Allergy tested today b/c of my Asthma...(long)

Run262 · 04-06-2006, 06:42 PM

Hi all -

Just wanted to report that I had my allergy testing today. Two weeks ago I had my first true asthma attack and since then have been on a roller coaster ride with medications and learning about asthma. I'm new to all this and it's been such a learning experience.

I'm a 36 year old female and have been ignoring my sinus problems/allergy problems for about 5 years now. I just figured it's something that I can work through and will go away. Well, the past few years it developed even more and without fail, every winter after I get the "cough due to cold" sickness a dry cough would set in through the spring with bouts of "coughing attacks" as I call them. This year it escalated into an asthma attack two weeks ago.

I took 5 days of prednisone (40mg/day) which I finished last Friday. Let me just say this about prednisone, while I understand it's a life saver for many people - boy are the side effects evil. The side effects for me didn't really set in until I stopped taking it last Friday - I didn't taper, just stopped after 5 days. The heartburn is just about gone now, but I'm still miserably bloated and battling the hunger - it's all getting better but man, this past weekend was brutal with the heartburn. ANYWAY...

I'm now on singulair, pulmicort and augmentin for the sinus infection I didn't know I had. Today I had allegy testing and all the molds lit up like a christmas tree on my arm, nothing else. We moved into a 50 year old house about 6 years ago, and ever since then my husband and I have had more sinus infections than we care to count. It all makes sense now. Needless to say, we're moving!! Seriously.

Tomorrow I have an appt. with a pulmonologist as extra measure at the request of my family doctor, who has been great through all of this. The allergist wants to start allergy shots for mold, but I'm waiting to see what the pulmonologist recommends and what my family doctor has to say also.

Anyway, just wanted to give an update. Other than that, my lungs feel great - I'm actually contemplating starting my running again. I'm a runner and started having exercised induced asthma just prior to my asthma flare-up two weeks ago, so I'm curious to see how my lungs handle this.

I'm new to all this and have never had to use inhalers or take steriods, (did I mention I HATE steriods?), that's not to say I haven't needed them in the past, denial is a powerful thing.

Comments?

I'm curious though...what have others experienced with Prednisone? Yeah, I also am an emotional basket case, but that's getting better as welll. A friend told me that even though I stopped taking the prednisone that it can take weeks for it to get out of your system or for your system to get back to normal.

Thanks for reading this far.

Titchou · 04-06-2006, 11:34 PM

Before any aerobic exercise, you will need to use a brochial dialator such as Albuterol about 15-20 before the exercise. I'm a jogger with asthma and I can't run a block without it. But I do 3 miles easily after medication.

kno-kno · 03-11-2007, 04:30 AM

Hello,
Lets see where do I start, I developed asthma at 20 years old, and did not have problems with it unless I got a cold or upper respiratory infection. Then my apartment sustained water damage and I lived there after that for another 3 months. The tightness in my chest and thoat area started the day after the water came into my apartment. And it progressively got worst. My PCP gave me my first round of Prednisone on 10/31/06 for 20 mg. then I got another dose from the pulomonary specialist on 11/19/06 for 50 mg. Then I got another dose from her on 12/09/06 of the Medrol dose pack and again in Dec. 18,2007 40 mg. medrol dose pack. And again on 02/09/07 for 20 mg. of prednisoneand the latest one on 03/14/07 for 10 mg. And yes the side effects are horrible but its better than the bad breathing. The bloating and weight gain of 25 lbs is crazy. I have lost 16 lbs so far. Heck I was already overweight and working out to loose it when I developed shortness of breathe that my rescue inhaler would not stop. Quickly I had to give up walking and then could not climb stairs anymore. Walking across the parking lot at my job was very difficult I struggled to breathe with every step I took. I eventually had to quit my job being a customer service rep and not being able to talk and breathe was working against me. At the end of the month it will be 6 months and life is still not back to normal. Now I have loads of asthma to molds, pollen, dust mites, ragweed, food, smoke and cigarette smoke. I take pulmicort abuterol cocktail in a nebulizer 2x aday. And abuterol nebulizer 2x a day. I use serevent twice a day and abuterol inhalers as needed and atrovent and flovent as needed. I take singular once aday. And Drihist twice a day. I have never experienced anything like this. Even smelling the offending food sends me into a servere asthma attack. I am not able to work anymore and all of my furniture in storage has been taken over by the mold that was in my apartment. I thought by taking the furniture out of the apartment it would not be damages. Well that was a wasted effort. The apartment management would not move me to another unit even after I begged them to move me due to health problems caused by the mold. They are still saying there is no mold in the apartment even after I showed them visible mold growing on the walls throughout the apartment. They almost killed me. I am still suffering behind their neglect to move me into one of their sister units they had near by.
Kno-kno

terrible · 03-11-2007, 09:56 PM

Hi Run,

I have asthma too have had 2yrs this June.

When I'm on prednisone the side effects i have is my legs from knee down ache to buggery for three nights which i'm very restless & cant sleep very much then when I'm tapered off them I can catch up on my sleep then.
Also before i was diagnosed with asthma i was on prednisone for a while due to swollen fingers aching which could be athritis dr. had me on high dosage of pred then i developed a little facial hair side of my lip/mouth which is embarrassing that old dr has retired now & new dr. that diagnosed me with asthma tapered me off the high doseage of pred.

I'm still learning alot about asthma & trying to remember about it all.
The house I'm in too has mould which I'm allergic too as well as grasses, pollen, reflux, certain food smells, cigarette smoke, slight pet dander. Reflux is a pain in the butt which makes my asthma worse.

I always get chest infections & any buggs that are going around they find me LOL.

I'm on nexium, intale forte, seretide, ventolin & prednisone when really bad.

They shouldnt have invented prednisone i hate it too.

Take care