Low Carb and Asthma

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peachea
peachea Posts: 92 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have asthma since childhood. It went away and came back when in my 30's. Been hospitalized twice since age 38 for it. Even quit smoking (i know I know) because it was so bad. Still couldnt breathe. Was put in Advair 500 bid plus rescue inhalers as needed. Had to take a puff every morning up until last week because I wake up and go to bed grasping for air.

Last week, I cut out grains, flours, table sugars. Lowered my carbs to 50 gms a day for a week.

Guess what....?

I havent had a need to puff on an inhaler or take any meds whatsoever this week. I can breathe normally again. Really???
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Replies

  • kimosabe1
    kimosabe1 Posts: 2,467 Member
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    I am severe with asthma and they put me on breathing treatments that really help. I just breath through a machine for about 5 minutes with albuterol and it's better.... U should ask your doc about it.......
  • azrrt76
    azrrt76 Posts: 59 Member
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    I have asthma since childhood. It went away and came back when in my 30's. Been hospitalized twice since age 38 for it. Even quit smoking (i know I know) because it was so bad. Still couldnt breathe. Was put in Advair 500 bid plus rescue inhalers as needed. Had to take a puff every morning up until last week because I wake up and go to bed grasping for air.

    Last week, I cut out grains, flours, table sugars. Lowered my carbs to 50 gms a day for a week.

    Guess what....?

    I havent had a need to puff on an inhaler or take any meds whatsoever this week. I can breathe normally again. Really???

    I'd put my money on the grains....perhaps a wheat allergy? Whatever it is, I'm happy for you!
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
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    I have asthma since childhood. It went away and came back when in my 30's. Been hospitalized twice since age 38 for it. Even quit smoking (i know I know) because it was so bad. Still couldnt breathe. Was put in Advair 500 bid plus rescue inhalers as needed. Had to take a puff every morning up until last week because I wake up and go to bed grasping for air.

    Last week, I cut out grains, flours, table sugars. Lowered my carbs to 50 gms a day for a week.

    Guess what....?

    I havent had a need to puff on an inhaler or take any meds whatsoever this week. I can breathe normally again. Really???

    you shouldn't go off the advair just because you feel better! The advair probably just kicked in finally.

    I am pretty bad too--I am on advair 250/50 BID, singulair 10mg QD, then rescue inhaler before exercise ( or when I need it) and I have a nebulizer at home with albuterol to breathe through it if I need it.

    Fall of 2011 was HELL for me. I got bronchitis in September, which caused a flare, which caused ANOTHER case of bronchitis, which caused another flare...so basically I was on antibiotics, prednisone and various inhalers from Mid-september until Christmas. For the last year I have been 95% compliant with my medication...and I have been on prednisone 2x in a YEAR ( vs 4x in 4 months).
  • KevDaniel
    KevDaniel Posts: 449 Member
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    I have heard of this happening, very possibly you are sensitive to gluten or some other wheat related issue. That is awesome news though!! Honestly even if you eat carbs there is zero reason to ever consume pasta..
    I have asthma since childhood. It went away and came back when in my 30's. Been hospitalized twice since age 38 for it. Even quit smoking (i know I know) because it was so bad. Still couldnt breathe. Was put in Advair 500 bid plus rescue inhalers as needed. Had to take a puff every morning up until last week because I wake up and go to bed grasping for air.

    Last week, I cut out grains, flours, table sugars. Lowered my carbs to 50 gms a day for a week.

    Guess what....?

    I havent had a need to puff on an inhaler or take any meds whatsoever this week. I can breathe normally again. Really???
  • peachea
    peachea Posts: 92 Member
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    I am severe with asthma and they put me on breathing treatments that really help. I just breath through a machine for about 5 minutes with albuterol and it's better.... U should ask your doc about it.......

    Oh I have the breathing machine, all the albuterol packs, and was on it forever. The advair worked best for me. I have no health insurance so no docs for me :)
  • peachea
    peachea Posts: 92 Member
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    I have asthma since childhood. It went away and came back when in my 30's. Been hospitalized twice since age 38 for it. Even quit smoking (i know I know) because it was so bad. Still couldnt breathe. Was put in Advair 500 bid plus rescue inhalers as needed. Had to take a puff every morning up until last week because I wake up and go to bed grasping for air.

