not had treatment in a long time, feel like i'm newly diagnosed need help!
i've had asthma for most of my adult life whichi've handled with a variety of methods depending on the severity of symtoms. i'll mention that i get regular PET CT scans for pulmonary metasteses of thyroid cancer; i also have chronic lymphocytic leukemia!
i recently had a new finding on my PET CT which was indicative of inflamatory or infectious process. my oncologist asked me to follow up with a pulmonologist. he wants me to get more CT imaging with a certain protocol but he also wants me to hard core do my neubulizer treatments 2x a day of albuterol and .25 budesonide.
before i was doing an albuterol inhaler an wixela inhaler and not being very good about taking them only when i had a bad exacerbation of symptoms. dusting is really bad and my lungs feel like they are on fire!
i've learned to keep lots of face masks around and if i'm going to do any cleaning i slap one on. this seems to help alot!
thank god i had some xtra tubing (clean and 'new' ie unopened though ordered a few years ago) but its attached to a nebulizer cup with a face mask on it. not used to using a face mask at all. when i used nebulizer before it was always with a mouth piece. i found my mouth piece i'm sure there must be tons of dust on it even though stored in a cabinet under the sink. (i did the wipe test and the old boxes of advair discs were filthy!!)
can i wash the mouth piece (disassembed) in the dishwasher? top or bottom rack does it matter?
funny how i never worried about any of this stuff years ago. probably cuz my oldest daughter had severe childhood asthma and i was struggling to keep her out of the hospital. but things seem to have changed so much since then! i'm using her nebulizer machine. it is literally 33 years old! is that ok? or is it full of dust and i need to buy a new one? and i see now they have things called ultrasonic nebulizers or something like that but you can't use them for inhaled steroids? i need something that does both.
if my old machine will do i'm good with that but god i'ts noisy! i wish there was a quieter option. also there are portable ones now? that would be great when traveling!
i have a second nebulizer machine that was a bit newer and i had bought new filters for it and i have no idea where it is. so i pulled my daughter's ancient one out of the closet dusted it off and used it.
did my albuterol then my budesonide. man my lungs are burning me now! that's how i feel when i'm exposed to dust. i wonder if the machine is just too old to use? too full of dust?
please advise!
Hi there. Welcome to the site! You are going through so much and I hear how concerned you are about the effectiveness of your old equipment. You're doing the right thing by asking a lot of questions and wanting to stay safe!
I want to direct you to your other conversation on your status update, wherehas addressed many of your previous questions, if you haven't already seen it. Here's the link to that.
https://asthma.net/members/rubato456/status/133722
Considering how old your equipment is and the uncertain cleanliness, it is probably in your best interest to look into a new nebulizer at this time. My suggestion would be to call your doctor's office as soon as possible to see if they can write you a prescription right away, so that you can get going on those treatments. You might also consider going to your local pharmacy with some of your questions about the particular medication that you're taking. Some asthma medicines do make people feel jittery or wired, especially when nebulized. Your doctor will be able to give you the best advice about when to do your treatments if you're having trouble sleeping.
We are all here to support you and I'm glad that you reached out to us! Try to take it one step at a time and take good care of yourself. Let us know what you decide to do. -Melissa, asthma team
Hi there
- for the first question you posted above about your mouthpiece and the dishwasher is a good one - and I've found some information for you from the American Lung Association. Yes, you can put it in the dishwasher.
https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/copd/resource-library/how-to-clean-a-nebulizer#:~:text=(The%20tubing%20should%20never%20be,warm%20soapy%20water%2C%20and%20rinse.
Hope it helps.
From what I understand, a nebulizer machine is good for 3 or 4 years and then should be replaced. I believe there are newer models and more efficient ones that would be more suitable than a 30+ year-old machine. I definitely would consider buying another when you have the funds. Considering it made your symptoms worse, I would put thought into getting a new one. I hope you get a chance to read what my colleague,, offers and that you consider contacting your physician for sound advice regarding medication and nebulizer. Wishing you well and a most joyous holiday season. Warmly - Rebecca (community moderator) 
Good morning,
How are you doing today? Have you had a chance to read my response to you, and those of my colleagues above. I am curious what you decided to do? Wishing you all the best. John. community moderator. yes i just did! i have many other medical issues going on right now its been difficult to juggle everything and respoind to emails etc. great suggest5ion about the new machine. i left a messag for my doc's PA just now. hopefully theywill respoid quickly told her it was making syntoms wo4kse to use the mnachine e5tc
It's wonderful news you have been proactive and called your physician regarding a new machine and meds to help with your asthma this season. There is absolutely no need to suffer if a call to your practitioner can help you obtain the necessary equipment and get your medications. Please keep us in the loop and tell us how you are doing ... warm wishes and sending you thoughts of a healthy holiday. Rebecca (community moderator)
