A Thing I Learned About My Asthma Treatment and the Rest of My Body

That was a long title! Thank you for staying with me.

This past month has been an education, for sure.

When James got laid off, he got a stipend to pay for COBRA (a continuation of his work-provided healthcare) for three months. That ended on August 31.

We're all pretty healthy, but D and I are on a few prescriptions, including two pretty expensive meds (one each). Mine is my maintenance inhaler.

For many years, I just didn't have access to a maintenance inhaler because of the cost. They're several hundred dollars every month! I would get the albuterol rescue inhalers ($30 per month, except when I and friends/family bought them in Mexico) and had to use them at least once a day, and usually closer to 4 times per day. It sucked, but it was relief and I appreciated it.

Indeed was the first company that offered family insurance at a low enough rate that we felt like we could swing it. Soon after that, I started on a maintenance inhaler and it was an absolute game changer. I kept my albuterol, but only needed it on particularly bad allergy days. 

I was on Flovent for about 3.5 years, then my insurance stopped covering it. I was upset but they offered an alternative in Pulmicort. I switched, but after a few months, I could see that it wasn't as effective for me. I was having to use a rescue inhaler a couple of times per week, much more frequently than I was used to.

Just as I was about to contact our insurance about other alternatives, they reached out to me to say that Pulmicort was being discontinued (and apparently Flovent was also discontinued at the beginning of 2024). 

This time, I was switched to Wixela, which is a generic version of the meds combo in Advair.

This one seemed weird because instead of being an atomized liquid, it is very powdery. I didn't always remember to rinse out my mouth after taking the other inhalers, but I definitely remembered with this one. 

I took it for probably a year before we lost our insurance. The sticker price for the inhaler is over $300 a month. Even with a discount card, it was more than $100. Just not feasible.

Fortunately for me, I had backups of both the Pulmicort and the Flovent because when they refilled, I typically still had some left. I decided to start with the Flovent, which was older, mostly because it actually worked for me. My hope was that by the time I ran out of Flovent, we would have insurance again.

A week or so after I ran out of the Wixela and returned to the Flovent, my daily intense bouts with acid reflux returned. I was on Prilosec for about five years because otherwise I was awakened by painful burning in my throat one or two nights per week. You're only supposed to take Prilosec for 2 weeks because it can cause bone loss and kidney issues, but your girl has to sleep.

However, as I realized that I had bone loss and kidney stress from the hypercalcemia that comes with hyperparathyroidism, I stopped taking Prilosec in the first quarter of this year. I was still having some acid reflux, but never the tear-inducing wake-you-up pain of before, and I was able to treat it with normal antacids (which did not put a dent in my GERD before). Side note: my symptoms improved noticeably after my parathyroid removal.

As my acid reflux became more prevalent and intrusive, I googled "Flovent and acid reflux." It's not common, but some asthma medicines can relax the lower esophageal sphincter, thus allowing acid to travel up the esophagus. 

Desperate to keep my asthma at bay while still being able to do things like sit down and go to sleep without having my chest on fire, I searched and was able to find a way to get the Wixela for $50 a month at a pharmacy more out of the way than the one we typically use.

Would I have been willing to pay $50 at the beginning of this experience? Meh. Probably not. If the Flovent had worked as well as it used to AND I hadn't had acid reflux, it would have been fine. But from here on out, I'm going to pay my 50 bucks and thank my lucky stars that our insurance jerked me around so much with different options so that I found this one!

I took the Wixela yesterday and was able to lie down last night and sleep all night with zero burning. So, yay! Some people try to avoid medicines at all costs, but, man, the quality of life that some of them offer is just an absolute miracle. Big Pharma? Boo!! But I can't quit them because they're truly just so so good at what they do.

But, seriously, they're not resolutions

There are several things I've mentioned lately that I'm working on, and thought I'd take this time, as I'm waiting in the Walmart automotive department to get a brake light changed out (more accurately at the moment, waiting for other people's auto repairs so they can get to my car to change out the brake light), to provide a couple of updates.

