For the past month now, I've been battling with my asthma symptoms.
I developed asthma when I was pregnant with my son. I've had allergies all my life, and during my pregnancy in 1996, I had a cough that wouldn't go away. I saw a pulmonologist and discovered that I had allergy-induced asthma. I was put on a corticosteroid inhaler and that lessened my asthma symptoms. For many years my asthma was under control, and I actually stopped using the inhaler for quite a while with no problem.
In 1998, after I gave birth to my daughter, I suffered an Amniotic Fluid Embolism. It is a long story, but suffice it to say, it was an experience that changed my life. While in the ICU, I developed Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, which is basically acute lung failure. I was on a ventilator for nine weeks (intubated for four weeks and on a trach for five weeks) and now have scarring in my lungs.
Because I am an ARDS survivor, my asthma has been exacerbated. Whenever I get a cold or my allergies start to act up, my asthma symptoms start to flare up. A year ago, despite the fact that I received a flu shot, I caught the flu from my children. My asthma symptoms became extremely severe, my peak flow was in the red zone, and I ended up in the ER with pneumonia.
This latest episode started when I caught a cold from my daughter. The problem is, I should be doing my corticosteroid inhaler ALL THE TIME, even when I feel good, because that is what keeps my airways open consistently. But I don't. So I caught the cold, and it wouldn't go away. I coughed and coughed. Then it turned to coughing and wheezing. And now it's at the point that I can't even walk up the stairs without becoming short of breath and doing a full exhalation. I was at the mall and I wanted to do a half-hour walk yesterday, and after 15 minutes I felt like I was having an attack, and ended up at the doctor's office. So now I'm on a short high dose burst of oral prednisone. I'm really afraid of possible side effects, but just after my first dose last night, I'm already starting to feel better.
So if you have asthma, keep taking your steroid inhaler, even if you feel okay! I guess I have to learn the hard way...
