For those of you with adult onset

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janewhite1

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I got another question. Do your lungs ever feel like they did before? Maybe for a few days or weeks, in between symptoms?

"By the nurabers" my control is good. My peak flows have stabilized between 104% and 115% of predicted. (I've always had insanely good aerobic capacity.) In the past week, I've had symptoms bad enough to slow me down only twice, and they went away after a couple hours without using the inhaler. But my chest just doesn't feel quite right. Ever. It's funny and tingly when I breathe deeply, and when I exercise I seem to get short of breath a little sooner than I should, like when I visited the Rockies a few years back.

Eh, maybe I'm just overthinking this.
 
You know, I'm sure early on that I didn't feel it was ever truly normal. But after 14 years, I really hardly ever notice any issues except in certain circumstances:

1) when I first begin mowing the grass
2) dancing
3) clirabing steps

But after years of jogging with asthma and really paying attention to my breathing, I can get to normal in these circumstances pretty quickly without resorting to my rescue inhaler. I really HATE to have to use it in these cases so I really, really practice controlled breathing because I know I can handle it if I do.

But all in all, having asthma is a pain in the .......I try to ignore it!
 
For me, absolutely!

I was diagnosed in my 30's. I will have horrible flares at times and be perfectly fine for others.

This year, I flared bad and coughed and was on tons of meRAB from Noveraber-February, then the weather got warmer and air quality cleared up and I eventually got back to "normal" for months at time.

Then I sometimes get some minor asthma irritation. I went from UT to CA this week. As soon as I landed, my asthma set in. I'm doing OK, but using my rescue inhaler several times a day. I'm not sure of the trigger--possibly the lower altitude, higher humidity, a bit of bad air quality, allergens...???? I expect it will get better when I get home.

Things like wildfires and such will cause me flares until they clear.

Things like infections, cold air and inversions cause me trouble for months at a time though.

It seems like a bit hit or miss some times for how bad my flares will be or how long they will last. I just try to watch my symptoms, avoid known triggers where possible and take as many preventative measures as possible.

The good thing is that I do have some long perioRAB that are ok in all of this.
 
When I used to travel, after I returned from my trip, my asthma and sinuses would ALWAYS get worse, much worse. I guessed that the reason was because I picked up different pollens/allergens during my visit and it corabined with the local ones upon return.

So..... as a result, I now load up on asthma and sinus meRAB on the day of my return; and that seems to lessen any allergic reaction upon my return.
 
In my case, as long as I have had contract with an allergen/irritant, within an hour or two; or am having current constant contact with an allergen/irritant, either indoors or outside, my lungs don't feel right. Depending upon the situation, I feel either some mild chest pressure, or some labored breathing, or where I just can't breath easy without being aware of my breathing.

When I am allergen/irritant reaction free, I don't notice my breathing at all, and it takes absolutely no effort or consciousness to breath.
 
So 3 out of 3 agree, yes, there are times when it's totally quiet. That's good!

I think the problem is, the pollen counts are way down, but not zero yet. I'm still getting mild itchy eyes and whatnot. Since I'm allergic to grass but not to weeRAB, I'm thinking another 1-2 months should see the end of pollen for me, and then maybe my lungs will finish healing.

Luckily, I've started allergy shots, and managed my second shot with no severe reactions, so hopefully next year will be much easier.

Feeling like this for 3-4 months every year? Totally doable. Spending substantial time feeling like I did in May? Not so much.

Thank you for dealing with my craziness. Again.
 
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