    Last week, I cut out grains, flours, table sugars. Lowered my carbs to 50 gms a day for a week.

    Guess what....?

    I havent had a need to puff on an inhaler or take any meds whatsoever this week. I can breathe normally again. Really???

    I'd put my money on the grains....perhaps a wheat allergy? Whatever it is, I'm happy for you!

    yep thats exactly what I was thinking. A lot of other symptoms have gone also like swelling, joint pain I've had etc.
  • peachea
    peachea Posts: 92 Member
    Options
    I have asthma since childhood. It went away and came back when in my 30's. Been hospitalized twice since age 38 for it. Even quit smoking (i know I know) because it was so bad. Still couldnt breathe. Was put in Advair 500 bid plus rescue inhalers as needed. Had to take a puff every morning up until last week because I wake up and go to bed grasping for air.

    Last week, I cut out grains, flours, table sugars. Lowered my carbs to 50 gms a day for a week.

    Guess what....?

    I havent had a need to puff on an inhaler or take any meds whatsoever this week. I can breathe normally again. Really???

    you shouldn't go off the advair just because you feel better! The advair probably just kicked in finally.

    I am pretty bad too--I am on advair 250/50 BID, singulair 10mg QD, then rescue inhaler before exercise ( or when I need it) and I have a nebulizer at home with albuterol to breathe through it if I need it.

    Fall of 2011 was HELL for me. I got bronchitis in September, which caused a flare, which caused ANOTHER case of bronchitis, which caused another flare...so basically I was on antibiotics, prednisone and various inhalers from Mid-september until Christmas. For the last year I have been 95% compliant with my medication...and I have been on prednisone 2x in a YEAR ( vs 4x in 4 months).

    oh yes I should lol. Im nearly 44. Been on the advair for 6 years. I hardly doubt it 'just kicked in'. Besides, it's not something that takes away the asthma, It only controls it. To actually wake up with air in the lungs, is better than weight loss. The goal is ---no meds.

    Id have to say that this is a much better alternative. Plus I have no health insurance so my advair for a 30 day supply was costing me $250.
  • azrrt76
    azrrt76 Posts: 59 Member
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    I have asthma since childhood. It went away and came back when in my 30's. Been hospitalized twice since age 38 for it. Even quit smoking (i know I know) because it was so bad. Still couldnt breathe. Was put in Advair 500 bid plus rescue inhalers as needed. Had to take a puff every morning up until last week because I wake up and go to bed grasping for air.

    Last week, I cut out grains, flours, table sugars. Lowered my carbs to 50 gms a day for a week.

    Guess what....?

    I havent had a need to puff on an inhaler or take any meds whatsoever this week. I can breathe normally again. Really???

    I'd put my money on the grains....perhaps a wheat allergy? Whatever it is, I'm happy for you!

    yep thats exactly what I was thinking. A lot of other symptoms have gone also like swelling, joint pain I've had etc.

    Like the above poster stated, don't go off your Advair!

    Have you read the book, "Wheat Belly"?
  • xilka
    xilka Posts: 308 Member
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    Both my son and I stopped having problems with asthma when we cut wheat from our diet.
    We didn't cut it completely, but we definitely stay away from white bread.
  • peachea
    peachea Posts: 92 Member
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    I have heard of this happening, very possibly you are sensitive to gluten or some other wheat related issue. That is awesome news though!! Honestly even if you eat carbs there is zero reason to ever consume pasta..
    I have asthma since childhood. It went away and came back when in my 30's. Been hospitalized twice since age 38 for it. Even quit smoking (i know I know) because it was so bad. Still couldnt breathe. Was put in Advair 500 bid plus rescue inhalers as needed. Had to take a puff every morning up until last week because I wake up and go to bed grasping for air.

    Last week, I cut out grains, flours, table sugars. Lowered my carbs to 50 gms a day for a week.

    Guess what....?

    I havent had a need to puff on an inhaler or take any meds whatsoever this week. I can breathe normally again. Really???

    Well I'm not ruling anything out as of yet. It was just a small NSV that I noticed. I will still hold on to my meds in case of other issues. For instance, Ive always had exercise induced asthma, so will see how that goes on Monday at the gym but as far as the wheat allergy, yes I think thats a huge proponent. I just really believe the lack of wheat in my diet has cleared this up.
  • peachea
    peachea Posts: 92 Member
    Options
    I have asthma since childhood. It went away and came back when in my 30's. Been hospitalized twice since age 38 for it. Even quit smoking (i know I know) because it was so bad. Still couldnt breathe. Was put in Advair 500 bid plus rescue inhalers as needed. Had to take a puff every morning up until last week because I wake up and go to bed grasping for air.

