Re: Update on my condition, and thanks for the info on alternative therapies

[Guest guest]

, I am glad you are home.You have brought up many valid points

about not waiting too long.I hope others will heed your warnings . I

almost died in 1998 and had been hospitilized and visited the ER many

times afterwards eventhough I didn't wait. Thanks to taking Xolair

since Feb/2006 I have gotten off steroids and have not been to the

hospital either. I still take a ton of asthma meds but for the most

part I am breathing very well. It is important when you are asthmatic

to deal with things right away. I remember taking many ambulance

trips ( I only live 1/2 mile away from the hospital)thinking I was

going to die before I arrived. Sharon

>

> Hi everyone. A few weeks ago I posted my first question to this

group inquiring about alternative therapies for asthma. Thanks to all

of you who responded.

>

> Unfortunately, the day I wrote that I ended up in the hospital

with " staticus asthmaticus " (my new favorite phrase), and I was

hospitalized on IV steroids and antibiotics for a full week. For

those of you who aren't familiar with the phrase above, it basically

means asthma that doesn't change with treatment. I had gotten an

upper respiratory virus, started wheezing, started using my

nebulizer, and just assumed eventually it would get better if I kept

nebulizing. Which it didn't. We were out of town for the Thanksgiving

weekend and I was ignorant and stubborn and didn't want to call my

doctor over the holiday to get prednisone.

>

> When we got home from our trip I did start on oral prednisone,

but by then it was too late, and 48 hours later I ended up in the ER

and then admitted into the hospital. It took five days of intensive

IV therapy to make a dent in the wheezing and rattling and to bring

up my O2 sats. Really miserable.

>

> To make matters worse, once they sent me home on oral steroids,

I've been having bad ian reactions as they taper the dose --

basically, my adrenal glands are having a hard time kicking back in

to make their own cortisol, and I've been feeling like absolute crap,

like there are 20-lb weights hanging from every part of my body.

We've been adjusting the dosages, back up, a little back down, but it

will take a long time to get things regulated. My poor kids (10 and

7) are getting used to having an infirm mommy, which I hate. Luckily

my mom flew in for the first week while I was in the hospital, and

the day she left my in-laws came, so we are well taken care of, and

all I have to do is sit here and concentrate on getting better.

>

> Anyway -- I've been reading everything going around the last week

since I've been home, and I've learned a few things I want to pass on.

>

> First of all, taking prednisone is awful, but it is better than

NOT BREATHING. If you need it -- and if you've got any experience

with this disease, you know when you need it -- do not be stubborn.

Call the doctor and get started.

>

> Second of all, if you nebulize a few times and get no relief,

call your doctor and/or go to the ER. Staticus asthmaticus can be

fatal, and quickly. Once your lungs decide they will no longer

respond to the bronchodialators, there's nowhere to go but down.

>

> And third, listen to your body. This time it got so bad because I

ignored the warning signs and waited too long. Also I'm sure I was

set up by the many fires we've had this fall here in southern

California, and whatever nasty virus was going around my family --

but if I had acted more quickly and proactively I don't think I would

have gotten this sick. This is the first time I've ever been

hospitalized because of my asthma. I hope it will be the last.

>

> Not knowing these things, not doing these things, cost me --

well, maybe not my life, but it sure cost me a few precious weeks of

my life.

>

> FYI, this all happened despite my many regular maintenance

medications, with which I am vigilant (Xolair, Advair, Singulair,

Rhinocort, Astelin, Xyrtec, Prilosec). I've now failed on Xolair --

not even sure they're going to let me keep taking it, which would be

awful, since it's been controlling me pretty well for the past two

and a half years.

>

> Thanks for listening, everyone. And for the support. It's good to

know there are people out there dealing with similar things.

>

> Best,

>

>

> P.S. After many years of denying that we need central air

conditioning in our house (Santa is very temperate), my

husband is finally giving in, for health reasons. I guess my being in

the hospital was enough to scare him into it.

>

>

>

> _____________________

> Penzer Kerekes

> ekerekes@...

>