breathing easy

[the_siobhan]

Today was my asthma test.

It was kind of neat. They pumped my lungs full of various concentrations of histamine, and then had me blow into a tube while a computer tracked my lung capacity. No pressurized box this time, but I got to watch my lungs perform on screen.

Final result of the test: I DON'T HAVE ASTHMA.

Let me just repeat that for those of you who may not have gathered the full import of what I am saying here.

I. DO NOT. HAVE ASTHMA. There is NOTHING permanently wrong with my lungs.

Anybody want some Advair 250's? That's a chunk of money I'll never have to throw away again. Ha.

The down side to all this is that now that I have to figure out why the hell I can't friggin' breathe. The most likely candidate is allergies. Which doesn't make me happy. I don't have a lot of faith in that particular branch of medical science.

But still. I don't have asthma. Love a duck.

For my next trick I'm going to regain normal eyesight and grow a prehensile tail.

Comments

[kits-the-dm.livejournal.com]

whatever would you do with a prehensile tail?

Oh and woot on having no asthma.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

Perhaps prehensile tails are to Canadians as tentacles are to the Japanese?

Perhaps not.

Yay to NO ASTHMA, though!

[(Anonymous)]

That makes prehensile tails really scary. Oh, and it only just struck me how disturbing your thought patterns can be. :)

[kits-the-dm.livejournal.com]

oops, accidentally posted as anon

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Hold an extra beer!

[(Anonymous)]

oooh. my dad is allergic to beer... unfortunately, this is possible.

[excess-and-oohs.livejournal.com]

that was me- sorry

[ravensee.livejournal.com]

Yay to NO ASTHMA!

Boo to still not being able to breathe. I fear it is the air here in Toronto. I am crossing my fingers that it is something that can easily be fixed...both your breathing AND the air here in Toronto.

[eveofdstruction.livejournal.com]

WooHoo!!!

[excess-and-oohs.livejournal.com]

benedryl is your friend. as you weed your way through possibilities and find things that trigger it, you'll want to be able to get rid of the feeling as quickly as possible. steamy shower & benedryl always work for me for environmental allergies (not the treatment of choice, but if i am out of allegra i sometimes have to do this). food allergies are much trickier...

[victorianrose23.livejournal.com]

IAWTC. I've been having a ridiculous amount of breathing problems the last couple of months and they can only marginally be blamed on my pregnancy. My allergies have been out of control this season. My dr had me start taking my allergy med in the morning (24 hour that tends to wear off around hour 10) and a benadryl around 9 or 10. I started this a couple of nights ago and OMG I can breathe! I can sleep and it seems to keep me going through the day ok. And Benadryl is ok for every day use.

[excess-and-oohs.livejournal.com]

i couldn't breathe for both my pregnancies the entire time... miserable. even benedryl didn't help. felt like a sinus infection, but they weren't.

also, it'll help you sleep :) i think they make a daytime formula now, but that probably has PE or PSE in it.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recommends.

I have to start using the neti pot again - I haven't done it since I got back from Convergence, and I've started getting sinus headaches again.

[shnells.livejournal.com]

you may also want to go see an ear nose throat specialist and have your laryngeal function looked at. i also was on a gizzillion asthma meds. i unfortunately do still have asthma but very mild compared to what was thought before. i forget the actual medical name for it but basically my trachea tends to colapse which mimics the symptoms of asthma. this is very easily and quickly treated with speech therapy and some very simple basic exercises that take care of that.

also you may not have bronchial asthma but you can still have exercise, diet, or allergy induced asthma. which technically still counts as asthma (i have allergy induced asthma).

good luck working out what's going on with you.

[shnells.livejournal.com]

also, i'm on allergy meds year round (allegra and rhinocort). also, check to see if you have a deviated septum. i couldn't believe how much better i could breathe after i got that sorted.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I do have a lot of issues with my sinuses as well, so an ENT is a good idea.

[geekers.livejournal.com]

The exercise or allergy related options are what I was going to mention. I have exercise-induced, which really sucked when I was a competing amature inline speed skater. People always asked if I was okay when I got off the floor because I was noisily gasping for air (even with the use of inhalers). Not so bad now that I'm a lazy futon potato. ;)

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Fortunately exercise hasn't historically been one for me. Unfortunately, smog is. Not so good, living in Toronto.

[ladyclayton.livejournal.com]

What awesome news!!!! I'm so glad for you, Sio!

Prehensile tail...rock on...

[dark-phoenix54.livejournal.com]

Cool! When you learn how to grow the tail, share the instructions, would you?

[mr-sharkey.livejournal.com]

My money's on the mold in your basement - even my lungs seize up down there, and I only go there to take a dump.


M.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Entirely probable. I've been a lot better since we started sleeping upstairs.

[unagothae.livejournal.com]

YAY! NO ASTHMA! :D

[valatina.livejournal.com]

Yay for no Asthma!!!

I know it's a hard thing to deal with. I use to have inhalers everywhere for my son. Always needed to be ready for the asthma attack that may happen.
Thought he had outgrown it untill he came home from school yesterday looking a little flushed. He told me he had an attack. Now he has to take his inhaler to school again.

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

You might want to check for allergens that are triggering his attacks.

I know my lungs will seize up even sitting on the bus next to somebody who has been smoking recently and has it clinging to their clothes. And lysol is a known asthma trigger, especially for children.

Controlling allergens at school is a lot harder, but if you can identify that he's reacting to something specific you can talk to his teachers.

[grimjim.livejournal.com]

Whew.

Would a HEPA filter or the like be of any use?

[mscissorhands.livejournal.com]

I would take those advair off your hands for a cut and colour?

also get a hepa filter air purifier...if you have mould it is killing you slowly!

If you keep the air clean and happy your lungs will be too ...oh and yay neti pot!

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I have three dispensers, but none of them are full - one has 4 doses, one has 6, and the newest one has 26. You can have them.

[inulro.livejournal.com]

Yay! for no asthma, but I share your lack of faith in allergists. When it comes to tinkering about with the immune system, medical science really has No Clue.

[melete.livejournal.com]

Woot!

If you are looking to dump the Advairs, I've a friend who would happily take them off your hands.