Saturday 1 March 2014

Being Busy Topical Steroid Withdrawal

So I've had an extremely busy week this week. On Sunday 23rd Feb we made the 2.5hr journey northbound to visit my family, of which I'm pleased to say I managed to drive all the way there AND back without asking Shane to take over! I haven't been able to do that for a very long time as driving can really take its toll on me. Especially in more recent times where I've been a slave to the itch and unable to concentrate on anything that requires lots of focus.

When arriving at my Mum's house, which was a little bit dusty because she'd just had a new boiler fitted, I found my skin react a little bit to the dust and the cats but my asthma was very controlled. I don't think I took my inhaler at all and I was there for around 7/8 hours. However, when staying at my Uncle's house that night I could not stop wheezing. I was taking my inhaler literally every hour (I know, I know that's improper use) and ended up having to take my steroid inhaler which I haven't needed for well over a year. It really upset me but my asthma was fine the next day so not sure if it may have been a delayed reaction to the dust and the cats or what. Very strange.

The next day we journeyed up to Edinburgh for a couple of days of much needed quality time away from everything. We had such a lovely time and got a lot done, including visits to various museums and even the zoo! My skin took a bit of a beating from the wind and sporadic rain, much to my annoyance, but it was more the fact that it had gone dry due to the weather conditions that I had a flare.

Looking a bit haggard but I was excited really!


I was slightly worried about choosing where we would stay when I initially booked the trip. We don't have a great deal of money so I decided to just book it as cheaply as possible as after all a hotel is only really needed for its bed to sleep in. For this purpose I just decided to go with Travelodge as I know they're budget friendly and generally clean and uniform. However there have been instances where the room hasn't been 100% clean and this worried me a great deal when I was committing to book as I noticed they now allow pets to stay. They do charge extra to allow for the extra cleaning, but as I say, the rooms in previous hotels of theirs haven't always been spotlessly clean so I was a bit concerned but I am getting better so it wouldn't have resulted in a huge reaction, yet as I was trying to avoid such circumstances to make my stay as painless as possible it was a hindrance. For anyone with really severe allergies I probably wouldn't look to stay with them any more.

On the evening that we traveled back to my family I was very hesitant about going back to my Uncle's house because of how my asthma had been the previous stay, but I had nothing to worry about as I slept like a baby. Stupid asthma.

The following day we drove back home with one of my dear friends in tow, who was staying overnight with us so I could finally show her Lincoln. It was a joy to have her stay over, even if I was rather exhausted from gallivanting to Scotland and driving long distance. It might not sound much but when you've been pretty cooped up and housebound for a long time, having such a busy week can take its toll on you, but I am determined to keep the momentum going! In fact I only had yesterday evening to relax as today we are off to see Shane's parents for a race he is running tomorrow. No rest for the wicked!

I also should mention that I managed to share a bed with Shane too which is a huge thing, even if I do scratch a lot and he does breathe loudly through his mouth! Heh.

Hope everyone is doing alright!x

3 comments :

  1. Hi Jenny. Congrats on the trip away and hitting some milestones (ie sleeping in bed with your partner after months and months - huzzah!) I'm very curious to see if you have any more "encounters" with your steroid inhaler. In December, at my 15 month mark of TSW, I went to my inlaws and had to use my sister in law's rescue inhaler for the entire week I was there, my first inhaler use at all since starting TSW. When I came home, I puffed once on my steroid inhaler and then again about a week later. After the second puff, I got super tight and so did another puff .. .and then another and another. Four days later, I was so much worse than when I had started and scared that the inhaler wouldn't work anymore for me! I've come off it and am still slowly getting my lungs back in working order but it makes me question if I can't even do an inhaled steroid anymore. What a mess this all is! Good luck! - Mandy

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    1. Hi Mandy, thanks for your comment! That sounds interesting regarding your uptake of the steroid inhaler. I still take my salbutamol one daily but haven't had to use the steroid one since. I'm trying to lessen my use of the salbutamol by telling myself it's all in my head and I can calm down the wheezing myself. It's bad enough that we used steroids for the skin but when it comes to the lungs, that's a different ball game altogether as asthma can kill if not controlled. Hope you manage to cease usage soon! x

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  2. Wow Jenny, delighted to see that you are enjoying yourself.You look really well:)) Hugs, Aoibheann x

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