Well, that explains it.
Oh, and this.
My primary airborne mold allergy is to Cladosporium. It just REEFS on me, which is why my old apartment was killing my immune system (because the mold was holding the walls up.)
Our new place is NOT a moldfest, but Vancouver is beset with it right now. Garrr!
I have chronic asthma, rhinitis, sinusitis, and a recently diagnosed immune disorder to START with… and this just took me down. If you’ve never been short of breath on a dramatic scale, just imagine the feeling of having the wind knocked out of you, then trying to get your breath back through a milkshake straw. With milkshake still in it.
Add coughing to the mix, and you have what I experienced last night.
There has to be a better way to deal with this stuff. I’m tired of it.
You don’t realize how much you need air until you can’t get enough.
I am sorry for you. I have done the cortisteroid thing, and that works for me. Expensive, somewhat dangerous, but I have to have a life NOW. Maybe I’ll die early because of the drugs. Oh well.
Move to Phoenix?
I will never be that desperate:).
Have you tried taking elderberry yet? It’s really good for your immune system and comes in lots of forms: lozenges, liquid extract (like a yummy cough syrup) and, of course, wine.
I do know what it’s like to be short of breath, and it’s pretty alarming.
Have you thought about more coffee? Of course, with enough hi-nutrient food that the buzz doesn’t create lift-off… I think there was a study recently about the benefits of copious amounts of coffee. Maybe it’s the antioxidants?
:-)
First let me say that I LOVE Phoenix – if you haven’t been there, keep an open mind. Try it in the winter though, not right now.
Second, I feel your pain. I had to take allergy shots to take the edge of the allergies. Of course, the inhaler helps quite a bit too.
Not much more I can do other than sympathize. Hang in there!
Ever read the book, The Maker’s Diet? An interesting thought, if only that…
i was going to suggest moving to denver (mold can’t live in the high, dry air) but i see patia is already suggesting phoenix
The point has been made, but it’s very sad that, constitutionally, Vancouver, so clearly your natural home turf, is so disastrous. Up here on Offley Hill it’s pretty mellow…
Just in the past 10 years there have been some great advances in treatment of asthma. I use a daily inhaled corticosteroid (doesn’t leave the lungs and doesn’t F up the rest of your body like a systemic steroid) and Singulair plus my rescue inhaler. The Singulair is cool because it not only works on asthma it also helps with allergic reaction. This regimen has kept me from having a hospital admission for the past 9 years. Using an air conditioner in your bedroom might be helpful as well in removing humidity from the air.
i hope you’re feeling better. but don’t move to AZ–the air quality is so bad you will not be able to breathe at all.
A good quality air purifier can make a humongous difference. Not one of the cheapo ones. The good ones filter out all that stuff, and use UV light to kill the bad bugs. (Consumer Reports says that the popular Ionic Breeze by Sharper Image doesn’t work, so don’t get that one.)
I vote for Singulair myself. That has done more to clear up my lungs (and allergies) than most anything else. In fact, I was able to drop all my other medication once that started to kick in.