Aging brings changes to one's life

My story starts when I was in my early 50s with a routine work out at the gym and coming home with aches and pains - from the work out. I took a couple of Advil, which I had taken for years.

A few minutes later I started itching and hives appeared, something I had never experienced. A trip to urgent care followed by an ambulance ride to the hospital. A couple hours later I walked out wondering what happened.

A year later I went to see my first allergist. I had an anaphylactic type reaction to NSAID & aspirin. I also started experiencing shortness of breath and the doctor prescribed albuterol. I found out I had developed severe allergies to a long list of routine substances such as grasses. Something I had never had problems tolerating in my earlier years.

Next, diagnoses was mild asthma and severe allergies so I started receiving allergy shots. I completed the 5-year therapy & stopped the therapy. My life was great, allergies gone, for the most part, no albuterol and no shortness of breath. Three years later allergies returned along with shortness of breath, dry hacking cough, bronchitis, a first for me. I discovered I was part of 15% who need to continue with allergy shots indefinitely so I am now taking allergy shots again, Asmanex daily and my albuterol is always close by.

I wonder what is in my future? Will my asthma continue to become a bigger problem for me or will the allergy shots mitigate the disease – I think not.

My mother’s words come back to haunt me…"Growing old is not for sissies"