On Lungs

I promised myself I wouldn't post again until I had something non medical to talk about.

And then today happened.

As I mentioned before, I have asthma. I think I've always had it to some degree. I remember needing a nebulizer treatment a few times when I would get colds growing up. Since I moved away from home my lungs have gotten progressively touchier. For my first year+ on my own while I went through the process of finding a primary care provider, I made multiple trips to Emergency Rooms in search of relief from the breath-stealing cough and wheezing that would come over me at random and seemingly for no reason.

When I finally found a primary doctor, it did not take her long to diagnose me with asthma and prescribe a course of oral steroids. You see I had somehow managed to come to my very first appointment with her in the middle of an asthma attack. Awesome planning there. That round of steroids would become the first  many such fun roller coaster rides. It has gotten to the point where if by some miracle I make it more than a month without an ER trip, primary visit, or steroid shot, I celebrate. This is the pattern even while I am taking not one, not two but four different  controller medications. Now back to today.

I woke up a little earlier than normal, excited to get a jump on the day as I needed to work a little longer today to begin to make up for leaving early tomorrow to see Dr. Guts. As a side note, this will be my first visit with Dr. Guts since receiving my gastroparesis  diagnosis two weeks ago, good thoughts would be appreciated. Anyway, I left my apartment. This is where the trouble started.

It is mid-December and cooold around here. Upon breathing in the 20-something degree air, my lungs went on strike. The cough started instantaneously and the elephant/boa constrictor cross took up residence on my chest. I pushed on and made it to work. At this point the cough, I not-so-affectionately call "Sparky" since it makes me sound like a spunky puppy dog, is in full-on breath stealing mode. 
Ten minutes after getting to the office I got nervous that I wouldn't make it through the day without a doctor or ER trip. I made it through, hanging by a thread. Now I get to begin the countdown to the next flare as I manage this one.  I hope I can get it under control without resorting to steriods. Those are nasty nasty creatures! eight inhaler shots today did little to silence Sparky though, so I'm not so optimistic. We'll see I guess.

Whatever happens, it's nothing I haven't seen before.