Do you have any warning signs before a flare up?
This is a question that I'm posting on behalf of our community member South Paw. They write:
"Speaking for myself, I find that an exasperation is scary as hell because there is little, or no advanced warning of it coming. It hits you from left field like a freight train and leaves you lying on the tracks. With every other sickness, there seems to be a signal. We all say, "I think I am coming down with..." and it manifests itself almost on cue. But no such warnings that I am familiar with where an exasperation is concerned.
I am not sure if this is the same with some, most, or all other folks that experience them, but I am curious as to anything someone else may have noticed as a 'tremor' before the quake they care to share."
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Excellent forum topic. I can feel when I have a flare up coming on. Sometimes I can stop it and sometimes I can't. Usually it starts with breathing becoming harder. Mucus production increases. Coughing increases. Mucus color changes. If I catch it soon enough, I contact my medical team and get antibiotics and prednisone to stave it off before it becomes a full blown flare up. There have been a few times I was too late and ended up with a flare up. I have gotten my doctor to give me prednisone prescription so I always have some on hand. I have used it a few times to stop the inflammation of a flare up before it had gotten out of control. The times I haven't stopped a flare up were catching the flu and catching a cold over the winter months. The oak pollen season here in South Central Texas is really miserable. Pollen counts in the 25,000 range and there is not much I can do to stop that except stay indoors. That seems to cause the most problems for me. I am getting better at avoiding flare ups. I continue that quest daily. Take care all and God Bless!No need to thank me -- I'm just the messenger here! I'm sure appreciates your insight. How wonderful that your doc allowed you to have prednisone on hand ... what a difference that has probably made many times over for you! Self-knowledge and knowing when it's time to see the doctor, call for help, etc is such an important part of managing COPD. I was only in my teens when my grandmother had most of her COPD journey, but I remember tuning into the way her cough would change, or when she would cough up more mucus. Or she'd complain that her oxygen wasn't working well that week. We could all see the exacerbation coming. She was generally a good patient, but her mantra was "I'll wait and see." It drove my mother crazy and I'm sure it was the source of several ER trips that could have been avoided. Lesson learned: Why wait? It's always better to get checked out and told you're stable, rather than risk waiting too long and face a stay in the hospital. Always appreciate hearing from you. 😁 -Melissa, team member
