nebulizer and inhaler
I was supposed to have an appointment with my doctor soon after being diagnosed but she is on a long cruise. she should be back tommorow. but i have a few questions before my appointment.
I have been on here alot, learning. Also, I read a book, "The secret to thriving with COPD." and learned from that as well.
I have not been staged yet because she wanted me to get things calmed down a bit with oral steroids. I also do brextri twice a day and I have a rescue inhaler which I do not need to use every day.
Over the past few weeks my voice has changed to a feeble old lady voice. my throat doesn't hurt but my voice is affected. is that common and is it from the brextri?
I keep hearing about nebulizers but I don't know anything about them.
I have not been staged yet, but I assumed that I must have been in a deep depression which caused me to be unable to be up for more than ten minutes. I was constantly coughing and phlegmy
but if there is one thing I am good at, regretably, it is denial. lol
I'm going to go ahead and tell my story now.
I am still smoking one cigarette a day. when I smoke it my stress and blood pressure immediately go down and then gradually builds again until my next cigarette.
I am Autistic but was not diagnosed until my youngest son was. I could never figure out why I was so weird and different until I found out I am Autistic. I was so relieved to discover my unique differences were not because of character flaws.
My childhood, bot at home and in public was horrible. All sorts of abuse and no one would believe the "retarded little spaz."
When I was 8 years old, because of it all I developed selective mutisn, which in no way is ELECTIVE mutism. I understood everything that people said but could not "find the words" to speak.
I tried so hard to talk because my lack of speech just gave everyone more excuses for how they treated me. 7 years passed.
In real life and on tv shows I often saw women holding a cigarette and asking whoever was around them, "got a light?"
3 words, that's all I needed. I practiced them alone and stole[which is a big deal for an Autistic because we are generally such "rules" kids.] Vantage cigarettes from my father and learned to smoke.
By the time I asked someone for a light the first time, it wasn't difficult to continue the conversation. [Research decades later showed that nicotine could stimulate synapses in the brain, so I'm sure that had a lot to do with it]
No longer mute, over the next 5 decades I tried to quit smoking numerous times. I was always afraid I would lose my ability to communicate and that was just one reason I returned to smoking.
Now, I have COPD. I have a disabled adult son [he is also Autistic, but that is NOT his disability] who needs me to live as long as possible. there are others I love but he is my biggest concern.
So, almost a non smoker. I have decided when I am ready to give up that one a day that I will probably need to continue nicotine for the rest of my life. I'm okay with that.
I know this is rambly. I am nervous and it is difficult to put my words together with such a drop in nicotine. sorry
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Hello young lady. I will try to answer some of your questions. Your voice change could very well be from the Breztri. Breztri does contain a corticosteroid. You need to gargle and rinse your mouth after using it because the corticosteroid can cause thrush. If you are not gargling and rinsing, I suspect this could cause your voice change. A nebulizer is a liquid dispensing medical device that gives you a vapor to inhale rather than a aerosol. I have never used one, but it is my understanding that is allows the user to absorb more of their medication using one. Instead of an inhaler, you would be getting ampules of liquid medication that the nebulizer would then produce a vapor for you to inhale. Your stage of COPD will be determined by a PFT test. This test is done by a machine that you basically inhale and exhale into for measurement of lung function. Your measured results will determine your stage of COPD. As far as nicotine goes, there are plenty of nicotine replacement products available. Patches, lozenges, gum, etc. Talk to your medical team to help with that. Smoking even one cigarette a day can really make your COPD worse. Constant coughing and excess mucus sounds like a COPD flare up. Smoking even a single cigarette can cause that for some people. Depression needs to be treated by a medical professional. My mother was a manic depressive, so I know all about what that does to a person, and none of it is good.
Nicotine is probably the most addictive drug in our world. And probably the hardest to quit. I quit smoking about 12 years ago, but continued the nicotine with nicotine pouches. I slowly weaned the amount of nicotine down until I quit. That was 4 years ago. But to this day I still crave nicotine. I just don't give in to it. I am very sorry to hear of your dealing with your autism and your son's medical problems. It is hard enough to deal with one's own medical problems. Having to worry about your son and being there for him is a very large burden to carry. You need to talk to your medical team for advice on how to handle your nervousness and nicotine addiction. Maybe research getting some counseling to help with dealing with all the stress you are going through right now. I wish there was more I could say to help and wish there was more I could do to help. Take care and God Bless!
