I am used to the cold, don't generally have the heating on even during the winter and am rarely known for shutting windows. the joke about do you live in a barn and open doors, sort of applies - it is a converted stable block and we never shut windows. I consider closing the bedroom window if it gets down to -10C, but the truth is, out an about in the countryside, I am far less allergic to what is around me than in a house/city etc and sleep better in a cold tent with a down sleeping bag and down filled mat, than I do in a house in a bed. for me the worst thing I can do is stay in a hotel/B&B. I have to have windows open, have to stay away from smellies. I also don't worry about how slow I am and I know when to say we have to stay put for the day. There are several days in my journal where the entry just says "today did not happen" or something similar. That invariably means I was too exhausted and my reduced adreanal gland issues or my asthma had kicked in and we stayed put to play it safe.
That just shows how personal asthma is. My asthma is best when it's hot and dry. I think I could stop my meds altogether if I spent long enough in the Canary Islands. Hot and humid is OK. My mother was worried about me when we went to Florida in my late teens because damp air has always bothered me, but I was absolutely fine. Same here in the summer. The heat and humidity exhausts me (same as everyone) but it doesn't make my asthma worse.
Cold air hits my lungs and initially leaves me struggling for breath, although that does settle down after the initial shock. If it's very cold (and for me that's more than a couple of degrees below freezing) I start to dry cough, and it doesn't stop until I get in the warm. Damp and cold is worst for me. Our first winter here was the wettest for 60 years, and my chest rattled constantly for about 3 months, and I could barely walk up the stairs, never mind cycle.
I have ideas of relocating to Bulgaria in the future, and winters there are bitterly cold. I've just bought a very thin buff to experiment with when the air's cold. Usually, putting anything over my nose and mouth makes me feel like I'm suffocating (which is obviously purely psychological), so I'm going to try and get myself used to it because I think it's the only way I could manage to live in a cold climate.
I was told when I was a kid that feathers and down made my asthma worse, and I was only allowed synthetic pillows and duvet. Once I was old enough to make the choice to change over to feather, my asthma actually improved, and I now sleep with feather pillows, and a great big, fluffy feather and down duvet.
Regretfully, singulair is one of the meds I am going to have to see my GP about. some of the generic versions contain a variant of lactose in it that I am very allergic to and apparently Singular comes off patent at the end of this month and my prescription says 'monetlukast' rather than 'singulair'. the brand singulair seems OK, as does some of the generic ones, but I have very recently reacted badly to the italian generic montelukast - mild anaphalatic shock from the dairy in it! Why anyone would put a dairy product in asthma medication is beyond me, but there we go.
That's utterly ridiculous. I thought it was fairly common knowledge that intolerance (if not outright allergy) to dairy is very common in asthmatics. Mine is an intolerance, and it isn't severe enough to stop me eating some cheese and yoghurt, but I do stay away from cow's milk. I think my problem is milk protein rather than lactose because I'm not good with whey protein isolate either.
since the coritisol issues from too much inhaled steriods, ironically keeping weight on is the issue rather than loosing it.
That's interesting. Could you elaborate a little on this? Is it to do with your reduced adrenal gland function?
The reason I ask is because my OH is amazed at the amount I manage to eat without gaining weight. I did no exercise at all until about 6-7 years ago, and was officially obese, so I joined a weight loss site that counts calories for you, and got down to a healthy weight through sensible eating and exercise. The only thing was, once I went onto their "maintenance" setting, I continued to lose around 1-2lb a month. I've stopped following the system now - I just try to be sensible with what I eat, and my weight has stabilised - but I found it very hard to give up something that I relied on for so long, and that has done me so much good in terms of getting healthy and fit. I always assumed the amount of calories I can consume without gaining weight was due to me having a high muscle percentage (I exercised hard while I was losing weight, with the deliberate intention of minimising muscle loss), but I'm starting to wonder now.
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