    Last week, I cut out grains, flours, table sugars. Lowered my carbs to 50 gms a day for a week.

    Guess what....?

    I havent had a need to puff on an inhaler or take any meds whatsoever this week. I can breathe normally again. Really???

    I'd put my money on the grains....perhaps a wheat allergy? Whatever it is, I'm happy for you!

    yep thats exactly what I was thinking. A lot of other symptoms have gone also like swelling, joint pain I've had etc.

    Like the above poster stated, don't go off your Advair!

    Have you read the book, "Wheat Belly"?

    Will see. My mom has that book, She told me about it. I will check it out now, Thanks!
  • Brianna72994
    Brianna72994 Posts: 887
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    It's probably the grains! I know someone already said this, but maybe you have a slight wheat allergy. I used to have asthma really badly, and it improved when I stopped eating so much grains. I also started taking allergy meds to help with that.

    I see an asthma specialist twice a year and he recommended some things that have helped me so much! If you have any pets, do not let them sleep in your room/bed, NO carpets in the bedroom (they collect pet hair) and put dust covers on all your pillows and your mattress. If you're allergic to dust, it really irritates your asthma. That may be the reason you're waking up and not being able to breathe! I had that same problem months ago
  • sarahrbraun
    sarahrbraun Posts: 2,261 Member
    Options
    I have asthma since childhood. It went away and came back when in my 30's. Been hospitalized twice since age 38 for it. Even quit smoking (i know I know) because it was so bad. Still couldnt breathe. Was put in Advair 500 bid plus rescue inhalers as needed. Had to take a puff every morning up until last week because I wake up and go to bed grasping for air.

    Last week, I cut out grains, flours, table sugars. Lowered my carbs to 50 gms a day for a week.

    Guess what....?

    I havent had a need to puff on an inhaler or take any meds whatsoever this week. I can breathe normally again. Really???

    you shouldn't go off the advair just because you feel better! The advair probably just kicked in finally.

    I am pretty bad too--I am on advair 250/50 BID, singulair 10mg QD, then rescue inhaler before exercise ( or when I need it) and I have a nebulizer at home with albuterol to breathe through it if I need it.

    Fall of 2011 was HELL for me. I got bronchitis in September, which caused a flare, which caused ANOTHER case of bronchitis, which caused another flare...so basically I was on antibiotics, prednisone and various inhalers from Mid-september until Christmas. For the last year I have been 95% compliant with my medication...and I have been on prednisone 2x in a YEAR ( vs 4x in 4 months).

    oh yes I should lol. Im nearly 44. Been on the advair for 6 years. I hardly doubt it 'just kicked in'. Besides, it's not something that takes away the asthma, It only controls it. To actually wake up with air in the lungs, is better than weight loss. The goal is ---no meds.

    Id have to say that this is a much better alternative. Plus I have no health insurance so my advair for a 30 day supply was costing me $250.

    well, hopefully you are right! All I know is that I have been struggling with my asthma for the past 14 years ( I developed it when i was pregnant with my daughter). I was always kinda laid back about medicating it. Even the doctor said that he knew darn well that I only used my albuterol when I had no other choice. Until last year, I had never had an inhaler run out before it expired! I had to get serious when I got so sick, so short of breath that I literally had to pull over while driving--I had coughed so hard that my vision was going fuzzy around the edges! I learned my lesson and now follow the plan the RT laid out for me.
  • peachea
    peachea Posts: 92 Member
    Options
    It's probably the grains! I know someone already said this, but maybe you have a slight wheat allergy. I used to have asthma really badly, and it improved when I stopped eating so much grains. I also started taking allergy meds to help with that.

