Friday, May 27, 2011

And So it Continues...

This is meant to be an update to my last post on asthma. At the close of that post, I stated that I was feeling a noticeable, positive difference after the first two doses of the antibiotic. I was. What I neglected to mention, was that the doctor, for some reason, didn't prescribe the antibiotic I was accustomed to taking--i.e., the Zithromycin. Instead, I suppose because she wanted me to receive a greater blast, she instead prescribed the generic form of Biaxin, called Clarithromycin. I was to take two 500MG pills per day, twelve hours apart, for ten consecutive days. So really, this wasn't the protocol that Dr. Hahn (the Wisconsin doctor involved in the asthma research mentioned in my last post) recommends. She assured me that it was chemically in the same family of drugs as the Zithromycin, so I just agreed to it. Now in hindsight, I wish I hadn't.

By the third dose, I was dizzy, nauseous, had awful stomach pain, a horrible metallic taste in my mouth, was completely exhausted, starting to feel phantom pains all over my body, got headaches, dry cotton mouth, and was starting to hallucinate. And I thought that that was the worst of it! By the other morning (heck, I can't even remember what morning it was, as I'm so confused still), my tongue and lips had begun to swell. Being the Mom of a child with allergies, I recognized that as one of the possibly not-so-minute reactions. I know that you're not supposed to stop antibiotics mid-course, so I called the clinic to ask if I could drop the medication. I was told to come in, and that this was something the doctor would have to okay. Thankfully, my husband was able to get out of work early and take me there within a few hours. The Doctor didn't seem at all concerned...at least not at first, and seemed more aggravated than anything else. I hate feeling like I'm disturbing people. It may have been his lunch time, I don't know. But still, I wished I was just anywhere else but there. I made sure to tell him that I would have been totally okay with not coming in and just stopping the medication. He seemed to relax and get a bit kinder as the visit progressed, so I tried not to get all upset over it.

He noticed the swelling, but assured me that there were no obstructions. I frankly hadn't been having a problem breathing at all really, since the 2nd dose. It was just all of the other stuff. I have three children to care for, and I've been a complete wreck for days because of this antibiotic. (Note: I found out later that this was one of the medications Brittany Murphy had been taking prior to her death. Yikes!) Immediately, he dismissed that I was feeling any of the above, except for maybe the stomach stuff, because of the antibiotic. It's always nice when doctors listen to your concerns, and believe you when you tell them things. Sigh. That said, when he left the room, and came back a few minutes later, he was more relaxed and communicative. He had a listen to my stomach, and it must have been making a terrible racket, because he immediately agreed to have me stop the medication. That was the only thing I wanted to hear.

Next he checked my sugar. He mentioned something about possibly triggering a pre-diabetic response?!?!? And then he took some blood. Thankfully, before too long, we were on our way out. The swelling on my tongue seemed to have gone down. As we were making our way out of the building, he handed me my replacement antibiotics--a seven day dose of Levaquin, 500MG. I smiled and thanked him, not sure if I'd be able to stomach another antibiotic after all I had gone through.

When I finally got home, I read the FDA warning about Levaquin , and that made my decision on whether or not to take the antibiotic all the simpler. I love Kung Fu, and I just couldn't see myself taking a chance on something like tendonitis, particularly when this wasn't the antibiotic protocol I had wanted from the get-go. I had never had a reaction to any medication before, but I'll tell you, once you experience it, you start really identifying with that 1% of people who do react. Percentages almost seem not to matter.

As expected of course, not having completed my course of antibiotics, I'm getting the chest congestion again. Today has been kind of rough, and I'm keeping to the air conditioning. I'm still considering my options. Right now, and for the time being, I'm looking into natural antibiotics to get me through this hiccup. I hope to update again with something more positive.

NOTE:

Click Here for the beginning of the story, and Here for the post that follows this one.

Monday, May 23, 2011

For Those of You Struggling with Asthma

It's been a long time since I last posted, but I wanted to share something I recently learned in the hope that it will help someone else.

I've had a long history with asthma, first diagnosed when I was a toddler and still living in Florida. When we moved north, I was asymptomatic for years. Practically cured we thought. It wasn't until about age eleven, that the dreaded asthma word started to come up again, this time in relation to allergies I had just spontaneously developed. Looking back, I don't think it was really asthma, just allergies--mostly to animal dander, pollens, weeds, and molds. I was put on asthma medication as a preventative measure, but really, I think allergy medication would have worked all on its own.

Asthma wasn't an issue for me, that is until just a few years ago. My son was about four or five at the time. I remember that I had gotten a cold, and that that cold had turned into bronchitis. Not being the sort to run off to the doctor for things I think I can ride out at home, I waited. I waited a long time, but I never got better. After a few weeks of this, I finally succumbed, and went to the doctor. I was diagnosed with bronchitis, and sent home. After the antibiotic treatment, I felt better. But ever since that episode, I found that I was getting sick at the drop of a hat. After several relapses I was re-diagnosed with asthma--specifically asthmatic bronchitis. For a while there, as I switched doctors from time to time, always searching for someone who could help me, I received conflicting diagnoses. One doctor told me that I couldn't possibly have asthma because I had a productive cough. His diagnosis? Anxiety. He came to this conclusion when I didn't improve after treatment.

