Newbie after advice

Hi,

I was only diagnosed with asthma a few months ago, so all a bit new to me. I'm very lucky in that at the moment it's mild enough that I just have a reliever inhaler and I'm not having to use it every day. I am scared of it getting worse though, in no small part because my uncle is dying from the side effects of the drugs he's been on for it (he's 73 & I do realise the drugs have improved since he started treatment but it's hard to get that logic into my brain!).

At the moment I'm trying to find out as much as possible about any diet/exercise/lifestyle changes I can make that may help improve it (I HATE taking my inhaler, my side effects include getting the shakes, my brain becoming scrambled & losing my balance to the point of falling over. My doctor's solution to this is that I should sit down!). My mum has had great success with herbal treatment but sadly I can't afford that! I've started to eat much more healthily & include more diary & good oils in my diet & I'm hoping to start Tai Chi next month. I've got the book ""Asthma Free Naturally: Everything You Need to Know About Taking Control of Your Asthma"" by Patrick McKeown on order. I was wondering if anyone here had any tips or could recommend any good books, websites, etc I could look at?

Thanks for any help.

Sharon

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hi

likewise I was only diagnosed in May this year. generally I'm not to bad but having a bit of bad patch at mo but I will win. You've come to the right place. most paople on here are experts compared to babies like us but they are all very helpful and supportive.

I think the trick is to do as much as you can to stay healthy including exercise but to alter things if you find anything in particular sets you off. I uesdf to go to the gym 2-3 times a week and will get back into it soon hopefully.

investigate all the info on this website for info as well as its very helpful.

Good luck. Which hospital are you under?

Katharine

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Thanks Katherine.

This does seem a great site. I'm just under my GP/asthma nurse at the moment, with instructions to get straight to A&E if my inhaler doesn't seem to be having an effect. Like I say, it is very mild, but that's why I really want to make changes now, while I'm not on any daily drugs so don't have to start talking to the doctor about trying to reduce doses, etc.

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Hi SHaron,

There's a lot of info on this site, that is useful, especially if you're new to asthma. Diet and excercise is definately a good combo to try and keep symptoms at bay, as is recognising any triggers and trying to avoid / minimise exposure to them - whether thats pollen, pets, stress, foods etc. If you ahve any questions, just ask - there's a wealth of knowledge contained on these boards!

Cal

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Sharon

Following my first trip to A&E I decided I had to take my asthma diagnosis more seriously; I found this site and purchased the same book. Good on you for being so responsible and thinking about it now.

I just wish I had done more when I was first diagnosed (about 10 years previously) maybe then I wouldn't have ended up in hospital followed by the weeks of antibiotics and pred and the inevitable weight gain. Since the dreaded pred I seemed to develop a lot of triggers / intolerances which caused asthma symptoms and irritating rashes (not always helped by the daily antihistamines). Some triggers were obvious but eventually I had to pay privately for food testing (I couldn't persuade my GP to do tests / refer me - I think he thought I was making it all up); since eliminating the identified foods from my diet I have improved immensely. I rarely need to take antihistamines, I cannot remember when I last needed my reliever inhaler (I do still take my preventor) and am even very slowly managing to lose some weight and increase my exercise.

Another problem I had was that I ""forgot"" how to breathe properly and had to do exercises to stop me breahing so shallowly all the time - not necessarily as defined in this book I hasten to add though along similar lines. Teaching myself to nose breathe rather than mouth breathe and to take deep breaths rather than big breaths. The best form of exercise for asthmatics is supposed to be swimming presumably because of the breathing method used.

Good luck with keeping fit and healthy

Cathy

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Thanks for the replies. It's really encouraging to hear that the things I'm doing can make a difference.

Cathy, wow, well done! It sounds like you've made a huge difference. It can't have been easy finding the energy to do all that when you were really bad either (if my downturn in energy is anything to go by).

I do swim, although I'm not sure I breathe properly!