I had decided not to blog about this ...

... but then I read this post.

I guess Shweta's latest post kinda makes it safe to talk about phlegm.

You, see I've got my phlegm issues as well, I've had them for a couple of weeks. I've had them since my second day in California. Hayward, California is a beautiful place, but I don't think I could ever live there. There must be something about the vegetation in that area that I'm really allergic to, because I had really bad asthma and allergy symptoms while I was there. While I've had a lot of issues with allergies/asthma in my life ( see the first 2 facts in this post ), I've been lucky in the sense that I've never really suffered from pollen allergies or seasonal allergies in places I've lived ( the northeast USA ). This doesn't appear to be the case on the west coast, or at least in the part of the west coast I stayed in this time ( I didn't have any allergy problems when I visited the Bay Area in the summer of 2001, so I'm guessing that the problems this time must have something to do with the air in Hayward ( In 2001 we stayed at Ruth's Aunt Amy's house, which is in a different part of the Bay Area. ). ).

Anyway, the allergies ( and asthma triggered by the allergies ) hit me hard the week I was in California. It's not like I was bed-ridden or anything. I still had the energy to see all the sights, go all over Yosemite ( Being in the thin air of Yosemite for a few days probably didn't help - our cabin was at 6000 feet, and some of sights we traveled to were at about 8000 feet ), and carry the kids when needed - but I could tell something wasn't right. My lungs were in bad enough shape that I had a hard time sleeping. I've never been able to sleep on my back. I always need to sleep on my chest, but that's really hard to do when you are suffering from asthma. When your lung capacity is diminished, it's hard to breathe with your chest pressed against the mattress. So, while I did have a lot of fun on the trip, I was a physical wreck by the end of the week.

I was hoping this would improve when I got home, but I'm still a long way from being 100%. I can still feel phlegm in my lungs with each breath. I noticed early last week that the phlegm was green, a sure sign that I had gotten some kind of bacterial infection in my lungs ( which can happen when your lungs have been full of fluid for a week ). I took antibiotics for about a week, and now the phlegm is no longer green. However, the plhegm is still there, my lungs only feel like they are at 50% capacity, and I'm worried that another lung infection could be right around the corner if my lungs don't clear up soon. I'd really like to avoid taking antibiotics again, because I actually do sometimes get one of the antibiotic side effects that Shweta mentioned in her post.

There are plenty other types of medication I could be taking ( and it's easy for me to get, because I'm married to a doctor ), but I've never been the type of person who likes to take medicine. I've always had this feeling ( whether this feeling makes any scientific sense is another story ) that taking too much medicine will make me weaker in the long-run, by making my body dependent on the medicine. While a lot of people married to a doctor would abuse that privilege by getting their spouse to prescribe drugs for every little ache and pain, I usually only take drugs when my wife pleads with me to take drugs and tells me that I could do long-term damage if I don't take drugs ( Sometime when I have bad asthma, she tell me that long-term asthma symptoms can "re-model" the lungs. I don't even know what that means, but it doesn't sound good. ).

So anyway, with the exception of the antibiotics ( green phlegm scares me ), I've been trying to solve this problem with my lungs naturally. I've actually hit the treadmill a few times this week in an attempt to shock my lungs back into shape by pushing them to their limit. This hasn't actually worked that well. It's led to quite a bit of coughing, though I have managed to run a little bit further and faster each time I've run. However, I've nowhere near being able to run as far and fast as I could right before the Cali vacation.

I'm going to give the running therapy one more try tomorrow night. If I don't see significant improvement in my speed/endurance/lung-capacity, I think will break down and turn to drugs. Ruth has some steroids ( not *that* kind of steriod - the kind that should reduce the inflammation in my lungs ) that she keeps telling me to take. Every time I've taken them for asthma in the past ( about 5 times over the last 10 years ) they've fixed my asthma problems in just a few days. Considering how well they've worked in the past, it's really kind of silly and stubborn of me not to take them now. However, even though I only take them once every few years, I have this irrational fear that my lungs could become dependent on them. Oh well, I probably will break done and take the ROIDS tomorrow. Flu seasons is coming soon, and I really need to make sure my lungs are at 100% in case I catch the flu. I'd hate to catch something like the swine flu with my lungs in this state. In all seriousness, swine flu probably has the potential to kill me when my lungs are this weak, so I'd guess I'd better go ahead and take the steroids.

Take care folks,
Rich