Asthma has changed-- went from controlled to completely out of control

I'm at my wit's end. I don't know what is going on with my body any more!

I've had asthma as long as I can remember. It's just something I've always had to deal with. In college, I spent a LOT of time in the ER, or hospitalized, but I was finally stabilized w/ inhaled steroids. Pulmicort seemed to work wonders for me, and I would only have major problems if I was ill (upper respiratory infections still wreaked havoc and I would need a course of pred along w/ antibiotics).

However, this past year, my asthma has gone crazy. I've had many, many major attacks, I've been to the ER several times, and once again, I'm waking up 3 or 4 times every night to use my rescue inhaler. I'm also being maintained on 20mg prednisone a day, which is keeping the attacks more under control, but this is not an option forever! (I'm starting to look like a marshmallow! It's been 6 months on prednisone now.) I can't seem to go below the 20mg/day without ending up in the ER. A good part of this fall I was taking 100 mg/ day (my lungs were protesting about pneumonia, and it took that much to get the inflammation under control). I am still taking the pulmicort, at a high dose, as well as xopenex, flonase, serevent, proventil and allegra D (for my other allergies).

The only thing I can think of that has changed is that we moved last year. Our old house had all wood flooring, and the new one is all wall to wall carpet (7 year old carpet). The former owners had cats and a dog, but we cleaned the carpet thoroughly when we moved in, and have cleaned it several times since.

At this point, I just don't know what to do. :( I had an appointment set with a pulmonologist, but that's been canceled (I received a message on my answering machine yesterday) so I'll have to reschedule, and who knows how many more months it'll be before I can get in.

ARGH!

I have a feeling your pulmonologist is going to react the same way Sherry did.  You are probably going to need to rip all that old carpet out.  Also, for someone who has asthma as severe as you seem to, you might ask your doctor about Xolair.  It is an injection taken monthly.  I have been on it for about five years.  It does cost around $10,000 per year but insurance companies are getting smart and paying for it.  It is much cheaper for them than paying for ER visits and in-patient hospital stays.  I have not had any reaction to this medication at all.  I don't have ER visits or hospital stays.  It is for severe asthmatics.  I think it would be worth you talking to your doctor about.  I hope you feel better soon.

Take care!

Carla

That's not a dumb question at all! In fact, I encourage everyone to put cheesecloth over their vents especially if they suffer from allergies or asthma. My sons pediatrician is the one that gave me that tip. And you will be astounded as to how much stuff that actually collects.

Hi there,

I am an HIV Counselor for a clinic in Los Angeles and I normally post advice in the HIV forum, but I noticed this forum on asthma.

My mother suffers from chronic asthma and she seems to be having a terrible time of it this year, for some reason, but this typically happens to her during the winter months -- even in relatively warm California!!!

But her asthma was worse when she had carpet in the house. I can remember everything she went thru. I took her to the Sansom Clinic in Santa Barbara and they advised us to tear the carpet out as well. Once we did, her asthma subsided quite a bit. When we tore the carpet up, there was an entire layer of dirt underneath it -- yes DIRT! Can you believe that???

I would suggest having the carpet removed and having some area rugs put in for the time being.

I hope your asthma gets better sweety! Trust me, I have sat in the Emergency Room with my mother enough times to understand the reality of what you're going through...

Well Wishes!

Luckily I don't seem to have food allergies, though some additives like sulfites will get me. Chemical cleaners/fumes will too!

Leaving the floor bare isn't an option, it is OSB-- oriented strand board, so it would be nasty splinter city (and hard to clean) unless it was covered with a heavy layer of epoxy. I WISH we had cement! (there are lots of cool finishes that can be done with cement)

I talked to Steve last night,and we're going to go laminate shopping this weekend, to check on styles and prices to at least do the bedroom ASAP.

I like the cheese cloth over the vents idea! I'll have to do that! That might help cut down on some of the particulates in the air.

What I did for my son was put one layer of cheesecloth over the intake and 2 layers on the vent. I replace the cloth every 2 weeks or depending on how filthy it got. You don't want to put too many layers on the intake because it will make the furnace work harder and it might increase your energy bill and the same for the vents. I never had vents on the ceiling but I'm sure the same can be applied there as well.

Where do you get cheesecloth?

Yes, try to get the cheesecloth from the food section. It's much more safer. I got mine in the cooking section of my local grocery store.