newbie

[Guest guest]

Dear Joanne,

Welcome to the list. I have had asthma for 28 years. I have only had

really serious, go to the ER asthma since January, 1994. I have been

hospitalized twice, but have been on short term steroids. I could never

handle long term use. It would make me absolutely crazy. The thought of

going back into the hospital and back on steroids scares the s__t out of

me. I know that it could happen at any time. If I do not resolve a

serious event within 24 hours, I need to be admitted and hit it with the

big guns. I am taking Serevent in the Diskus, which is a powder rather

than an aerosol and Pulmicort, which is also a powder. This makes both of

them easier to inhale and get into the depths of my lungs. I was taking

Singulair which is in the same class with Accolate, but I only have one or

two major attacks/year and my pulmonologist believes that one to two

attacks/year is under control and he did not think that I was being helped

by the Singulair. What he did do for me was to give me a Medrol dose pack

to have at home to start on immediately when I begin to have problems. He

says that he wants to know when I start it, but wants me to have it for an

emergency. His wife is one of my best friends and so I have his home

number too, although we are going to be moving from here as soon as my

husband finds a new job.

The asthma that I have goes by a lot of names. Some call it silent asthma,

some, small airway disease, some, small bore asthma, but I NEVER wheeze.

When I go to the ER I have trouble being treated because I don't wheeze and

I compensate so that the pulse ox shows 100% but my gases come back with a

PO2 of 42. I have not been intubated and put on a respirator yet, but that

level of O2 is when they start thinking about it.

I don't have any info first hand about long term steroid use, but my

husband is an MD and says that it makes your bones more brittle and other

fun things like that and that the longer you are on it the longer it takes

to get off it. But you have to look at the realities too. If you need

steroids in order to breathe, then you need them. Not breathing is not an

option.

Take care

WV