WE INTERRUPT THIS PROGRAM...

For those that don't know, for most of my life I had on-again/off-again bouts with asthma. I don't remember how early it started, but I can remember being younger than 10 and having breathing problems. I was put on pills for the longest time - not that I would take them as prescribed - until I started to use albuteral inhalers. Again, I would never use them as prescribed. Most of the times they would say take two puffs every ___ hours, wash, rinse, repeat. I would only really use my inhaler if I needed it, which meant, if my breathing was getting bad. I've used inhalers all the way through to my thirties with pitstops along the way to use something called Seravant (Seravent?) as well as Advair. You know, that purple circular disc pump thingy. I could dance in a tap concert for two hours and be totally fine. But then I would walk to my car, sneeze, and my asthma would kick in. I never really knew if it was seasonal based, exercise based or allergy based. It would trigger for any number of reasons. And on a handful of occasions it would be bad enough to wind me up in the emergency room.

So why am I writing all this? Because I just read the following news story:

Inhalers prescribed for serious lung disease may increase the risk of deadly heart problems, say researchers. Trials on more than 15,000 patients found inhaled anticholinergic drugs increased the risk of heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular death by 58%.

You can read the rest here.

Now. I get that this story is talking about a different kind of inhaler. I suppose. But I want to relate a story for anyone using inhalers for asthma.

Earlier this year, I did the Master Cleanse/Lemon drink diet. I am not a vegetarian. I am not a vegan. I am not into any holistic way of life at all. But for ten days, I did the Master Cleanse (except for the saline flush part. ew) and not only did I lose 15 pounds, but my addiction - yes that's the word I want to use - to inhalers went away. My asthma moved to a point that my body is now able to heal itself. Let me say that again:

My asthma is almost all but gone.

For weeks after the Cleanse, I didn't even realize that I hadn't used my inhaler. And when I did realize it, it dawned on me that the inhaler was probably keeping my body from healing itself. Do I still get "wheezy"? Sometimes. Do I feel short of breath at times? Sure. But I no longer rush to the inhaler to fix it. I let my body do it's own work.

If you don't have asthma, you haven't experienced the fear you can sometimes have when an attack sets in. The shortness of breath, the gasping of air. It's not fun. But another side effect to doing the Cleanse, and of not having to rely on my inhaler, is that I realize now that asthma can also be very mental. You can completely work yourself up more than is actually happening.

It's been about 5 months or more since I've done the Cleanse. I haven't done it since. I don't exercise any more or less than I did back then. I still weigh the same. I do eat better (cutting out milk, excessive junk food, candies, artificial juices etc really helps). But I still have the same habits as before.

And yet my asthma is now controllable. After close to thirty years, I no longer carry my inhaler with me.

I'm not offering up a solution or course of action. I'm just giving food for thought for those willing to read.

ONE WEEK LATER

Okay I lied. It's been 10 days since I've been off the Cleanse. I weighed myself today - something I haven't been doing a lot - and I weigh 157. That means for 10 days I've managed to keep myself at the same weight that I finished at when I went off the Cleanse. And believe me, I've been eating. But I've stayed away from the sweets. I haven't had red meat since then. I've stayed away from major dairy. I portion my meals. And I find that I'm not as "hungry" as I used to be. In other words, I don't feel the need to eat out of boredom or habit. I certainly need more fruits and vegetables. I'm stretching/doing exercise at home. Walking whenever I have to go somewhere. So it seems to be working.

Yay me.

And if you haven't already, check out my pictures. I've split them up into different albums. The "Me" one is quite hilarious.

THE END

So today, after 4 days last week and 4 days this week, I'm going off the cleanse. The correct way this time. Meaning orange juice and vegetable soup in progression to build my system back up. I weighed myself this morning: 158lbs. Wow. I went from around 168-69 before the Cleanse to 158 after. After New Year's I was even around 174! All without feeling weak or hungry and just one hiccup along the way. I didn't have any major discomfort either during the process. Now I just have to be mindful of what I eat, how I eat and keep active. But it's good to know I can bounce back somewhat easily and, most important, in a healthy way.

Yay me.

CLEANSE TAKE TWO

So I came home this Tuesday and my ninja roommate swung down from the ceiling, swung a tornado kick my way and said "You cheated!". Or something like that. Yea. I cheated. BUT! I went back on the cleanse this Tuesday. A little out of guilt, for sure. But honestly? A lot of the reason why I went back was because I wanted to. My body almost wanted to. I felt like I needed to "detox" the weekend away. So since Tuesday, I've been back on the cleanse. I got a little punch drunk Tuesday night - probably because I had tasted food and was craving more (or maybe because I hadn't slept at all the night before). But as soon as I got back on the juice and tea, I was fine. Mind over matter I suppose.

Wednesday was fine. And today, Thursday, as well. I weighed myself. I'm 159lbs. That means I've lost 4 more pounds. Wow. My asthma is better. My medium shirts actually fit. I walked to the Kimmel Center tonite (Fantasticks is running 3 more weekends) and felt energized. Someone even asked if I lost weight. So obviously, it's making a difference.

I'm going to go another day or two and then start to ease myself off - the correct way this time, I promise! The correct way meaning orange juice. Followed by vegetable soup. And then on to healthy eating. I gotta start cooking again, cut back on eating out and definitely go easy on my sweet tooth.

