Hi randygirl,
Actually this is my first post on this site. I am a 67 year old grandma. Hello to all of you that deal with asthma. I was first diagnosed with asthma 5 years ago. Believe I have had it for some time in a mild form. Even when I was young, I used to run track and found it hard to recover from short races at meets and in grade school. Didn't continues running because it became to difficult, walking and hiking worked much better. Never gave it much thought until about 6 years ago. Noticed that I had trouble climbing a slight incline.
Then I had walking pneumonia in summer of 2004. Big revelation, I have asthma and COPD. Then to top that off I also had a clogged coronary artery. NOW I carry a med list, asthma meds, record of where my stint is and nitro for my heart. Most of my family and friends really do not understand just how much effort it takes to just keep on keeping on. I speak up if someone doesn't believe me. Just state the facts of my condition and tell what I can and can not do. Treat it as a mater-of-fact part of your life. Most people understand.
I will not give up, I just put one foot in front of the other everyday. In the mid 70's I was diagnosed with discoid- lupis. Biggest problem with that is fatigue and staying out of the sun. Now have seen research articles that say that lupis may lead to heart disease. Go figure. My mother wonders why I am the one of my siblings to have so many diseases. Some of my aliments do run in the family but not all. Am still trying to figure out why my immune system is so compromised.
I guess the best thing to do, is to do things that you are able to enjoy while you can. I used to have a "someday self", that has now become a to do list or "My Bucket List". I am crossing things of the list slow but sure.
Learn as much about your asthma and whatever else you suffer from so that you can talk to your doctor in an informed way. Try to communicate better to everyone. My biggest symptom from all the steroids, and most embarrassing, is crying at the drop of a hat. Even commercials.
Just hang on and remember that you are sure not alone. Talk about how you feel to someone you trust or your doctor. Believe me I have learned it is better to be open about how you are doing than hold it in.