Again, I found myself getting "bronchitis" or something like it, several times per year. I was re-re-diagnosed with asthma, and every time I was symptomatic, my pulmonologist would prescribe the same medication--Azithromycin (Z-pack) and Prednisone. Every time, I felt an immediate relief of my symptoms. I assumed it was the Prednisone.

This past March, I got sick again, and delayed going to the doctor. When I woke up on a Saturday morning, about 10 days after I had first gotten sick, I was coughing up blood, and figured I'd better get seen. My doctor didn't have hours on Saturdays, so I went to one of those Urgent Care clinics. Again, I was diagnosed with bronchitis, which I was told had exacerbated my asthma. I also had an eye and throat infection. Yep, I was a mess because I waited too long to seek treatment. Again, I was given prescriptions for a Z-pack and Prednisone, as well as a few other medications for the coughing and eye infection.

On May 13th, just a little over a week ago, I got sick yet again. By Monday, I decided that it was starting to get out of control. I liked the Urgent Care clinic so much, that I decided to go back there again. I saw a different doctor. She told me that I didn't have bronchitis. I thought I did, as that's what I'm always diagnosed with whenever I go (sometimes up to 6 times per year). She said I was having an asthma exacerbation...i.e., an asthma attack. She checked my peak flow, gave me a nebulizer treatment, and I improved slightly, but not enough. Next I got a steroid shot, and left there with a 15 day prescription for Prednisone, and a prescription for Singulair (which I had taken before, without much improvement). I was to take these in addition to my Advair and Ventolin rescue (which I had been using up to 4x/day). The doctor felt that I didn't need antibiotics this time, as technically, it wasn't an infection, just an asthma flare-up.

I didn't notice any improvement after a few days. As a matter of fact, by day six of my course of Prednisone, I was still finding it difficult to draw breath, and the coughing fits kept me awake all night. It struck me that I wasn't improving. The only difference between this last visit to the the doctor and all of my previous visits, was that I had always been prescribed antibiotics along with the Prednisone. I was curious, so I Googled for info on the treatment of asthma with antibiotics, and I found this very informative website. The research page at the site has tons of links from reputable sources finding that there is a bacterial link to many cases of asthma, and that it can be "cured" with an extended course of antibiotics. Considering how quickly I improve with the antibiotics, it made sense to me. I made up my mind to find a doctor who would be receptive to this information.

On Saturday, I spent the day at my Mom's apartment. I still wasn't feeling well, and didn't want to be alone--my husband and the kids were out all day for kung fu and errands. I was still only on the Prednisone and Singulair, in addition to my other asthma medications. I had a very difficult time at my mother's. After my third nebulizer treatment, I was flushed, and I felt like I had tied tourniquets on both of my upper arms. The pressure on my arms was awful, and my veins looked as if they were bulging. I had a lot of pain in my chest. I refused to go to the ER, but I probably should have. Yesterday morning I woke up, coughing up blood again. I went back to the clinic as it was Sunday, and the only place other than the ER that was open. My peak flow was again, not so great. I had another nebulizer treatment, and the doctor wanted to give me another steroid shot. I refused the shot, considering that I was still taking the prednisone (on day 6 of 15). I told her about the research, and she seemed receptive. But she wanted to prescribe a preliminary dose of antibiotics anyway, as she figured that I was putting too much strain on my heart.

Now here I am today. I've had only two doses of the antibiotic (500 mg each), and I'm feeling a noticeable difference. I'm confident that if I follow the extended antibiotic protocol, I may even be cured of asthma. Seriously. I'm feeling very hopeful. When I weigh out the pros and cons of trying the antibiotic treatment (one weekly dose for between 9-15 or more weeks) as opposed to indefinitely using a ton of steroidal drugs to treat my asthma, the choice is clear.

In any case, I just wanted to share this information with all of you. I wish all of you who struggle with this to be well. If you respond to antibiotics during asthma flare-ups, this could help you.

Here are a few other links (in addition to http://www.asthmastory.com hyperlinked above):


Information For Interested Physicians – Dr. David L. Hahn – http://www.asthmastory.com/research/asthmamdinfov13.pdf

Model Demonstrates Infections Cause of Asthma – ScienceDaily May 25, 2010 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0524161240.htm

Asthma Linked to Chronic Chlamydia - http://www.drkaslow.com/html/asthma-_an_infection_.html

Infectious Asthma Research – Dr. David L. Hahn - http://www.dean.org/Foundation/resea...-research.aspx

Asthma Trial in Community Settings - http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00266851%20

Treatment of Chlamydia Pneumoniae Infection in Adult Asthma: A Before-After Trial - http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00266851%20
Additional Research w/ Several Links: http://asthmastory.com/theresearch/

UPDATES:

Follow-up posts. (It's been a long journey.) - Here and Here. More to come shortly.