I don’t write much about my health, but I have been battling with, well I don’t know really. I get shortness of breath and I don’t have to do anything. Just sitting can cause it, but of course mopping, running, etc. will bring it on quicker.

It has been maintained, so I rarely get out of breath just sitting. But, if I don’t take Advair, then it does return.

 

My Story

Anyway, three years ago testing showed I was allergic to dust mites and their droppings. Gross! It is so hard to keep everything dust free. I dust one day and it is back the next.

Back in 2010 just mopping would cause me to wheeze and it became hard to breathe. I would sit for about an hour and then I’d be okay. The doctor prescribed Singulair, nasal spray, and I don’t remember what. I do remember joking with my husband that we just bought the pharmacy. lol!

I took the meds, except the steroids, they scared me, and I felt better. Yay! I continued to take Singulair. Although the side effects that could happen scared me.

I am not one who likes to take medication. If I have a headache, I will bear with it unless it us unbearable, so I didn’t feel comfortable with all this, but I knew something had to be done.

Well, that fall while coming home from our Texas vacation, I had the worse shortness of breath ever. We had car trouble on the freeway, so we parked next to an on-ramp. We had to walk up the ramp to the convenient store to use the restroom. Half way up the hill, I couldn’t breathe. Speaking was hard too. I managed to tell my son to let daddy know that I couldn’t breathe. Somehow I managed to get to the convenient store. Once rested, I miraculously made it back to the car where I popped an allergy pill. No, I didn’t have an inhaler and had no idea what was happening.

We had to stay in a hotel that night, which we had to walk to. Looking back, I know the Lord was with me because now I couldn’t do that if I were to get that bad again. Now, if I feel any sort of shortness of breath, I freak out. I have to calm myself down or else I make it worse. I hate that feeling…it scares me.

 

Ear, Throat, Nose Doctor

When we got home, we made an appointment with the ENT because I figured they would know more than my doctor. She looked in my nose and told me it was real irritated. She asked what my doctor said. I told her about being allergic to dust mites and what he prescribed me. She gave me a prescription for an inhaler and made a follow-up appointment. I never went back.

I wanted to know what was going on. Why was this happening. I didn’t want to have to take medication the rest of my life.

 

A Year Later

Well actually, 8 months later I decided to do a 10 day juice fast to see if it would help my symptoms. My nose was always stuffed. I was constantly blowing it. There was, a roll of tissue at various places around the house for easy access. Piles of tissue at my feet if I were on the computer or in my bed. I noticed a reduction in phlegm, but not much else.

I gave up dairy, but it didn’t seem to make that big of a difference.

I never used the inhaler until a year later. Our feral cat just had kittens, so we had them in the house. About that time I began to get out of breath again and the simplest of tasks were taxing.

Changing laundry from the washer to the dryer was so tiring. Getting dressed, taking a shower. Now this didn’t happen suddenly, but in about two months time. I was tired all the time. After doing a small task, I had to sit to regain my breath. Talking and eating were becoming a chore.

Finally my husband said enough is enough, you are going to see a doctor. About this time I was getting scared too, so I called the doctor.

 

Hospital

Needless to say, I landed in the hospital. My doctor did a breathing test, which made me cry it was so hard to exhale and it hurt. He also did an EKG. When he saw my oxygen results from my finger, he tried to have me admitted to the hospital. He is so funny, he told me when I get to the ER to act like I am out of breath by breathing hard so that they will get me a bed quick. He said this because when he called, they said they had no beds. I told my husband that that will not be a problem, no acting required. Just walking from the car to the hospital should do the trick.

They did get to me quick, but it was a few hours before I got a room. After two or three days, my lungs were clear. They didn’t know what to say, so they said I had acute asthma. They had me go to a lung specialist. The hospital did take a chest x-ray which came back fine.

Well, the lung specialist said he couldn’t tell me anything because my lungs were clear from my hospital stay. He said if I start to feel bad again to see him. I don’t think I ever did.

