Wednesday, May 22, 2013

How to spot a bronchodilatoraholic

By Rick Frea, Health Pro Wednesday, October 29, 2008

 

That in mind, we bronchodilatoraholics created an unscientific definition of bronchodilatoraholic.

You might be a bronchodilatoraholic if you do five or more of the following:

  • You habitually take five puffs in a row instead of two.
  • You keep a spare at all the places you might need it (school, work, car) and they are all almost empty.
  • You don't wait the five minutes between puffs.
  • You find yourself sneaking around corners to use it.
  • It feels like a security blanket.
  • You have to have your inhaler in your possession at all times.
  • You have anxiety when you do not have one on you.
  • You use it when you think of it rather than when you need it.
  • You sleep with it in your grasp or under your pillow.
  • You use it while driving.
  • You use it when you are irritated at your spouse or girlfriend.
  • You keep puffing regardless of side effects.
  • If you ever think you should cut down on your puffing.
  • People call you a "puffer-head."
  • You feel guilt about using your inhaler so much.
  • You have strong heart palpitations and are afraid to go to sleep.
  • You are jittery or nervous due to puffing too much.
  • Family members make excuses for you.
  • You use it and your ARE NOT an asthmatic.
  • You can't resist the urge to puff.
  • You use it to get out of something (gym, yard work, household chores).
  • You use it to gain sympathy from others.
  • You get up in the middle of the night scrounging the house for the one you lost.
  • You spend hours trying to get one more puff out of an empty canister.
  • You call a buddy and ask to use theirs.
  • You have lost inhalers all over your house (stuffed in the cushions of the couch, under the bed, in the car, behind the refrigerator).
  • You trade your favorite baseball card for an inhaler.
  • You end up in the ER because your inhaler ran out.
  • You often say, "I never leave home without it."
  • You use it as a stress reliever.
  • You go to the hospital afraid the RT learn you took too many puffs.

 

Before I moved to my new home a few years ago I had a large, black garbage bag stuffed with my old inhalers and nebulizers. I even had a dozen or so Alupent inhalers and even a spinhaler. In that bag was probably every color and size inhaler ever made.

Unfortunately, when I moved to my new home, I accidentally mistook that bag as garbage and threw it away. I'm still mad at myself for doing that. Otherwise it would make for a pretty impressive picture for this blog.

 

Now, after reading this post, you should be able to pick a bronchodilatoraholic out of the crowd. Just listen for the puff-puff. Or, if after reading this post you decide you too are a bronchodilatoraholic, now you know you are not alone.

 

Not all bronchodilators are just abusing their inhaler out of habit. Some are hard-luck asthmatics who just need help breathing often. Others, like I was, are regular asthmatics whose asthma is out of control. But be careful; you become an abuser when you use the inhaler more out of habit than necessity; when you ignore the directions your doctor gives you and when you don't bother to work on as asthma action plan with your doctor.

By Rick Frea, Health Pro— Last Modified: 06/18/12, First Published: 10/29/08