The Last Doctor's Visit
by Caroline Hellman

Usually my annual physical is punctuated, as I introduced last column, but the asthma flow test. My physician is an internist but he's also a pulmonary specialist--a super great one--so my asthma is taken care of along with my general health at least once a year.

In the past couple of years we've had to adjust my asthma medication a number of times. This began when I stopped swimming competitively in college and began to gain wait--once super thin I ballooned to heavy for a while, and though I've since lost about 45 lbs from the weight I was then, it's taken a while for my asthma to calm down.

This year I am pretty happy to report that it seems to be under control. My flow test went well, albeit with me trying desperately not to laugh the entire time, and I credit this entirely to my increased running. Since I got engaged last January, through my wedding this past summer, and through the present, I've kept up my running, and my breathing is all the better for it. Almost amazingly so. For a while last year, before this all started, I needed Serevent, Pulmicort, Advair, Albuterol...it was a long list. Now I take Advair. I ran this morning and didn't even use albuterol before my run--and that's pretty exciting.

I think the aerobic exercise I get from running does wonderful things for my lungs. It's something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.