upholstered couch and replaced it with leather-type recliners. I no longer wheeze when I sit down.

I may be going overboard by limiting myself from exposure to fabric softeners, detergents, cleaners, aspartame, newsprint, etc., but I also have problems with an erratic heartbeat, weak heart, hypertension and sinusitis, and the changes to my lifestyle have significantly improved my health and quality of life.

Best of luck solving your husband's asthma problems, and congratulations on the new baby! :wave:

Your husband may want to visit National Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. It is suppossed to be the best pulmonary hospital in the country.

Prednisone does more harm than good. I've been on the stuff 3 times, and every time it impacted my health. I'll never touch it again.

Look to dietary modification, and a potential relocation. The environment plays a big role in Asthma. Polluted cities, lousy weather, etc. The weather has a big bearing on my allergies and chronic sinusitis.

I know how you husband feels, but he needs to hang in there.

Your husband may want to visit National Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. It is suppossed to be the best pulmonary hospital in the country.

Prednisone does more harm than good. I've been on the stuff 3 times, and every time it impacted my health. I'll never touch it again.

Look to dietary modification, and a potential relocation. The environment plays a big role in Asthma. Polluted cities, lousy weather, etc. The weather has a big bearing on my allergies and chronic sinusitis.

I know how you husband feels, but he needs to hang in there.

Chig:

I agree with you about the Prednisone.