Guest guest Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 Hi, I just wanted to see if the treatment plan they put me on is what most people do. To explain a little, I had thyroid cancer, so I had surgery and then internal radiation. After that, I developed breathing problems and was diagnosed with some type of obstructive airway disease. (The report said it is almost consistent with emphysema, but I have never smoked before.) They then said it was asthma. A few months later I had to have more surgery and afterwards I had a severe asthma attack; really the only one I was aware of up until then. Mostly I just get short of breath, but that one I thank God I was in the hospital because they had to immediately put things in my IV to get me to breath. I am not sure I would have made it at home since I would not have been prepared. (To be honest, I disagreed with the asthma diagnosis, so I really had no clue where I had put the inhaler they gave me!) Anyway, I had another bad attack about 6 weeks ago when we were out of town and I had forgotten my inhaler, so it was very scary for me. We were so far away from the nearest town, so we were not sure what to do! It lasted about an hour, but I finally was able to breathe more easily after that. Well, then last week I had another bad one, and I know what triggered it, so at least I gained some knowledge from it. Anyway, I then had to go in and get put on lots of meds. I was put on Prednisone, Advair, Singulair, breathing treatments and an inhaler every 4 hours as needed. Is this overkill? I mean, I have only had those 3 big attacks since my breathing troubles began after my cancer surgery and treatments, so is it really necessary to take all that? One other question, what do you do if you are without your inhaler and cannot get to a doctor? When that happened to me while we were on vacation, an Allsup's was all that was open in the town we finally reached. We had heard coffee is good during a asthma attack, so I sipped some strong coffee and then chewed up a Benedryl and put it under my tongue. I am not sure why we decided to do that, but we remembered that Benedryl was one of the things they put in my IV when I had the big attack in the hospital. It may not have helped much, but it gave me a little peace of mind so I could stop panicking, which only made it worse. OK, sorry to have rambled on. Thanks to all of you that welcomed me yesterday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 23, 2006 Report Share Posted February 23, 2006 the meds are accurate for your diagnosis. I am also on advair, singulair and albuterol when necessary. I am researching herbs right now to see if I cant get rid of some of these meds soon. I had heard magnesium and ephedra(which is not the best either) helps, so Im testing out magnesium right now. You can get a powder supplement at your local organic health food store. YOu might want to try doing some research on your own too. Sorry to hear about your bad attacks. Glad your with us! McCollum wrote: Hi, I just wanted to see if the treatment plan they put me on is what most people do. To explain a little, I had thyroid cancer, so I had surgery and then internal radiation. After that, I developed breathing problems and was diagnosed with some type of obstructive airway disease. (The report said it is almost consistent with emphysema, but I have never smoked before.) They then said it was asthma. A few months later I had to have more surgery and afterwards I had a severe asthma attack; really the only one I was aware of up until then. Mostly I just get short of breath, but that one I thank God I was in the hospital because they had to immediately put things in my IV to get me to breath. I am not sure I would have made it at home since I would not have been prepared. (To be honest, I disagreed with the asthma diagnosis, so I really had no clue where I had put the inhaler they gave me!) Anyway, I had another bad attack about 6 weeks ago when we were out of town and I had forgotten my inhaler, so it was very scary for me. We were so far away from the nearest town, so we were not sure what to do! It lasted about an hour, but I finally was able to breathe more easily after that. Well, then last week I had another bad one, and I know what triggered it, so at least I gained some knowledge from it. Anyway, I then had to go in and get put on lots of meds. I was put on Prednisone, Advair, Singulair, breathing treatments and an inhaler every 4 hours as needed. Is this overkill? I mean, I have only had those 3 big attacks since my breathing troubles began after my cancer surgery and treatments, so is it really necessary to take all that? One other question, what do you do if you are without your inhaler and cannot get to a doctor? When that happened to me while we were on vacation, an Allsup's was all that was open in the town we finally reached. We had heard coffee is good during a asthma attack, so I sipped some strong coffee and then chewed up a Benedryl and put it under my tongue. I am not sure why we decided to do that, but we remembered that Benedryl was one of the things they put in my IV when I had the big attack in the hospital. It may not have helped much, but it gave me a little peace of mind so I could stop panicking, which only made it worse. OK, sorry to have rambled on. Thanks to all of you that welcomed me yesterday! Enjoy feeling ageless, ask me how. Check out my website at:http://www.trusnerd.oasiswellness.com Dava Trusner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.