Since the age of seven, I’ve suffered from asthma. Serious asthma. At one point, during high school, I was hospitalized when an attack wouldn’t abate. Another time, when I was about sixteen, I was continuously ingesting such copious amounts of oral asthma drugs that a doctor ordered a blood test to determine how it was possible that I was even metabolizing such vast quantities. Nevertheless, I was able to play soccer throughout high school and college (okay, yes, I was a goalkeeper), but asthma remained, well, a pain in the ass.
Until about two months ago, I’d never once exercised without having to use an inhaler beforehand. But now, quite mysteriously and miraculously, my asthma seems to have–I’m crossing my fingers here so I don’t jinx myself–disappeared.
A couple months ago, when we were hiking around the islands of Lake Titicaca, I noticed that I was exerting myself but not suffering from any breathing difficulties. So I decided to stop using my two inhalers, one of which is for preventative measures and one of which is for relief from wheezing. And, I’m happy to report, I don’t seem to need them anymore. (A side note: the fact that I don’t have medical insurance now and thus have to pay 40 and 80 smackers, respectively, for said inhalers was no doubt a factor in my decision-making process.)
My Ecuadorian friend says living and running at altitude (the physiological aspects of which I commented on back on February 20th) is the reason that my asthma isn’t bothering me anymore. I tend to think that I may have finally “outgrown” the condition.
Another possibility is that I’m not subjected to the same allergens here in Ecuador that I am at home; thus, not only is the “cross-sectional area of my air passages” bigger, but there’s less stuff in the air to irratate them.
Whatever the reason, I’m delighted to be symptom-free (if only for the time being). I’ve run several times and I’ve even done some rather intense sprinting (yes, sprinting). So far, so good. But I’m still crossing my fingers…