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Living with asthma: Come introduce yourself & meet others
Asthma & Allergy | Last Active: Jan 30 8:10am | Replies (32)Comment receiving replies
@hopeful33250
Hello there,
I was diagnosed with asthma as a late teen. I've done allergy shots etc with little relief.
I use Albuterol rescue inhaler and have a Rx for Advair. I rarely use them only when I get chest tightness etc. We lived near a Juniper Tree forested area and I started having severely shortness of breath etc. I saw an allergist and diagnosed that I was allergic to Juniper! I needed a nebulizer as needed with Albuterol to breath/live. It was awful. That was 10 years ago and I still have my nebulizer. I also have a incentive spirometer that I use to exercise my lungs during this time just to judge how much air I can expel.
With this awful month I asked my provider for some Albuterol bullets for my nebulizer, that I haven't used in 10 years. That helped me get about 30% better just using those. I also needed 2 rounds of Prednisone. This cough is unrelenting and I've had it at least a month. The pearls and Rx for a cough medicine did nothing for my cough. I also have post nasal drip and provider agreed that I can take Zyrtec twice daily. I've been mostly resting in bed and taking all the medication available to me.
I've not needed any update to my medication until now. I see my provider next week to see if I need further assistance . My old Rx for only Albuterol and advair have worked for me the last decade. I hate steroids and know that they are my friend when needed.
Replies to "@hopeful33250 Hello there, I was diagnosed with asthma as a late teen. I've done allergy shots..."
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Hi @mlillich - sorry you are going through all of this and you discovered you live by a major allergen for you! That is really not that easy to fix. Just picking up and moving house is not a simple thing.
I also have been told to take cetirizine (Zyrtec) twice daily, as if I take it at 8 a.m., by 5 p.m. I'm having significant nasal symptoms. Evidently I metabolize it differently than others, as it's intended to be a 24-hour formula.
Just wanted to clarify, what symptoms the albuterol in the nebulizer helped you with?
I've had an unrelenting cough this winter, which is disheartening as my mepolizumab (Nucala) shots had kept that in check till now. In the fall I was diagnosed with bronchitis, and I'm still not sure if it was bronchitis or an asthma exacerbation. I guess in the end it does not matter if the treatment is similar. I take benzonatate (Tessalon Perles) at times, and it helps me a little. Cough drops help me only to not be barking coughing in a large group setting like church or a concert. The stronger, brand name drops somehow seem to be more effective for this.
I was just put on a course of prednisone this week for 5 days. I've not been on a course of prednisone for a couple of years, so on Day 1 I forgot you have to take it with food. I got sick within 10 minutes of taking it. I don't care for having to be put on steroids, and neither does my dear husband. He is not fond of how much it keeps me up at night and how it takes away the filter for things I say. :0
I have honestly found that here and there my old standby allergy and asthma meds no longer work as well as they once did. Frustrating. When I travel, this comes out even more.
Is your cough any better, then, after the courses of prednisone? Or are you thinking you may need something further for that symptom?