    I see an asthma specialist twice a year and he recommended some things that have helped me so much! If you have any pets, do not let them sleep in your room/bed, NO carpets in the bedroom (they collect pet hair) and put dust covers on all your pillows and your mattress. If you're allergic to dust, it really irritates your asthma. That may be the reason you're waking up and not being able to breathe! I had that same problem months ago

    well whatever it is, I'm going to pay more attention to the cause now instead of the solution first. Glad you have improved also. I dont dare say it is completely gone, but it has drastically improved sans wheat so I'm very happy about this. It's quite liberating.
  • Indyimp
    Indyimp Posts: 75 Member
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    I have asthma. I had a Doc that refused to test me for allergies, just told me to lose weight and put me on Advair which didn't help me. After we moved and my children got diagnosed with their food allergies we started eating differently. We had to get rid of all nuts and weren't allowed to eat them ourselves because the baby was so allergic. I went from taking my rescue inhaler 2-3 times a day to about once a week or so. After accidentily being exposed to nuts I had one of my sudden asthma attacks where the inhaler didn't help, I got fatigued, and my throat itched. My Dr. had me tested and sure enough I had a treenut allergy that had gotten worse after the last pregnancy. I still have asthma and need my inhaler, but much less frequently.

    Also, my daughter was diagnosed with a wheat allergy (not gluten, but to the actual wheat protein itself). While researching that I found out that while gluten sensitivity is much more common a true wheat allergy is pretty rare. It is very rare in adults. When adults have a wheat allergy reaction it is often excercise induced. I know a runner that had trouble with it.

    I think allergies and sensitivities can have a lot to do with asthma. I like knowing what to cut out to feel better :) I'd talk about it with your Doc just to be sure that that is what's going on.
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
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    I have very mild asthma and very bad allergies. Sad to say I haven't noticed a difference. I'm still sick as a dog when the weather gets warm.

    Happy for all of you that it helps, though!
  • Nan_
    Nan_ Posts: 83 Member
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    I agree with the others, it's probably an allergy. I was diagnosed with asthma and using an inhaler four times a day. They put me on Singular and Flovent which helped but I was still using an inhaler every other day.

    Then I started getting allergy shots for my allergies and that got my asthma completely under control. I still have to take the allergy maintenace shots once a month, and still take the Flovent and Singular but I can go months and months now without needing an inhaler (unless I get a cold or something).
  • Indyimp
    Indyimp Posts: 75 Member
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    I have very mild asthma and very bad allergies. Sad to say I haven't noticed a difference. I'm still sick as a dog when the weather gets warm.

    Happy for all of you that it helps, though!

    Yeah, I hear ya! I am still on Zyrtec for my environmentals. I still get all those. Even with the Zyrtec I get so stuffed and clogged i can't hear hardly at all during the fall and spring. 38 yrs old and getting tubes in my ears soon! Lol

    Environmental allergies suck!
  • alexia_faith
    alexia_faith Posts: 32 Member
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    It certainly sounded like an allergy... Fantastic that your feeling better :) It sucks to feel that breathless and useless when an episode happens. Dont know if I could give up the pasta though ... :)

    I too am an asthmatic (following a wonderful episode of pneumonia 3 years back)

    Im on QVAR 50 (2 puffs AM, then 2PM) as well as Ventolin when I have an attack. Thankfully I havent come across any food alltergies. Its more a pain in the bottom then anything else, as the steroids i have to take come with the beautiful side effect of weight gain

    Any one got any advice on that front? seeing as ive been floating at 156 - 160 for 18 months now without respite)
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
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    I have asthma since childhood. It went away and came back when in my 30's. Been hospitalized twice since age 38 for it. Even quit smoking (i know I know) because it was so bad. Still couldnt breathe. Was put in Advair 500 bid plus rescue inhalers as needed. Had to take a puff every morning up until last week because I wake up and go to bed grasping for air.

    Last week, I cut out grains, flours, table sugars. Lowered my carbs to 50 gms a day for a week.

    Guess what....?

    I havent had a need to puff on an inhaler or take any meds whatsoever this week. I can breathe normally again. Really???

    Inappropriate immune response may well be but it's a leap of faith for people to be amateur diagnosing allergies. You cut out most of the pro inflammatory foods in your diet and asthma is an inflammatory condition so not at all surprising. Try adding in oily fish daily, a pile of non starchy vegetables and low sugar fruits in the full rainbow of colours for a further anti inflammatory/ immune calming effect. You also need some mineral and fibre rich foods - if you choose nuts and seeds rather than starchy carbs limit the omega-6s because most are pro inflammatory. It's disappointing your medical team have not mentioned to you before the links between nutrition and asthma/ eczema/ hayfever.

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