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Since this is my first post, let me introduce myself, I am 38, married, and a housewife in the living near to the Welsh Marches on the English Side. I have had asthma since I was nine years of age along with the associated allergic conditions Eczema and Hayfever. Since my late teens my Asthma has become quite severe and these days I am known as Brittle.
The past 18 months my Asthma has pretty good, well that is I have managed to avoid a hospital admission, but during this period my maintenance Prednisolone of 20mg as had to be increased on various occasions. Over the past 6 weeks my Asthma once again has been dictating my daily life, can I walk the dog today or is it even possible for me to leave the flat? Amazing one entire week during the past 6 week period my life quality was excellent, one day in particular I managed to walk 6 miles in the local fields with my Dachshund, would love to know why I could do this? If I did know, I would bottle it, and self prescribe on my not so good days!
Last week Asthma control was very poor despite having been taking 40 mg of Prednisolone for a week, I had also increased my sub cut infusion of Bricanyl (A drug that sometimes is administered just under the skin via Syringe Driver to help open up the airways), this was all done under the guidance and back up of a respiratory nurse. Thursday of last week whilst using my PC I had a major coughing fit which resulted in a serious deterioration of my Asthma, and my only option was to seek the help of the Ambulance Service and attend my local A & E. Both the paramedics and the staff in my local A & E were excellent, I spent a few hours in resus, and had to have IV Magnesium and Aminophylline to open up my airways plus Hydrocortisone. I am always sensible and carry a detailed list of medication, medical history and details on how to contact my consultant etc. On this list my syringe driver is listed along with the current strength of medication that is running through it, but it never ceases to amaze me how time and time again the doctor attending has no idea about these little portable syringe drivers. Whilst I understand it is impossible for a doctor to know everything, some Diabetics use them , plus those people receiving Palliative care may also use them. I feel it would be really useful to the patient and doctor attending to have some knowledge of portable syringe drivers. Normally after such an attack I would spend time in hospital receiving further treatment and recovering, but on this occasion I went home several hours later as there were no acute beds available, and I felt happier to be at home be able to access my medication when I required it. Plus I knew if things became out of control again I would attend A & E.
The day after this attack I was naturally very well, after all the medication I had received in A & E the day before, and rightly or wrongly chose to go for a very gentle walk with my dog, and I am glad that I did. Since then I have been unfortunate to have caught a cold like virus and once again the Asthma is very unstable, it feels like my nebuliser is permanently in use and when not in use it has become my shadow as in if there isn't one in the room I am occupying at that time, then there is a mini one in my pocket. Under the guidance of a respiratory nurse I am supposed to be reducing the amount of Prednisolone I am taking, but since the cold as reared its ugly head, this has been stopped by me, as it would be silly to reduce medication when things are the way they are.
Of course I am suffering at present because of my Unstable Asthma, and I don't mean just the symptoms, I can't walk the dog, I can do very little around the home for myself, and going out and seeing friends and family independently is not an option. But it isn't only me in this household that is suffering, my husband is too. I am currently more dependant on him to keep the house running, for personal care when I can't manage things like getting dressed by myself and apart from my sleep deprivation because of the Asthma husband is also suffering sleep deprivation . Of course he could always sleep separable, but neither of us would be happy, I would worry about being able to get his attention if I suddenly got worse and him like wise.
But the good side of all of this, is that I have plenty of time to read, use my PC and tomorrow it won't be difficult to find time to start my Open University course. So even when the chips are down as they say, rather than feel sorry for myself, I try my best to see the good in things.
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