I miss my life before asthma, how about you?
I don't know what it is... but like... I miss my life before asthma. I'd been doing so well with managing it and coping and all of that, but the truth is that I really do miss my life before I struggled with breathing and all of that. I don't really know if there's much else to say about that. I feel kinda stupid for being this way when it's not even that bad... but like, there was a time in my life where I could just breathe and not worry "oh will this cause an attack?" or... you know? Anyone else with late/adult onset asthma feel this way?
Great question. Even though I have early/childhood onset asthma, I can hear what you are saying. I have spent my entire life admiring how others can go places breathing easy and not worrying about remembering their inhaler everywhere they go or, as you say, worrying about "will this cause me to develop asthma." This is the time of year I think of it most, as all my brothers and son will be going to hunting camp and their biggest question is: "Can I get off work." Lord knows it's not THAT easy when you have asthma. This is what I have dealt with all my life, though. I think it would be even harder if you live your life breathing easy and then all of a sudden develop asthma. Looking forward to what others with late/adult onset have to say to your question. John. asthma.net community moderator
My mom claimed I wheezed shortly after birth. Can’t verify that but don’t remember not having asthma. However it is so much a part of who I am that I can’t imagine being without it.Thank you for joining the conversation. Seems to be quite a few of us who don't remember life before asthma. Like you, my mom said I wheezed early on. Hope all is going well for you. John. asthma.net community moderator.
I do. Adult onset asthma hit me like a freight train a year and 1/2 ago. It runs in my family and it took a severe respiratory infection to awaken (probably Covid). Though I am doing pretty well now and there is nothing I can’t do physically, it’s the mucus that challenges me. I’ll have a run where I feel great, then “wham” the mucus shows up and I am miserable (like yesterday). Then when I wake up today, it’s basically gone … go figure. I hang out on several other Lung Health community boards and it could be much worse; reading others’ stories about living with COPD, Bronchiectasis, and other serious idiopathic lung diseases brings perspective. I suspect I had asthma since childhood but was only diagnosed recently. I certainly had episodes where I was short of breath, wheezing or coughing all my life and respiratory bugs hit me especially hard and it took me forever to get over them. That said, I managed very well, and hid how I felt for a long long time. I do miss life before inhalers. I just don’t enjoy that routine. I breathe well now and have few symptoms most of the time but I wish I could be inhaler free every single day. I know exactly what you mean. I’m currently off work with a bad flare up and on steroids and antibiotics. I’ve only been asthmatic for a year and I am painfully aware of how much I now cannot do. I’m a teacher and struggle to do my job because of it. I also used to comfortably run 10k and play solo cornet in a brass band. Now all of those things are really hard work. I have rediscovered my love of baking and have been working on hand making lots of Christmas presents (obviously not during a massive flare up) but I am slowly starting to discover things that I can do now I have the lungs of a 90 year old!
