Somewhat good news

[miss_lucy21]

I had my 6 month asthma check yesterday and while I was correct that my lung functions aren't as good as they were last year, they are still in the near-normal range (just lower than they were). They did an additional test to measure the inflammation in my lungs, given the fact that I've been on prednisone twice the year (after years and years of not needing any at all) and the fact that I was flat out saying there is a problem. That test came back within normal ranges, so I am not in an immediate crisis. What probably happened is that my lungs really, really did not like this past winter and just pitched a fit and never calmed down properly. As my doctor said "sometimes, asthma just happens. This isn't your fault or your job to fix, it's mine." So, we're trying a higher dose of my Advair (main controller medicine) to see if that does the trick, since I've responded well to the Advair for almost 15 years. If that's not making a dramatic difference within the next month, we'll swap it out for something else. There's a number of other options, he said, if we need to go there, but he likes to try the most conservative route first, which I do appreciate. The Advair is a known quantity and we know what the side effects are and pretty much what to expect, which may not be quite the case with a new med.

I started the higher dose last night, and I do feel a little better today (the meds can kick in after a couple hours or it can take a week or so, so it's not necessarily placebo effect). Not better enough to try the stairs, or anything, but a little bit of the edge that's been at the back of my breathing is gone. So, it's a little bit of wait and see now.