Peak Flow with me

Anyone who has ever been diagnosed with asthma has come in contact with a little contraption called the peak flow meter. The PEAK flow meter is a way for a person to measure their peak expiratory flow, that is how forcefully a person can exhale. Why is this important? Because the chief issue with asthma is the decreased ability to exhale oxygen depleted air and make room for the next inhale of oxygen rich air. This is what makes asthma dangerous and even deadly. That is not to say that being unable to inhale is much better; it's just not asthma.

I recently went to see my allergist and was asked "What was your peak flow during the exacerbation?" "I don't know..." "Have you been using your peak flow meter?" "No, because it doesn't always work for me. Sometimes I'm having trouble breathing but my peak flow is normal." "Well then, how did you know it was your asthma and not something else?" Like I've told you before, I am NOT an ideal patient...

Now I've had similar conversations with my pulmonologist, and have discussed that my lack of peak flow findings could still be asthma but that my coughing pushes the meter to normal levels; it's often a difficult call. However, the point of the peak flow meter is not just to determine whether an episode of exacerbation is truly asthma, it's really meant to forewarn of impending issues and lack of control and/or indicate when things are on track. It's more likely that when I find that my peak flow is decreasing that I have an indication that my asthma is starting to kick up so I can call my doctor and have them adjust my treatment accordingly before I actually have a full blown attack.

There are also a number of health conditions that mimic asthma and that you can have simultaneously  with asthma. It is not at all uncommon for someone to have acid reflux or vocal chord disfunction along with asthma. Constipation can even make it difficult to breathe. Anxiety attacks can mimic or bring on asthma. So it's important that if you have symptoms of anything that also mimics asthma that you use a peak flow meter to help your doctor determine what's what.

So I'm turning a new leaf. I'm trying to keep better track of my peak flow. It's not just important for me, it's important for the information that I provide to you! How am I to know if my new habits are helping if I don't see good consistent results in my peak readings? Now unlike my water drinking habit, I'm finding this one more difficult... probably just being stubborn. However, if I make it known to the world wide web that I am going to try to do at least one peak flow reading per day maybe it will help me along!