Asthma Post

I need a asthma mentor. It seems easy to figure out what to do, but it isn't really. I probably over think it.

I've noticed that I literally forget what it is like to breathe normally. What I mean is that there are times when I wonder whether I am having trouble breathing because I am thinking about it, or if I am distracted by my breathing because it is just a little bit difficult to breathe. So I bought an Peak Flow Meter. It's this plastic thing you blow into and it gives you a reading. It was supposed to help. I could get an objective measurement that would tell me "not to worry." The way it works is that you use it until you figure out what your peak number is. Then you turn the little dial thing so that you move the top of the green zone to you peak. Now when you blow in the little red dot will land in either green, yellow, or red. If it is green, you're fine. Don't worry.

Okay, so last night I cleaned carpets after the electricians left. I vaccuumed really carefully and then I got on the ground with the carpet spot cleaner and took care of some spots that had been there a long time. I may have breathed in a fair amount of plaster dust or pet dander. I don't know.

I do know that afterwards I felt bad. I was coughing. I used the meter. I could get it to go into the green zone, but blowing that hard produced a coughing fit. I used the rescue inhaler. It was an old one and I wasn't sure if it really had enough medication in it, so I asked Roland to pick up the new one waiting for me at the pharmacy. He got home about two hours later and I used it. I went to bed tired. I wasn't coughing much, and not at all if I was still.

I woke up tired and coughing some. I thought about staying home with my asthma and the alergens, but work seemed to be a better plan. I used the rescue inhaler.

I came to work, coughed while talking to a student, and went to class. I was okay, although I did cough some. My voice sounded like I was getting laryngitis. By the end of class though I was better. I did cough when I took an experimental deep breath, and I felt just a tiny bit breathless, but it was that "do I feel that way because I'm thinking about it?" level.

I came back to my office determined to treat again (2.5 hours later) and decided to use the peak flow meter first. My reading was excellent (as high as ever) and getting it made me cough for a while.

So what the heck does that mean? Do I take another hit of the medicine, or do I distract myself and stop thinking about whether my breathing is normal?

I think I need to call the doctor and set up an appointment to talk about managing my asthma...although maybe I need to make an appointment with an asthma educator. There are such people aren't there? I know they exist for diabetics.

Anyone out there got any helpful information? Advice? Thoughts?