My Life as an Asthma Mom

  I hate going to the pharmacy and having them say, "Your total is going to be $350 - is that okay?"  NO, it's not okay! This happened to me last week. I know that means they haven't entered the coupon code for my inhalers.  When Asthma Doc sends this year's prescriptions to the pharmacy, she will enter a coupon code. However, she told me that my chain pharmacy has been instructed to NOT enter coupon codes.  Not sure why they refuse to process the coupon code, but I will be switching to a local pharmacy now.  Coupons for inhalers Many people don't know that the companies that make inhalers will often have coupons for their inhaler.   If people don't know they are overpaying, they might just swipe their card, grab their prescription, and then leave for their next errand.  I refuse to do so, because there's no reason to pay full price when the pharmacy won't enter the coupon.  Before I go to the pharmacy, I will search the name of my inhaler + ...

 Many people have been waiting for years for this new Albuterol inhaler!  What makes this inhaler such a big deal? This new inhaler has TWO medicines in it: 1. Albuterol - this medicine helps relax the smooth muscle bands that wrap around the outside of the small airways in the lungs 2. Budesonide - this medicine is a corticosteroid (works like an anti-inflammatory) to reduce the swelling in the lungs The reason this is important is that most people rely on an Albuterol inhaler when they have an asthma attack, but it's only a Bandaid approach (because it doesn't help the swelling in the lungs) If you are still confused Here's a low cost visual aid I use for patients Normal Airways The left side of the photo is a paper towel tube, wrapped in pink craft paper. It shows what it is like to breathe when our airways are open - there is a LOT of room to breathe through that tube!  Notice the rubber bands around the outside? Those show what the smooth muscles look like. When ou...

  Last month, Daughter had emergency surgery. We were in the ER when the ER Doc said there was a specialist in the hospital and he could page him for a consultation. Specialist said my daughter's condition would need emergency surgery, and Daughter agreed. Even though it was late at night, they were able to page surgery staff so the surgeon could operate on my daughter.  The Hubby barely had time to make it to the hospital and wish Daughter luck before the staff whisked her away for surgery.  Afterwards, I stayed with her in her hospital room, and the nurse gave Daughter an incentive spirometer. She told Kitty to use it once an hour to prevent any complications with her lungs.  This is one type of spirometer:   Nurse told her to use the mouthpiece and slowly inhale to get the colored balls to hover. Nurse told her to repeat that several times, and it will help to keep her lungs open.  Due to Daughter's pain level, she couldn't use it every hour, and her lun...

 Asthma is a tricky disease. It changes over time, especially as age and hormones change. When boys are younger, they are more likely to end up at the doctor's office, ER, or even be hospitalized thanks to asthma.  Once puberty hits, rates switch to women having higher rates of doctor visits, ER visits, and being hospitalized for asthma.  1/3 of women will also have asthma flares just before their period. Which is concerning that some women can plan on having an asthma flare once a month... Women seem to get the short end of the stick when it comes to asthma. Cleveland Clinic says: “Women are hospitalized twice as frequently as men for asthma and their mortality is twice as high," It's a sobering thought to know that women are twice as likely to die from asthma as men.    What researchers are finding Researchers report that women with endometriosis have higher rates of asthma - due to an imbalance of estrogen . A study reviewed records from almost 3 million wom...

  This is a common question I have been asked over the years, "I'm having a hard time breathing, how do I know if it's asthma or anxiety?" Anxiety and stress are known asthma triggers. If you have ever had an asthma attack, you know how it can be scary and stressful it can be.   You can't breathe, so you have anxiety - and the anxiety can make an asthma attack worse, and.....around and around we go.  It can be like asking "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"   Symptoms of anxiety from Mayo Clinic: Breathing fast (hyperventilating) Increased heart rate  Feeling tired or weak Feeling tense, restless, or nervous  Trembling Trouble sleeping There are more symptoms listed on their website   Some of these CAN sound like asthma....     Symptoms of an asthma attack from Mayo Clinic:   Short of breath Wheezing when you exhale (remember: some of us don't wheeze!) Chest pain or chest tightness  Coughing or wheezing that get ...

