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The asthma wins again
I have mild asthma, which in theory should be dead simple to control. The standard treatment is inhaled steroids, but sadly they end up wrecking my voice, so I ended up taking Salmeterol which is a slow release bronchiodilator. It's overkill. When I started taking it, it was to enable me to sleep during the winter when the asthma used to kick in during the night. I didn't use to need to take anything at all during a good summer.
The trouble is that salmeterol (and all bronchiodilators such as Ventolin - salmeterol) have a sting in the tail. The body becomes dependent on them. Over time, they can actually make your asthma worse.
Whenever I go to an asthma clinic (which they like you to do at least once a year), the nurses throw their hands up in horror - taking salmeterol without an inhaled steroid is totally against the rules. Once in a blue moon, they persuade me to try a new brand of inhaled steroid.
I've just been trying Qvar which is supposed to be very mild, extra fine aerosol, etc. Even used it with a spacer to reduce the impact as it hits the lungs/vocal chords.
Using a combination of that and ventolin (at much lower doeses than the salmeterol is equivalent to), I've keep off the salmeteterol for several days and still been able to sleep.
But it's no use, the voice is going. It was a little croaky yesterday, but this morning it's really rough. I find I'm already starting to avoid talking unless I really need to.
Time to write off yet another asthma treatment.
It'll probably take around a fortnight for the voice to recover. Let's just hope I'm able to filk safely by Novacon.
PS. for those new to this journal, the clanger is a voice warning icon. If the voice gets really bad (as happens from time to time), then I can be reduced to doing clanger imitations down the phone, as whistling becomes safer than talking. If the clanger appears, don't phone me unless you're prepared to do most of the talking with just the occasional whistle to show that I'm actually listening.
The trouble is that salmeterol (and all bronchiodilators such as Ventolin - salmeterol) have a sting in the tail. The body becomes dependent on them. Over time, they can actually make your asthma worse.
Whenever I go to an asthma clinic (which they like you to do at least once a year), the nurses throw their hands up in horror - taking salmeterol without an inhaled steroid is totally against the rules. Once in a blue moon, they persuade me to try a new brand of inhaled steroid.
I've just been trying Qvar which is supposed to be very mild, extra fine aerosol, etc. Even used it with a spacer to reduce the impact as it hits the lungs/vocal chords.
Using a combination of that and ventolin (at much lower doeses than the salmeterol is equivalent to), I've keep off the salmeteterol for several days and still been able to sleep.
But it's no use, the voice is going. It was a little croaky yesterday, but this morning it's really rough. I find I'm already starting to avoid talking unless I really need to.
Time to write off yet another asthma treatment.
It'll probably take around a fortnight for the voice to recover. Let's just hope I'm able to filk safely by Novacon.
PS. for those new to this journal, the clanger is a voice warning icon. If the voice gets really bad (as happens from time to time), then I can be reduced to doing clanger imitations down the phone, as whistling becomes safer than talking. If the clanger appears, don't phone me unless you're prepared to do most of the talking with just the occasional whistle to show that I'm actually listening.