My Life as an Asthma Mom

  Food allergies never take a holiday. Daughter Kitty was searching through her candy and offered a Heath bar to her brother, Son #2. I happened to overhear her, and went running into the other room, yelling "NOOOOOOOO!" I knew that Health bars have tree nuts in them (almonds) which Son #2 is allergic to. He's pretty good at just selecting what he wants to eat, so I reminded Kitty not to offer Son #2 any candy, but to let him pick out what he knew was safe to eat. Kitty is younger than Son #2 and doesn't realize how bad a food reaction can be. For those of you with food allergies, PLEASE check your candy carefully. It worries me when candy bars that have tree nuts are in the same bag with candy bars that don't contain them. Everyone is different, but I don't want to chance any cross contamination that would cause anaphylaxis. I have seen that reaction once with Son #1, and I never want to see it again. To read an article about Halloween candy and anaphylaxis f...

It seems like moms have a habit of taking care of everyone except for ourselves.  I knew my tongue was looking a little discolored and thought it was probably thrush from my maintenance medication, Advair, but I didn't have time to go to the doctor. One night, after brushing my teeth, I asked my husband if he thought my tongue looked weird, and he said it looked my elderly neighbor's hair - which is stark white!  I didn't call the doctor because I didn't have any sick time left at work, since I had used it all up with my earlier bout with pneumonia this month. I wouldn't have time to leave the office and go to the doctor for a checkup. I finally decided to call when my tongue started to hurt. When I looked at photos of thrush online, it looked like many of the people had sores on their tongue.  Yuck. So, I finally called the doctor. Luckily, they called in a prescription. I was afraid it was going to be a bottle of Nystatin, which you rinse your mouth with several ...

I guess it's time to call my doctor, I think I have thrush on my tongue from using my daily, controller inhaler. Asthma Doc had always warned me that it could happen, but I was taking all of the precautions he taught me.   His suggestions are:    rinse my mouth and spit out the water after I use my inhaler eat breakfast brush my teeth and tongue right afterwards  But I can see a white film on my tongue.    Sigh. I don't have any sick time left at work to be able to take time off for a doctor's appointment. I have used all of my sick days to take my kids to their various doctor's appointments for asthma and allergy shots.    And Asthma Doc doesn't have appointments for after hours.  And I don't want to go to the ER, because this isn't "urgent". I guess I could try the Urgent Care after hours. I was looking at some photos online about oral thrush, and their tongues look a lot worse than mine (of course, maybe they let the infection go on to lon...

As much as I hate to use it, there are times when prednisone (a steroid) is necessary to treat asthma. (Don't confuse this type of steroid with the type that body builders use. They're completely different medications!) Using steroids is a last resort for me. Usually, I increase my daily maintenance medication and use breathing treatments with my nebulizer. When I am that sick, my inhaler doesn't work well for me because I can't breathe deep enough to get any medicine into my lungs. What works better for me is to use my nebulizer, I just sit and gently breathe in the mist. Even using all those medications, there are times I need prednisone. I have been sick now for over a week, and one day I woke up and was having such a hard time breathing that my voice could only come out in a raspy whisper. I asked Hubby to call the after hours clinic (of course it was on a Saturday) because I couldn't talk on the phone. However, After Hours Doc needed to ask me a few questions (...

          I'm probably one of the only people in American who doesn't have a smart phone. I'm a low-tech sort of person. I like my sticky notes-I use them for everything, including keeping track of my medications when I'm sick. Like most people, I get a little hazy when I am sick and can't remember which medication I've taken and when. It's important to keep track since there is a possibility to overdose on medications if you are a little "out of it." When I am sick, I will write down any medication I take so I can keep them straight. I record: Advair (my daily asthma medication) Advil (for fever and pain) Dayquil (this contains acetaminophen, and you can take too much and damage your liver) Antibiotic Prednisone Albuterol (my rescue asthma medication) Some days I don't take Daqyquil, so I have to keep track of how much cough medicine I may have taken. It's easy when you are coughing to think "I should take some more cough medicine-how...

So, this was my breakfast this morning (well, after I ate my nutritious oatmeal.) I am so careful to take precautions NOT to get sick, but I did anyway. I was in a training for work last week, and started to notice a scratchy throat. I thought maybe it was due to the extremely strong smelling perfume of the lady sitting next to me. But my throat was still scratchy when I got home. And the next day. Then the fever, chills and body aches hit on day 3, and I knew I was in for a rough ride. My nose did a Niagra Falls impression, and I filled an entire waste basket full of used tissues. My nose could outrun any snotty nosed toddler, hands down! I spent 4 days in bed. Alternating between "I'm freezing! Where's my jacket?!" to "Woah, it's hot in here, did someone turn the heat up!?" I was camped out on my couch with cold washcloths, Advil, Puffs tissues (with lotion of course), sinus reliever medication and popsicles. I also had all of the TV remotes and my ph...

    We missed a week of allergy shots because daughter Kitty was sick. So the next Friday, the New Nurse was there giving shots instead, and we asked where Wonderful Shot Nurse was. New Nurse said Wonderful Shot Nurse was gone!    She has moved on to other things (and we didn't even get to say good bye!) Kitty started to cry. I sent a text to Son #2, and he was shocked. You see, Wonderful Shot Nurse isn't just a regular nurse. She has helped keep my kids alive for the last 11 years! She has been taking care of Kitty since she was born (she's finishing elementary school) She has helped take care of Son #2 since he was five years old. (And he's in high school now!) She has given Son #2 his five years worth of allergy shots, and gives him his monthly Xolair injections. She also gave Son #1 his five years worth of allergy shots and kept him alive when he went into anaphylaxis after one allergy shot. She's more than just a Wonderful Shot Nurse, she was a friend. She alwa...