Another allergy test confirmed dust mites, but not cats. Hmm. My husband got rid of the kittens while I was in the hospital and cleaned the carpets before I got home.

Our feral cat was an outside/indoor cat. Since her death, we have adopted another cat who is in the house with the occasional walks outside on a leash. 🙂

 

Next Year

After my hospital stay, I had so much energy which was great because it was around Thanksgiving and my family was coming to visit. I was able to entertain without a problem. BUT, in the beginning of December, I felt the problem coming back. Oh no!! We visited the doctor and he gave me a nebulizer and the solution to put in it. I used that for 10 months. I hated using it because of the way it made me feel, numb almost and dizzy. Like all medication, I didn’t like the side effects and I don’t like medication.

I began searching again, tweaking my diet. I juiced, eliminated dairy, sugar, and starches like bread, potatoes and rice. I would see small improvements. The thing is I didn’t stick with it.

 

Bouncing

I felt like I was bouncing from one idea to the next. Maybe I wasn’t giving any one a chance, I thought. I also began taking probiotics and digestive enzymes. I tried Serrapeptase, which I think helped.

Last September I visited the ENT again. I saw the doctor and not his assistant this time. He looked up my nose and said I had polyps. I had an MRI done of my head. Definitely clogged. He sent me home with more meds and an appointment for a follow up visit.

During the follow up visit, he suggested surgery. I declined. I wanted to research it some before I accepted. After researching, I decided against it and my search began to get rid of these things naturally.

 

Present

So, after the holidays of 2012 I began experimenting with different flours mainly. I already used coconut milk and oil. I wanted to eliminate wheat from my diet. This year has been fun as I tried new recipes.

I also thought that maybe sticking to it was tough because it was just me. My family still ate the same. I decided to take them along, the kids at least. My husband is set in his ways. Although he will eat what I make food wise, desserts are a different story.

I did notice my symptoms recede some. I added Vitamin D3 and in May I did a 10 Day Eat Clean Challenge. I had tried green smoothies before, but I wanted to make them a habit and I thought this could help. Well, it did! I still drink my green smoothie everyday. 🙂

So currently, I take a probiotic, Vitamin D3, Fish Oil, and I am trying something called Sinus Wars. I stopped the serrapeptase so I can tell if the Sinus Wars helps any. It is suppose to shrink the polyps.

 

Success

There have been some good results from all of my efforts. The thing is I haven’t been consistent. Wheat hasn’t been a problem, I don’t crave it, but I have had Chic-Fil-A a few times and I have splurged at the Mexican restaurant. The other day I had ice cream, which I can’t remember the last time I ate ice cream.

The thing is I notice the difference when I eat these foods. My sinus pressure soars, my face breaks out, I feel bloated and constipated. This lasts a few days.

My success have been that I can breathe out of my nose a lot easier (since taking the Sinus Wars). I don’t blow it as much. The phlemn has decreased. I take Advair (ENT prescribed) less often, about every two days instead of every day, twice a day.

BUT, I still wheeze after a few days, I still have polyps and my nose is still stuffed, or maybe it is inflamed. I don’t know.

 

Why the Whole30?

Mainly for support and to help me be more consistent, like with the Eat Clean Challenge helping me make a habit of green smoothies.

Once I purge my system, I am hoping to add in foods to see which have a negative and which have a positive effect on me. I *think* oatmeal has a negative effect. It seems when I eat it my face breaks out. Not pimples, but redness on my right side. There are bumps, but they aren’t pimples. It also peels.

 

What Next?

So, there is my story in a nutshell. I plan on beginning the Whole30 in October. I am looking forward to it. Please, if you feel led, keep me in prayer. I really want to rid myself of this problem.

I am not much of a blogger, but I am hoping to blog about my experience. I already keep a food journal, but I want to be more detailed on how I feel after a meal and such.

So, have any of you done the Whole30? I’d love to read about your experience. Please leave a link in the comments so I can visit or feel free to email me. Thanks so much!!

 

Blessings,