NEWBIE

[ApolloTJ]

Hello! I'm a newbie and need some guidance. Some background-- 35yo female, fairly active, ex-smoker (day #9!!!). I had smoked for 10 years no more than 1 pack a day for about 5 years, the rest was 1/2 pack or less a day--menthols. I am also a part time horse-shoer (farrier) which is an extremely physically demanding job. Last fall I had  trouble breathing while working on some client horses. SEVERE sweating-- I mean drenched!! Couldn't catch my breath and heart rate skyrocketed. Once I stopped it took about 10 minutes for my heart rate to come down and over 1/2 hour for breathing to relax. I felt sick for the rest of the day afterwards. This continued to happen only when I was trimming horses. In February I joined an intense fitness class. The first day we did sprints and I almost passed out. I called the doc and they said it may be exercise induced asthma, gave me an albuterol inhaler and asmanex 220mcg 2x day. It really didn't help too much. I kept up the exercise programs and was very very tired but ok enough to continue; however, trimming horses kept getting worse--with or without the albuterol inhaler. I let the asmanex run out after 30 days. Nine days ago I nearly passed out again so I smoked my final cigarette and decided to quit playing the denial game and went back in. My peak flow test was at 310 L/min and it should be between 485-506 for my age and height. I am back on asmanex and the albuterol inhaler. I don't know when I should be using the albuterol since I feel like **** all the time now, my chest is tight and breathing is labored. I know that part of the chest issue is not smoking and my lungs are healing. How serious is this? Could it be COPD? What does the asmanex do? How often can I safely use the albuterol? Will this get better over time? How in the heck can I afford this medicine with no insurance? I am scared to death of not being able to breathe. I have more horses to trim this week and I don't know if I should wait another week for my lungs to heal a little more? Any advice would be great. Thanks!

[ApolloTJ]

Thank you so much for all of your tips. Yes, they asked about an EKG, but with no insurance we decided to try the asthma meds for a week to see if there was improvement. I go back in tomorrow for a check up. I spoke with the Dr.'s office today and they said I should have been taking the albuterol inhaler 2 puffs every 4-6 hours since last Friday. That seems like an awful lot to me?! I have improved a little bit with the peak flow-- averaging around 360. The best I had was 390 and that was in the AM on Monday. I am feeling a little better. Still not smoking ! Yay! Thanks for the support. That is a great idea on the nasal spray when I am done with the horses. I go out for more trims on Sunday this week and I will try it! As far as inhalers go, which SHOULD be more effective in the long run, the Asmanex or Albuterol? Thanks again!

[Tammy2009]

Maybe think about getting tested for horse based allergies too, and thus making sure there is no allergies being added into the mix.  

I have heard from other people posting on forums and friends that after you stop smoking you tend to feel worse for a bit as your body heals itself.  Take care of your body by eating a lot of fruits and veggies, staying away from alcohol and smoking.  

Look into using a sinus saline rinse (like a neti pot) after working to get rid of all the **** you breathe in (the smoke, metal bits and whatever the horses have growing on their hooves).  

Awesome job and keep up the no smoking :D   -pats back-

[ChitChatNine]

HI and WELCOME. You've gotten excellent advice from our previous poster.   Did they do an EKG?  I'm not a Doctor, but I think they should rule out any type of heart issue given the symptoms you've described.  Did that come up at all during your visits to be aboslutely sure all is ok in the cardio dept?

C~

[Victoireh]

Hi, have you had any spirometry tests? Yes, you are right to question if it is COPD based on our smoking history.  A good test would be to go on a steroid inhaler,  and see if your peak flow numbers recover substantially. If there is stubstantial improvement, then you can declare it as asthma. COPD would not show such reversibility. But you should certainly work on this with your doctor to confirm a diagnosis. The peak flow numbers you quote are based on the average person of your height and age. You have to know what your best peak flow is in order to know how well your lungs are doing. As each person is different. But I do agree 310 is pretty low, and your doctor should make attempts to improve it. I'm glad that you're making efforts to quite smoking, as that is a step in the right direction to help heal your lungs. Cigarette smoke actually paralyzes the little hairs in your airways and prevents them from doing their job of moving the mucous and any other junk out of your lungs.
Take care.