Asthma is Back
by Caroline Hellman

It's like clockwork. For whatever reason, whether it's environmentally related--cold weather/moldy leaves/whatnot, or not, every year my asthma gets worse at this exact time.

Ringing in the New Year means that my asthma has gotten progressively worse since my birthday at the end of November, and that I need to increase my medication, which I really dislike doing. I already take Advair regularly to keep my asthma in check, and during the summer and fall I can even decrease the Advair dosage. But come winter I have to admit I need it, and sometimes need to add Pulmicort. I'm not a big fan of doing this as it's a frustrating acknowledgement of a need for medicine, but if I want to breathe without rasping I don't have much of a choice.

Tomorrow I will call my doctor, a pulmonary specialist, and tell like it is. He'll probably tell me Pulmicort is back in action. Oh well. At least this year I've continued running and kept my weight in check, so I've ruled out those two possible causes. Is a move to southern California in order? I guess we'll see.