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Showing posts from October, 2010

#2 posting

This #2 writing under my mother's account. She asked me to write about how I feel about asthma, seeing as how it's easier for me just to write about having asthma instead of telling my mother everything and having her write it, heh. So to start, I'm answering some questions, and I'll try to throw in anything else I feel someone may need. #1. How do I react to having asthma? Well, to be honest, it sucks. I hate it with the all the burning passion of 10,000 Twilight fans. But, I realize there are people with worse problems than me, and I know several of them (i.e. diabetes). There are some times when I wish that I didn't have it (I'd be insane not to), but most of the time I just kinda accept it and move on. #2. Do I ever ask "why me?" Sometimes. It's not too often, but most of the time it comes from having to miss certain events that I could attend otherwise, such as a Scout activity where we'd be going somewhere cold, and I had been having prob

Insurance companies

Insurance companies! Don't get me wrong, I love my insurance company - except for a few little details. They seem to treat asthma as a one size fits all disease, which of course it's not. Their medical board has decided to no longer cover Xopenex (levalbuterol). It's more expensive than Albuterol, so of course they want everyone to use the cheaper version. Son #2 (severe asthmatic) is sick again. Asthma Doctor was out of the office, so we went to the Pediatrician. He sort of squinted his eyes at Son #2 and said, "I know how he is, we better start him on Prednisone." I looked at our medical file in his hands, it must have been close to 3 inches thick! He's on to us.... He knows he has to be agressive in treating Son #2. The only problem is his Xopenex inhaler and nebulizer vials have just expired. And insurance is no longer covering them. Pediatrician suggested I call the pharmacies and ask for the cash price. A Xopenex inhaler will be $58, the vials for the ne

Stress and asthma

Stress and asthma I just read an interesting little paragraph in Reader's Digest magazine. It was talking about a new book that had come out, called Stress Less: The New Science That Shows Women How to Rejuvenate The Body and Mind, by Thea Singer. The article talks about repeated stress, and how most people know that it puts them at higher risk of multiple diseases. But here's the quote that caught my eye, "What we didn't know till now was that it actually physically ages us - all the way down to the DNA in our cells...Chronic stress literally gnaws at our DNA- it's tips or "telomeres" to be precise- speeding up the rate at which our cells age by an alarming ten years or more." YIKES! I had heard that research years ago on one of the national news stations, but it's good to hear as a reminder. So, what do we do as asthma moms? Find what works for you to relieve stress: * lunch out with friends * movie night with hubby or friends * watching a funn

Another asthma attack

Another asthma attack This time it wasn't me, it was Son #2. I have to rewind a little. I don't go to the salon that often, but my naturally curly hair is getting a little wild, so I decided it was time for a trim. I had an hour where I thought I could fit in a trip to the salon. Well, no sooner was I under the sink and had a sudsy head, then my cell phone started to ring. I apologized and told the stylist I needed to check my phone because my kids have asthma. (I was sure it was Hubby calling, or a friend but thought I better check just to make sure). But, alas it was Son #2. Once in a while, he will send a text from school during lunch if he needs something. This was a phone call I missed, so I knew something was up. I called him back, and he was having problems and some weird symptoms. So, now what? I'm sitting in a cape with dripping wet hair. He is pretty good at mangaging his symptoms, (he's in high school) so I told him that if he didn't feel better after us

Asthma mom

Life with kids with asthma! Well, I was wondering if any moms would comment, I know the blog is new and getting up and going. Some of the things I find in common with other moms is that asthma really controls all aspects of your life. You can plan a vacation, night out, family outing, etc - and all that can go out the window when one of the kids has an asthma attack or is sick with a respiratory infection. I still have times that when I hear my kids cough, my heart starts pounding. I say, "Who's coughing?!" Sometimes the kids will say "Mom, chill! I just swallowed wrong!" Other times, I can see by the worried look on their face that something is seriously wrong. Things aren't as bad now, but when they were little, I would have to carefully screen who came over to the house to play. A friend with a runny nose? Coughing? Sneezing? I would have to call the parent and say, "please come get your child." I would try to explain that a cold to a 'norm

Moms

Calling all moms! I would like to hear from any moms of kids with asthma. I would like to hear your stories of dealing with your kids. I was visiting with two friends the other day whose kids have asthma, we found that we were all experienceing similar things with asthma and our kids. I would like to hear what you think and feel. Do you feel uneasy when the kids start a runny nose, thinking 'I know what's coming next, asthma problems!' Do you sound like a paranoid, hypochondriac mom that won't let other kids come over to play if they are sick? (We don't want our kids sick again). And do other moms understand why we worry? Do they think we're over reacting? Feeling unsure about 'should I take the kids to the asthma specialist now? wait? start their prednisone?' Should I skip the doctor and go straight to the emergency room? Why did the kids end up in the hospital again? Do you rack your brain to see if there's something you could have done differentl

Vitamin D

Vitamin D again. Well, test results are in for Son #2, looks like he is way below where he should be for his Vitamin D level. Average numbers are between 30-60, he's below 30. It can only be diagnosed from a blood draw, but not a bad test if you can handle getting pricked by a needle. Asthma Doctor recommends a Vitamin D supplement twice a day for Son #2. We are also having him spend as much time outside as possible. This should be an all around 'win' for my pale son who rarely sees the light of day. What?! Leave the computer and World of Warcraft?! For the record-we don't allow computer play on school days, and limit the time on weekends. But he also likes to read, but he can read outside, right? It will be interesting to see what happens, this is the newest research in asthma-the link to deficiency in Vitamin D. If it can slow down the 'remodeling' in his lungs (scar tissue building up from repeated inflammation). At least that's the way I understand it. I