First: environmental stewardship.

I wanted (vs. needed) one new shirt, and coincidentally got a sales code in the mail from a company I frequent. I had loaded my basket with several things, which made the average price per item $7 including shipping. Then I thought better of it. I know a lot of people who use PoshMark to sell their used clothes, and that's easier for me than sifting through stuff at Goodwill (where you can't set parameters like brand and style).

Shipping on each individual item seems to be about $7.25. I don't know if that's a site standard (eBay started mandating some shipping prices several years ago, but I don't have any experience selling on PoshMark so couldn't say for sure), but it made the price of the shirt higher than I wanted to pay. I made an offer that was significantly lower than the listing, and the seller accepted it.

I ended up paying $22 including shipping for a shirt I could have gotten for $6 on clearance at the store from whence it came. Furthermore, it had tags on it. I get that sometimes people buy clothes they end up not wearing, so if I kept a new shirt out of a landfill, cool. But if people are just snatching up clearance clothes to sell for a profit on PoshMark, that's not disincentivizing churning out fast fashion, so it kind of negates the whole point.

I'd try ThredUp, about which I've heard positive things... but I rarely need an "outfit" or a clutch or shoes that aren't Crocs.

I guess I'll just do Goodwill next time?

In better news: I filed our taxes about a week and a half ago and already got the refund! Woo hoo! The solar panels are PAID OFF! That's a huge relief, and I'm still so glad we got them. This was the cloudiest, coldest month so far, and our bill was still just $55, compared to $120 last year (and $20 of that is the flat delivery charge, which we'll have even if we don't use any power... which won't happen, because night).

And in very personal better news, I'd decided to be more mindful about my albuterol usage. I was often using it six times per day, and there's no doubt that each time I used it, my chest was tight and my breathing was labored... but it wasn't always a full-out asthma attack. I wanted to see if I could put off using it until later, and maybe at all.

I have two main triggers for my asthma: allergies and stress (I am also reactive to certain combinations of humidity and cool air when I'm outside doing cardiovascular stuff, but that's not super common). Since we have 3 cats, to which I am allergic, I use the inhaler more at home than anywhere else.

The stress thing is often when my sweet son is being super "interactive" and either keeping me from getting something done that I need to do, or just encroaching on my space in a way that makes me claustrophobic and anxious. I figured that maybe during those times, I could wait it out and see if it passed when the stress passed.

I would never pass on using my inhaler when I was on a walk, or doing something that was strenuous enough to require deep breaths, from which I could not take a break to see if I could head off an attack.

I don't know whether it's that delay or just circumstances, but it's been 3.5 days since I've used my inhaler at all. That's a HUGE deal! I did have to hit it pretty hard when we got back from the weekend in San Antonio, while my body got used to being home again. But after that first day and a half or so... it's been smooth sailing! Hopeful that I can continue to manage it like this! (And don't worry: I'm not going to put myself in danger. I'll use it when I need it.)

Finally, I spent a good part of the week culling books from various rooms (not James's, of course), trying to consolidate and get rid of two rickety bookshelves in our living room. Mal and I made a Half-Price Books run and earned a whopping $13 for our full cart of books. That was enough to buy him a set of modeling clay that he wanted, pizza pretzel bites that I wanted, and macaroni and cheese at the mall food court for Mal (I had a free drink as a loyalty reward).

We actually recycled books I'd decided not to take to Half-Price Books because they were chewed up, or just so old as to be irrelevant (a book on space travel from 1983, etc.). Then I moved some books into Mal's room, some into our living room shelving, and was able to put the old shelves out on the curb yesterday morning. They were gone by this morning!

Good riddance!

Now we're just waiting for our carpet to recover from three years of being mushed by the trim. I hope whoever took them does something amazing with them!

The truth is that we could get rid of this much stuff twenty times and only start to see a dent in the "extra" crap we have. I'm ruthless, but live in a house full of people who develop emotional connections to items with which they have a history. I have a theory that we could empty D's closet and it would not impact anyone's life ever, but... alas. I even know that there's an old iPad that's sticky from maybe melted Silly Bands? iPad doesn't work; case is useless due to the melted rubbery garbage, and the hamper in which it rests is full of stuff D hasn't touched since we moved into the house.