 Life is unpredictable  My college aged daughter was having some medical problems and was unable to drive herself to the hospital, so I took drove her there and stayed with her It's always amusing when moms of young kids tell me that I'm so lucky that my kids are "all grown up and they don't need me anymore" 🙄  Most parents don't stop being a parent when their kids turn 18. Granted, there may be parents who do tell their kids that they are on their own when they finish high school....... But I have tried for years to keep my kids alive (literally). My three kids have had a combined total of 5 surgeries and 15 hospitalizations. My job was to watch over them and advocate for them. But things are different when they are over 18 I told my daughter that I am there to help and support her. But - since she is over 18, the doctors will talk to her and she gets to make all of the medical decisions  As we waited in the ER, I realized that I was unprepared. My phone was...

 It's Back to School time and many parents are searching for "asthma inhaler brands" so they know what their child needs to have for school.  As a nationally Certified Asthma Educator (AE-C) with decades of experience, this is what a specialize in - helping people learn more about asthma!   I also have asthma, and raised three kids with asthma. Asthma is the focus of my life personally and professionally.  The graphic at the top shows each Albuterol inhaler that is on the market, along with the brand name.  But let's take a closer look! Proventil The brand name for the YELLOW inhaler is "Proventil" (which is an Albuterol inhaler). It's an MDI (Metered Dose Inhaler), which it means it has a measured dose of Albuterol that uses a propellant. The Albuterol comes out of the inhaler at over 50 mph. So, it's important to inhale s-l-o-w-l-y to get the medicine to go down deep into the lungs. If you inhale fast, the Albuterol will land in the back of your...

        Many people hear of RSV and think "Meh - it's just a cold." For babies with RSV, it can mean 1 out of 2 babies will end up in the hospital.  Could that happen to your baby?  CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen is an ER doctor, professor in Public Health, and former health commissioner. She is also mother to two young children. She says: "In the US, around 58,000 to 80,000 children younger than 5 years old are hospitalized because of RSV. Newborns and young babies are especially susceptible. For babies younger than 6 months of age, the rate of hospitalization is as high as 1 to 2 out of every 100 kids infected with RSV."  Having a baby in the hospital with breathing problems is no fun. I should know, my kids were in the hospital 12 times (2 ICU's) when they were younger. RSV doesn't just affect babies - adults can also end up in the hospital with RSV.  Did You Know That:  159,000 adults will end up with RSV 10,000 - 13,00 will die Th...

 A friend just sent a photo of her daughter using a nebulizer and asked if it was connected correctly.   Friend knows I'm a Certified Asthma Educator and have been helping other families with asthma for 23 years. Narrator: Friend did not have the nebulizer pieces connected right. In fact, it looked like a highway interchange similar to a spaghetti bowl.  How do you answer someone who is asking of help and they have made a mistake?  Be Kind You can respond to any situation by being kind or tactless. I prefer to be kind. Gently Correct  When people show me how they use a inhaler or nebulizer (also called a compressor unit), I ask them to watch me while I show them the correct technique. Then I ask them if they would do anything differently now that they have seen the proper technique.  If they don't spot the error - I tell them that they are reallllly close - but it would help if they change  xyz"  I tell them that they will actually get more medici...

  I was putting on my makeup one morning and noticed my cheeks looked puffy - like a chipmunk storing it's nuts.  What the......?!  Was the lighting bad? Did I sleep on one side too long?  I went through work all day, and just tried to adjust the lighting on Zoom calls so my face wasn't as visible.  Finally it dawned on me....I was on a new treatment plan using high doses every day. New treatment plan Round Two with COVID was in February, and Allergy & Asthma Doc wanted to try something new.  Those of us with severe asthma often need prednisone when we get sick. We have a habit of getting REALLY sick. I mean - Go Big or Go Home!  This time, she wanted me to add another controller inhaler to my regular, daily controller.  I take 2 puffs (morning and night) or my regular controller inhaler.  Then, she wanted me to add ANOTHER corticosteroid controller inhaler on top of that. 4 puffs morning and night.  Yep - a combined total of 6 puff...

  I'm old, so my car radio is set to NPR. As I am driving to the Allergist's office, I am listening to NPR's "Fresh Air" with Terry Goss.  Today he is interviewing Theresa MacPhail (a Medical Anthropologist), who wrote a book titled, " Allergic: Our Irritated Bodies in a Changing World" Well, that's ironic, isn't it? I'm listening to an interview about allergies as I am driving to my Allergist's Office....... As I was driving, Theresa MacPhail was talking about the "Farm Theory" (also called the Hygiene Hypothesis). Have you ever heard of that?  The theory is that kids are less likely to develop allergies and asthma if they grow up in rural areas, around animals, and in big families.  Why? The idea behind this is that when kids are young, they are exposed to lots of germs and infections from older siblings, farm animals and pets, and that helps them build up their immune system.  How? The constant exposure to bacteria, viruses, ...

