The other side of the street

[Guest guest]

I'm " talking " a lot today because I've been away for a bit, so forgive me.

Those who are familiar with me know I had a dramatic response to the

Xolair, kind of on the far end of the bell curve. I am grateful for

that, because in the spectrum of disease, that's where my asthma is,

also. By published guidelines I should be living in the ICU<vbg>.

I *still* take massive amounts of drugs, including oral prednisone,

every day, I take all my inhalers, etc. The difference is that now all

that medicine is WORKING. I have a measurable peak flow in the near

normal range.

We all know that asthma is a lifelong disease and a challenge to

manage...ANYTHING that makes management easier (better results with

less work or less drugs) is a good thing<vbg>

What I want to share is that the changes are not always earth

shattering...sometimes it is exactly like the poster said: they used 5

antihistamine when normally they would have used a whole month's

worth, AND THEIR ASTHMA DID NOT GET WORSE WHEN THEY CUT BACK!!

Look for the little things over a longer period...yeah, I had a cold,

and my wheezing got worse, but I only nebbed for two days instead of

six or seven...walking by the smoky bar would have killed me, but now

I only tighten up an bit and I actually get over it.

If the Xolair helps to stabilze your life enough that you can enjoy it

more fully, I'd say its working, wouldn't you? Sometimes however, you

need the perspective of time to make thatjudgement. Six months from

now you might sit down and survey your life and health and grump that

the Xolair didn't work, and nothing has changed except now you are

going out once or twice a week with your friends. That of course, has

nothing to do with the Xolair, or does it? Hmmm....