Steroids vs. Oxygen? Decisions, decisions

[coquette_not]

I am very annoyed with my body these days. Every time I go to the gym lately I wind up with a fairly major asthma attack. Not really the way I want to burn calories

Comments

[lizzy2150]

Have you cut out inhalable steroids as well? b/c they don't have the same sorts of systemic effects.

[coquette_not]

Yeah, that's all I was on, unless I was sick and would get prednisone. The inhalable are definitely not as bad, but I felt like they did have side effects. I just get it in my head that I can do a mind-over-matter thing and go au natural. Sometimes I can. Other times, not so much.

[lizzy2150]

Yeah, I've done that before, too. *sigh* Don't you hate it when your body won't cooperate?

I vote that you go back on the steroids and keep breathing. Just sayin'.

[kalypso5775]

do you think it's seasonal?

[kalypso5775]

i am sorry to hear this. so scary not to be able to breathe

[coquette_not]

You're so sweet! Actually, I'm so used to it that it's more of an annoyance than anything scary. As far as ailments go, it's really not very bad. Although some people do die from asthma, I never feel like I'm in any sort of danger. You take the medicine, and you're fine in 5 minutes. I think that the people that really suffer are the ones without access to meds.

It's actually instilled me with a great trust in doctors. Asthma is precisely the sort of thing that a doctor with a white coat and a shot can totally fix. One second, you can't breathe. Marcus Welby comes over with a serene smile on his face and a hefty dose of adrenaline, and you feel 100%.

It is totally seasonal--it's always at the change of seasons. Really it's yet another reason to move somewhere where it's warm most of the year. All summer long I have no problem at all.

[salient73]

My cat is on steroids for asthma. Not sure that helps you with your decision.

It's very scary for me and sad for her to watch her have an attack. Fortunately, she has no short term memory, so she quickly forgets the attacks.

[lady_frolick]

My cat has asthma too. He's not on steroids yet because his attacks are so short and infrequent (just one or two when the seasons change), but I'm delaying the inevitable.

Maybe, Coquette, you can just stop working out until the season warms up? That may mean weight gain too, but no chemical rage. I was on steroids for a bad back and I was mad as a hatter. If I don't HAVE to, I'll never take them again.

[coquette_not]

Yeah, they suck. They really do. There was a story years ago in the New Yorker about a guy who was on tons of prednisone for MS and how he they drove him to a several-week bout of complete psychosis. He didn't even remember what happened. It's a weird thing steroids, they cure everything--pain, asthma, even poison ivy, for crying out loud. But the side effects are so brutal that you'd rather take the illness!

I'm convinced that exercise helps the asthma in the long run. I'll just take gentle walks, I think, and keep the inhaler nearby just in case. I guess I shall just resign myself to not achieving my goal of Sarah Connor bad-assery this spring!

[ellen_fremedon2]

Say no to prednisone, but yes to the inhaled variety of steroids. Rescue inhalers are called that for a reason--they aren't good at preventing! I am not a fan of daily medication, but I will say that my low-dose steroid inhaler makes life better and has no side effects that I can detect (and I'm pretty sensitive to meds). If a lower dose doesn't work for you, can you try one of those new super inhalers like Symbicort? I think ultimately, the positive effects of exercise (and, well, oxygen) outweigh any negative effect of the steroid inhaler. But again, NO to prednisone unless you are about to die, in which case, you won't care about the weight and you'll be too fatigued for rage.