Frank wrote:
I feel happy for you that you don't need to take any medication anymore, but I'm also a bit worried - - please be careful. Some meds have a long build-up time and consequently taper off very slowly. You might still have some protection.
Thanks Frank! My experience is usually that things start to get tricky some days to a week after not taking my twice-a-day preventer (inhaled steroids), such as when I've neglected to get a prescription, so it's probably safe enough to say that a tapering-off period has passed. I haven't taken any inhalers since July. But I am of course careful, I have more than enough medication left over, and I still keep a reliever inhaler in bag if just in case, even if I never take it. The most important thing is that my lifestyle is in no way hindered, and any physical exertion (cycling at a good speed or running) I do these days is not in any way limited in comparison to when I take the medicine - stamina seems to be the same and I don't get any more out of breath.
In addition, increased mindfulness might help you to detect signs of constriction earlier than before, thus helping you to relax well before the onset of an attack.
This rings true for me, as the worst thing that usually happens these days is that I notice some slight suspicious constriction or tension and decide to see what happens to it, and eventual forget about it until the next thing I know is that it's gone. I also like the fact that it's a very clear point about the kind of effect it can have, rather than anything schmystical.
I had some supervision from a nutrionist and she was adamant that the overall diet is very important. She pushed me to be vegetarian (not 100% successful, I have to admit, I still eat meat from time to time). She also highlighted that I should definitely cut back milk. According to her, milk is responsible for many inflammatory processes, including allergies. So I think you are doing yourself a favour with being a vegan / vegetarian.
You and Tom are rightly making me consider this more seriously – when I prepare food for myself, I basically don't have any dairy; milk alternatives on my breakfast cereal every day has been consistent, although one meal a day might have some milk product in it. Which may mean that it's not significant enough for any asthmatic inflammation to develop. I'll keep myself under observation.
Thanks!