  There are a LOT of awareness month, but this one is the most important to me.  It literally changed my life, and the life of my 3 kids. 23 years ago, our lives were forever changed when my middle son ended up in the hospital, and the respiratory therapist told  us that he has asthma.  What??!! But I asked my pediatrician if Son #2 has asthma, and he said no. He said it was "just a virus". The respiratory therapist said, "It's asthma alright - that's why he's being admitted to the hospital.." And life took a left when I had planned to go right.  Eventually, all 3 kids (and I) were diagnosed with asthma.  We are a family of 5. All 5 have allergies (year-round), 4 have asthma, and 2 of us have food allergies. I went back to college to get another degree, then changed professions to work full time as a Health Educator and Certified Asthma Educator. I now work for a national non profit and provide allergy & asthma education to people across the U.S.  ...

  Now that we're in year 3 of COVID, I know most people have gone back to Life as Normal. But, I am still afraid of getting sick.  There's good reason for that! We are a family of 5, and 4 of us have asthma. Severe asthma. When my kids were little, they were in the hospital 12 times - and 2 of those were ICU. They had the "crash cart" outside my kid's room - and I still have PTSD because of the reoccurring stress and trauma.  The cause of being in the hospital so many times? Pneumonia (for most of them), and a few of the times the culprit was wildfire smoke.  Now that my kids are adults we still battle respiratory diseases. They haven't been in the hospital for 15 years - but we all still have Urgent Care and ER visits for asthma.  And we will - for the rest of our lives. Asthma doesn't go away. If pneumonia wasn't bad enough for us, along comes COVID. Both times we have had COVID, we have been very sick - and almost ended up back in the hospital.  Man...

  A few years ago, I coordinate an Asthma Home Visit Program.  I provided in-depth asthma education to families.I know that doctors would like to spend more time providing education to their patients, but they just don't have time.  You may have been diagnosed with asthma while in the hospital, or at a doctor's office. And the doctor can explain a LOT of things - all at once. It's like trying to drink out of a fire hydrant. When I meet with families, I try to reinforce what the doctor explained to them, and then fill in the gaps about how to control their asthma.  It's good to learn about medications and asthma triggers, but it's also important to learn how to make a home allergy & asthma friendly. When I say "home", that can mean apartment, house, trailer home, condo, whatever they consider a home. During one visit, a woman answered the door and said, "If you are going to tell me to get rid of my dog, you can just turn around and walk back out th...

 It seems like we'll never get away from COVID.  People are still getting COVID, and the number of people with Long COVID is growing. I belong to a social media group for other people with Long COVID. It's a place where people can share their symptoms, struggles, and treatment plans that worked for them.  I had COVID last year and missed a month of work. In additional to my high dose dual maintenance inhaler, I needed oral steroids, Paxlovid, and breathing treatments every 4 hours - around the clock. I had a very difficult time getting my energy level back, and my oxygen level rarely went above 91. I know that there are many ways to assess asthma, and relying only on oxygen levels isn't the best idea.  As a Certified Asthma Educator, I teach families to look at signs and symptoms too. I had fatigue, a persistent cough, shortness of breath, a hard time sleeping (unless I was propped upright), etc etc For some reason, I didn't feel like I needed oxygen.  I'll ord...

 I was watching Glass Onion and I was surprised at the ending.  I can NEVER figure out murder mysteries and am always wrong about "who done it" In fact, the movie was so fast paced that I missed a lot of things. So I decided to put on the closed captioning so I could watch it again.  I saw the scene where a character dies of anaphylaxis (oh.....is that what killed him?) But then I thought, wait a minute! You can't die that fast from an allergen! In the movie, Big Burly Guy says he "doesn't do pineapple". (I missed that the first time.) At the end of the movie, when the detective was doing a recap of what happened, he talked about how Big Burly Guy died. That the Slimy Guy had put pineapple juice into Big Burly Guy's drink It showed a clip of Big Burly Guy grabbing his throat, staggering for about 10 seconds, and then collapsing and dying Hold the phone!  Why can't movies show anaphylaxis or asthma attacks correctly? Ugh!  Death doesn't happen ins...