I'm also looking forward to going back on the cleanse - for maybe shorter periods before and/or after a trip - because sometimes I wreck my system whenever I go to conventions: crappy food, lots of drinking, etc.

So see? It can be done without much fuss. It's not for everyone but I'm glad I'm doing it.

DAY 4,5, AND 6

DAY FOUR
Ugh. That's the best way to describe how my Saturday went. It wasn't so much that I was feeling bad or was hungry. I had a few more trips to the bathroom which was to be expected by this point I assume. My stomach at times felt knotted, again which was expected. Nothing painful, just a feeling. I drank the lemon mix and it was the first day where I was thinking about how boring the drink was becoming. The same thing again and again. About mid-evening I was getting a little punchy, laughing about something silly I saw online - and then laughing at how much I was laughing. It was a surreal 10-15 minutes. Haha. Probably the worst day so far but not by much.

DAY FIVE
I knew I would be traveling today so I didn't drink the tea. I didn't want to have to make any emergency stops while going to Reading. I drank my lemon drink before I left and took most of the ingredients home with me to make a batch there. It was tough being at home on Superbowl Sunday. And, sad to say, I broke. Sorry Kelley! I ate a slice of pizza, some chicken wings and a piece of cake for my dad's birthday. And boy did I regret it a few hours later. My body quickly got rid of it. I wasn't in pain, but I definitely felt discomfort. This wasn't the best way to introduce food back into my system. My mom did comment that I looked thinner. And I certainly feel thinner. Even though I ate, I didn't really want to eat a lot. I didn't just gorge like I usually do.

DAY SIX
I ate very little today. Cake, some wings. Some salami pieces. Again, very little. I just didn't feel like eating. Unlike yesterday, I didn't have discomfort but my body still got rid of it all eventually in the night. I tried some clothing on today from a friend - and they fit incredibly well. The last time I tried on some of his stuff, it fit a little too snug. But because I lost weight all around my waist, stomach and back, it was snug at all. It felt good. That's incentive to keep going and keep exercising. I feel like myself again - or the me I was a year or so ago. I'm looking forward to going back on the drink and maybe I'll spend the rest of the week back on the Cleanse to finish it out.

So I went 4.75 days before I gave in. But I can honestly say that I want to go back on and go for another 5 days to see what happens.

DAY TWO AND THREE

DAY TWO OF THE MASTER CLEANSE
I probably don't drink enough of the lemon drink but I don't feel the need. I'm not really hungry and I almost even feel full. Nothing major happening out the other end either. My stomach did rumble a bit. Almost as if it was ... wait for it ... cleansing itself! Seriously. It really felt like that.

I walked around Philly today. Kelley and I took her dogs to the dog walk and then I walked to the bank and then to Center City. Went to the comic shop to promote Comics Now and then walked again from 2nd Street up to Broad where I caught a bus home. I noticed that my breathing was easy, I didn't feel like I was straining against my stomach. I also didn't feel that tired or worn out. I figured without food I'd be exhausted. But I did fine.

DAY THREE OF THE MASTER CLEANSE
Woke up today with a filmy mouth. Ick. Luckily it went away after I brushed my teeth. I did "evacuate" three times today. But nothing appeared ummm... out of the ordinary. So all good there. Surprisingly, I thought I would be a lot hungrier than I am. But I'm not. Something in the Lemon drink mix must also curb the appetite.

I looked in the mirror and oddly enough, my face looked... less full? Especially around my nose and cheeks. And my stomach is getting less poofy. I also weighed myself and I lost three pounds so far in just 2+ days. Water/waste weight for sure. I'm back down to around 165. Around the holidays I was up to around 170-172. I'm stretching, doing crunches, doing pushups. Anything to just keep the body active without overdoing it.

I can only imagine what the weekend is going to be like. It's a good thing there's nothing in the house foodwise. Since I don't see it, I don't want it. I did smell food when my roommate cooked yesterday. Or when she had peanut butter and I could really smell it. But I'm not hungry which is good. If I've come this far, I might as well keep going.

I'M DOIN' THE CLEANSE

Yup, that's right. My fabu roommate has convinced me to do a Cleanse since I, basically, have nothing going on right now. Lemon drinks replace food and she's coaching me through the process. I surely could stand to lose a few pounds (or eight) and it'll be nice to kinda get my eating back on track eventually.

So this is Day 1. It's been a piece of ca... I mean, a breeze so far. The next few days should be interesting however.

Going to Florida in March. Gotta look good right? Okay, okay, I should have better reasons for doing this - but come on. It's always about looking good right? Just being honest. I'm determined to keep my 32" size in jeans that I've been since college. And honestly, my asthma gets worse even when I'm 4-6 pounds over my ideal weight. So there - that's a good reason to get healthier. Only wish it was a little warmer so I could walk more.

Anyway, just wanted to write this down so I could look back on it a few days from now and either laugh, cry or beat myself.

We'll see...

PS/ Given my track record, I fully expect some new stories concerning my butt. If you have to ask, you just don't know me as well as you should. haha.

>COUGH COUGH SNEEZE SNEEZE<

I hate being sick. I really do. It's like your body is betraying you. I can't even read - my focus sucks. I'm like an 8 year old that just ate a candy bar.

Where's my Night Nurse?