But, it's not my stuff so I'm not in charge of that. Feel pretty good about what we've gotten done so far, though! Early spring cleaning, I guess.

James just messaged me that they're heading my way for us to meet for dinner across the parking lot. Have a great week!

Welp, That Sucked

Aaand, I think we're back.

We were all on the mend, but then last weekend, I CRASHED hard. I was nauseated, fatigued, and just felt "not right." I mean, it was worse than when I was actually sick.

Mal and I made it to church Sunday, but I had to cradle my head, and when I walked, I felt like my legs were melting out from under me. I was dizzy and exhausted, even though I'd "slept" almost 12 hours. I was sleeping most of the time, actually. I stumbled in the house after church, fell into bed, and slept all day. Mal took a little nap with me. Then we went to bed at like 8. And I never felt rested. Just gross and off and wrong and like I was going to die.

A little research and I think I figured it out: Steroid withdrawal. I was only on them for 5 days, which isn't supposed to require "tapering." But I think my body just stopped producing cortisol, and it took three good days for it to get back up and running. NEVER AGAIN.

So that's two things I'll never do again: 1) Flu "swab"/stab. 2) Oral steroids.

I've had a steroid shot before when I couldn't kick an asthma attack; that's still on the table. But, man, it was NOT worth it to take the pills. Big "no" on that. Do not recommend.

We've spent the week easing back into life. It's weird to have "lost" so much time. I don't like it. Plus, it was really overcast and the air pressure felt too high, though that might have just been a residual headache from the meds.

I think we're back to 100%. I hope so. I rarely get sick, and this was not a nice, quiet way to while away a quarter of a month.

Now I'm trying to get our taxes done so we can pay off our solar panels. The life of a home-owner is super glamorous (read: expensive).

The houses on both corners around us are almost complete, and I'm looking forward to it being quiet around here again. Also looking forward to the tax assessment this year, because so many vacant lots have sold in the past 12 months, we'll have a much easier case arguing that our lots are worth about 3/5 the amount the county has assessed the past two years.

Review: Clear Lungs Herbal Supplement

This is just a cut-and-paste is a review I left on Amazon, but I needed to share it with you! The link to the product, called “Clear Lungs” is here https://www.amazon.com/Clear-Lungs-Classic-Label-Capsules/dp/B00014CZV2: . You’re welcome. 

I'm one of those people that doctors constantly scold about over-using my Albuterol rescue inhaler. I do this because the maintenance asthma inhalers are ridiculously expensive, even on my insurance. So, though I'm typically skeptical of herbal solutions, between the effectiveness of Lysine when I feel a cold sore coming on and the strength of these reviews, I tried this.

I took it for a week and felt a little difference, but still had to use my inhaler twice a day (down from about 6 uses), first thing in the morning, and right before I went to bed. Otherwise, I was wheezing through the night. I decided to try to add back in a daily allergy pill (in this case, the CVS version of Zyrtec), which hasn't been effective as an asthma deterrent in the past. After a week, I wasn't using the inhaler on a daily basis, or even at all.

I have three cats, and I'm allergic to cats; I live in central Texas and between the "cedar" and other beautiful but pollen-rich greenery around here, every season is allergy season. But I'm able to do strenuous housework, go for a brisk walk, and even clean out the pigeon loft with the dusty straw and not require a puff to finish the task! It's amazing!

Two weeks ago, I went out of town for one night and forgot to take the pills with me. By the time I got home, it seemed too late in the day to take the pills, so I decided to wait and take them again the next morning. The following two days were BRUTAL. I sneezed, my chest seized up; it was actually WORSE than it had been before, or maybe that's what I had gotten used to? It took three days for the supplement and allergy medicine to build back up in my system, but now that I'm back on track, I'm NEVER going to miss another day again!

It's truly incredible!