"Um," I said, "Is there, like, um, a long-term problem with using too much Alupent?"
He calmly said, "There are far worse consequences to not being able to breathe than there are consequences to overusing your inhaler."

So I thought, "I guess you don't mind if I use my inhaler as much as I do. It must be relatively safe. Cool. Now I can get back to not worrying about it."

In 1991, when I was 21, I was introduced to Albuterol. This new medicine, I quickly learned, didn't cause palpitations like Alupent . I, in turn, became an Albuterolaholic.

I went to college and ordered four inhalers in the first month at the college pharmacy. The campus pharmacist became the first and only person EVER to corner me about my bronchodilatoraholism.

He said bluntly, "You can't be using this inhaler this much."

"My doctor knows how much I use it," I humbly said to him. "He's cool with it."

And this lead me to the point where I used an inhaler in one day.

Again, I cannot write here that all bronchodilatoraholism is abuse. Some people have asthma that is difficult to control, so they may need their rescue inhaler more often than asthma guidelines might recommend.

Yes, I made some unwise decisions when I was a child. Perhaps my doctor and even parents made some unwise decisions too. But the ultimate goal for all of them was to do what they thought was best for me, and that is why my doctor continued to renew my bronchodilator prescription, and why my parents allowed me to carry it.

Armed with the latest asthma wisdom and new preventative medicines such as Advair and Singulair, the adult me has his asthma controlled.  I have turned into a gallant asthmatic.

The best part is, unlike when I was a kid, I now CAN leave home without my rescue inhaler. In fact, I hardly even think of it anymore.

I hate talking about myself, yet in Bronchodilator's Anonymous we learn that talking is good therapy. So, you might ask, why then have I taken the time to tell this story? I wrote this because I know for a fact I am not the only bronchodilatoraholic.

Since you won't read about bronchodilatoraholism in any book, some of my fellow bronchodilatoraholics and I have defined and compiled a list of the signs of bronchodilatoraholism. I will reveal this list in my next post.

What kind of asthmatic are you? Check out the 11 Asthma Personality Types