Asthma.. I hate you

I am tired of my body being a drama queen about allergens. You want attention drama queen? Then stop freaking out about little irritants and we'll work out more. Working out more we can ditch the weight we packed on from the multiple steroid treatments from the drama queen episodes. 

I wasn't diagnosed with exercise and allergy induced asthma until my teens. As a teen it rarely bothered me at all. I kept my inhaler for the 4-5 times a year I had an issue. I usually only needed it on days the PE teacher made us run the field when it was windy and full pollen season for pine trees. You could watch the clouds of pollen bursting off the trees as the wind hit them.

As I have gotten older and had more children my asthma has become a lot easier to trigger. I've never needed asthma maintenance medication before.  I am now on my second trial of medicine types. The unpredictable periods I got from taking Advair made me hate life as well as anemic. Getting your period every 4-5 days will do that to a woman. My doctor switched me to Singular pills and Qvar inhaler.  The Singular puts me to sleep within an hour of taking it. I can deal with going to sleep after taking my pills. The problem now is that the Qvar makes me have an asthma attack every time I use it. I am prescribed to take two puffs of Qvar twice a day.  Being that dependent on rescue treatments puts me back into the category of having uncontrolled asthma again.  Plus they have done nothing for me when I get triggered in the middle of the day.  Sitting in church if a woman with a strong flowery perfume sits too close, then I start wheezing. 

I really need to make another appointment, but I hate the whole doctor's office experience.  Sitting in the waiting room and wondering what illness is lurking on the chairs.  Last time my kids went to the pediatrician for shots we left with the stomach flu. I mostly hate going to the doctor as I am always afraid they are going to want to give me a shot or draw some blood. I REALLY hate needles.

Time to put on my big girl panties and just do it.  I really miss working out and with my asthma as bad as it is I can't even make it through the warm ups.

It's not Cancer!

I spent the summer just enjoying my family. My recent cancer scare made me take time to enjoy the moments I had with my kids. I was grateful all I experienced was a scare.  There are so many families who cancer is their scary reality.

I went to my doctor appointment only to have the doctor chew me out for not getting it checked sooner. The doctor even told me that it looked like cancer. (I didn't tell any of my family members this as it was scary to hear that.) I waited in silence for two more weeks. Then one morning I got the phone call.  My results were in and it was a non cancerous growth.  I admit, I cried.

After experiencing that scare I want to spend the summer with my kids. My oldest daughter is turning 18 in the Spring and entering her Senior year. My youngest enters kindergarten in the Fall of 2017. The cancer scare made me realize that time is passing far quicker than I want. I need to step away from everything and just enjoyed being a mom for some time.

In some ways this scare was draining but also a wake up call to do more things that fulfill us as a family.  It has made me more grateful for the moments when they are driving me crazy. When the toy boxes upended with toys spread everywhere or music blaring with a single song on repeat; I remind myself there is a mom somewhere that would give anything to have this moment again.  

Mom Not Taking Care of Herself

As a mom I don't pay enough attention to my own health.  It was brought to my attention by my doctor that in 10 years I've seen a primary care doctor only two times.  All my other medical care has been pregnancy related in that time frame.

Now for the scary part of this blog post.  I have two questionable spots on my skin, one is a pinkish spot on my chest with a raised border and the other is a brown flaky spot on my arm.  After forcing myself to go to the doctor for my asthma I got a referral for a Dermatologist to check out this spot.(overpriced HMO hoop jumping)  I've had this spot for far longer than I should admit to, all while mostly ignoring it broken up by moments of panic during middle of the night hours when I can do nothing about it. (insomnia)

I don't know what the spot really is and google is not my friend. Skin Cancer! Just reading that possibility made me think back on all the many times I got a sunburn.  Living in Las Vegas for most of my life, I mostly ignored my skin as a kid. As I got older I applied sunscreen constantly.  It may not have been enough with the damage may have already been done.
As parents we need to impress upon our children the need to wear sunscreen and not just when we apply it for the pool like I was taught. It needs to be a healthy habit, just like brushing your teeth.

I finally made the appointment to see a dermatologist about the spot. The appointment is not for 3 weeks though.  With the end of the school year upon us I really struggle with making time for me. With only 2 weeks left in school my kids are starting to feel the struggle to pay attention and stay on task.