- My well-being lulled my vigilance
- I don't train anymore
- From inspiration to inhalation
- Every asthma is different
- I'm like a shark
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It appeared suddenly and quite abruptly, manifested as a shortness of breath that woke me up from sleep. Terrible feeling, lack of air, breathing half-heartedly, anxiety and finally panic appear, because something is happening that I do not understand and that is life-threatening.
- This attack of breathlessness was caused by the chlorine I inhaled last day in the pool - says Beata Kalista. - Consultation with several doctors, and finally with a pulmonologist, gave a clear diagnosis - bronchial asthma. I also learned that my asthma did not come as suddenly as I thought, but it was developing at its own pace, year by year.
My well-being lulled my vigilance
When I was 21, I was diagnosed with an inhalation allergy - says Beata. - Tests showed allergy to grass pollen, grains, hazel, poplars and horse hair. When spring came, then summer, I struggled with watering eyes, sneezing and hay fever. Appropriate drugs blocked the symptoms, I desensitized several times, until the second pregnancy made my allergy stop, the symptoms almost miraculously disappeared.
My well-being put my vigilance to sleep. I felt so good that, as a physically active person, I decided to improve my condition and return to my original figure two years after giving birth. First, twice a week, then five times a week, I trained in the gym, two hours each day. I joined swimming for relaxation and regeneration.
The progress was significant and I had never felt stronger and he althier before. Until the aforementioned post-basin night. Tests, consultations, research, diagnosis, shock, anger, protest, powerlessness. This is roughly how my life with asthma began.
I don't train anymore
Beata's respiratory efficiency decreased year by year. This made her quit playing sports.
- I haven't trained for five years, he says. The weak breathing distracted me. I thought more often about the fact that during training I would get breathlessness again and I did not focus on the exercise technique. Swimming is also a thing of the past, because my condition has decreased. What was and what made me feel he althy, strong, and in a strong condition, is now only a memory.
Despite the change in lifestyle, limitations and giving up what I loved, I am alreadyI reconciled with my condition. At first it was not that simple, I asked the doctor hundreds of questions to understand the mechanism of the disease and to find the error that had brought me into this state. Now, years later, I know what I did wrong and that if I hadn't neglected regular desensitization, maybe my bronchi would not have been damaged.
It is very possible that I also helped myself by smoking, although in stages, incidentally, not for years, as others do, but with breaks, but I think it also mattered.
Someone may say "you exaggerate, people smoke and they don't have asthma", they may not, but in each organism a different factor determines whether and to what extent a given disease will develop. For me, smoking is an obvious mistake of youth and I would not consciously repeat that.
From inspiration to inhalation
- Now I live and breathe thanks to a steady, regular dose of inhaled steroids, he says. - When it comes time to pollen, I add anti-allergy medications. When, however, autumn and winter come and the air smells of fireplace hearths, smoke from chimneys, or finally smog, I limit my visits to the so-called "Fresh air", because such walks make me feel worse.
Well, unless I'm at the B altic Sea. For years, trips to the seaside have been like staying in the best sanatorium. Here I can freely breathe air saturated with iodine and free from allergens, but I do not stop taking inhaled medications, it would be a reckless action. When I realized that my asthma would never leave me again, and when my mind took control of my emotions, I started looking for information about the disease. I visited the website dedicated to asthma, recommended by my doctor, "Asthma School", there I found the basics, the necessary alphabet for asthmatics.
I also decided to look for a support group where I would meet people with a similar he alth problem. Two years after my diagnosis, I found a group of asthmatics on Fb. It wasn't quite numerous, but I saw many different entries from people who, it turned out, had much more respiratory problems than I did. A good few years have passed since then, the number of people in the group is growing.
Each of the forum participants suffers from asthma. Some from childhood, others fell ill in adulthood, still others have sick children, but there are also those who get sick for a generation. Some have asthma under control, others not at all, which then initiates their stress and triggers panic, which aggravates the symptoms of asthma, suffocates, makes the breathing shallow, even imitates heart attacks with pressure in the chest.
In such situations, access to a doctor, calm, matter-of-fact conversation, often changing doses or medications is the only sensible solution, andI admit that the descriptions show that access to a good recommended pulmonologist is still rare.
Every asthma is different
I am lucky to have a good doctor and one who answers questions. After all, who asks does not err, and I already know from practice that you need to ask, preferably at the source. As I mentioned earlier, I had a lot of questions. For example, those that come back to me from time to time, when I read various comments on the forum regarding physical activity in asthma, because you can easily ride a bike, you can swim, you can exercise in the gym, you can run marathons and finally hits, because skiers from Norway had asthma and they won medals!
Yeah … I was very frustrated by such statements, but that was once. Now I have the words of my pulmonologist in my head: "every asthma is different, because we are also different" and I stick to that. Yes, physical activity is important and very advisable, but one will be able to, the other will not, someone will be able to walk in the mountains, run, swim.
I will not go to the swimming pool, because the presence of chlorine in the air makes my breathing worse every moment. So, equipped with knowledge and my experiences, I find the optimum that secures me with movement and oxygen. I start each day with a "puff" and end each day with a "puff". I use the third dose as needed. I don't go anywhere without my inhaler and a water bottle to gargle my throat with. It's an asthmatic alphabet.
When I feel discomfort in the trachea, I use nebulizer inhalations. I visit a pulmonologist twice a year, check my he alth condition and adjust the doses of medications. Such behavior protects me both medically and mentally.
I'm like a shark
I consciously gave up my social life, meetings, in a smaller or larger group, where I can smell perfume, cigarettes or coffee. These fragrances, which are nice for he althy people, are terrible for me. They are dangerous for me because they strongly irritate my bronchi. Just a moment … I'm like a shark in the water that can sense a drop of blood. My sense of smell is as sharp as ever, it is my natural defense against harmful "smells".
Deteriorating breathing quality also causes stress, irritation and nerves. I have experienced such a situation several times, the nerves have it worse, you have to remember about it. The pandemic that we all face now has also changed a lot. It is both easy and difficult for me. Easy, because the mask isolates me from harmful odors. However, it is difficult, because apart from cigarette smoke, exhaust fumes and perfumes, we are also chased by SARS-CoV-2.
I know that it can hurt my breathing a lot. I walk twicea day with my dog, whatever the weather. The dog has fun and a portion of exercise, I have my dose of good breath, not restrained by a mask at the moment. I also practice at home so as not to completely rust.
And when I can, I pack my suitcase, take the child and the dog and go to the B altic Sea. It definitely heals me mentally as well. And it is also easier to breathe there, because there is less smoke, smog, fumes and grass. I think I have found my optimum, which I sincerely wish all asthmatics. I accepted my asthma, learned to live with it, although it changed my life quite a lot.
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