Real Patients: Medications
Patients describe different medications they use to treat their asthma symptoms.
Medications
It’s very important for me to take my medications on a regular basis. For one to maintain and to control my asthma, but two not to have any of those asthmatic episodes or be hospitalized — because I haven’t been taking my medications.
Working with my primary care physician, he’s kind of worked with me and we’ve gone through many medications and kind of finding what works best for me and my lifestyle.
If the doctor says take … take your medicine twice a day two puffs, you do it twice a day two puffs … not once a day, not three times a day. You have to do it exactly as the doctor has prescribed.
I use the inhaler … wow… lately it seems like two or three times a day. But I may go, during the summer, I may go all summer and not have to use it at all.
I’m an RN in a hospital. I work on a really busy floor but with the medications that I take, with the inhaled steroid, I don’t really use my inhaler at all during work. I don’t feel the need to, although I am running around all the time.
I check my peak flow meter, which basically I blow into a plastic tube to see how much air I’m pushing out. And based off the number that I get I take, you know, two to four puffs prior, you know, 30 minutes prior to exercise. And that helps me to breathe while I’m out there doing that also.
If I’m exercising, I will have shortness of breath. It will be harder for me to exercise and after I’ll have wheeziness. So what I do is take an inhaler a half hour before I work out and that pretty much gets rid of all of my symptoms.
The main management plan for myself that I’ve worked out, along with my provider, deals with keeping it under control with medications, with the inhaled steroids and with the albuterol, as necessary, with the smoking cessation and diet and exercise. Those are really the four ways that you can control your asthma.
Do what you’re told as far as taking your medications. Don’t skip that. Stay vigilant and keep it under control and just don’t let it … let it control you. You control it.