ASTHMA AND EOSINOPHILIA

Not sure is this is the correct forum but since I have been recently diagnosed with asthma, this might be a good place to start.

In Jan. 2013, after about a month of persistent coughing I was diagnosed with asthma for the first time (I am a 56 yr old female) and sent home with an antibiotic and 5 days of Prednisone. The symptoms returned after completing the medication and eventually got to the point where I had night sweats, fever, difficulty breathing and severe coughing. After discovering infiltrates in my lungs I was hospitalized with Eosinophilic Pneumonia. My Eosin# was off the charts high and all kind of specialists were brought in, along with all kind of tests administered. A type of vasculitis was suspected but never confirmed. I was assigned a pulmonary specialist and sent home with 50mg of Prednisone a day.

After the treatment was slowly tapered to 10mg daily my Eosin count and WBC started to slowly rise again. I was receiving CT scans and x-rays monthly with no signs of infiltates, however the coughing had returned. More tests administered, regular visits to my Pulmonary doc and a visit or two to Oncology and Otolaryngology was thrown in the mix. More tests, more x-rays, no findings and no more infiltrates...but no answers.

Today marks six months of elevated Eosin count (average 15%) and daily coughing. I was recently given Advair 500mg twice a day and still use a rescue inhaler PRN. My muscles and joints are sore, I am chronically exhausted, dealing with sinusitis, coughing, and sick of there being no answers. They are still calling it asthma, but something else must be going on.

Anyone else experience any of this? I am at a loss as to what to do next.

Hi Jbird,

I sympathize with what you are going through. I have been going through something similar. Although, I can't give you answers, I can share my experience with you.

I haven't had a lot of success, but I have learned a lot from a pediatrician that I see. I found out I have allergies to foods and had to cut them from my diet, and now I am taking an sublingual drops to deal with household allergens. The pediatrician said that as we age (I'm 43), our genes mutate or break (I can't remember the exact wording), so we end up with allergies and such. I haven't been able to accept that it is just asthma either because I have vascular issues. I never had allergies prior either. My eosinophils have more than tripled, but I was told that is normal with allergies and asthma. I also get a lot of body aches, which is a sign that the body isn't getting enough oxygen (worse when infection is present).

Razzle has excellent advice. I have found that I have had the most relief while under the guidance of a Naturopath. I plan to see one again shortly.

Other relief I have found is with deep breathing, walking, and meditation healing. I used to be skeptical, but the power of the mind is amazing.

Let us know how you are doing.