Day 2

Second day, still sick. When I woke up this morning I was still feeling fairly average, but I have picked up since then. That may just be the medication talking actually, but at least for now I am not feeling terrible.

I am home from work again today, which I think may actually be the first time I have missed two days or work in a row due to illness. As a result I was at the Doctor's today to get a medical certificate. Even if I hadn't required a certificate for work I was considering heading to the Doctor's anyway, just to see if there was anything that could be done. I didn't really think there would be, since there usually isn't when you have a cold, and I was right, there isn't a lot. However, they did give me a prescription for some stronger asthma medication just to get the cough under control. It is interesting, over the course of numerous colds I have been learning more and more about my asthma and what I can be doing to manage it. Just when I think I have it under control I learn something new.

Management of my asthma has taken a bit of a change of mindset. In this day and age of superbugs and the sparing use of antibiotics, asthma seems to be quite the opposite. What I have been learning from the Doctors is that with asthma, you want to hit it with the medication and sometimes hit it hard. Consistency is the key and when symptoms require it, upping the dose to manage the asthma is encouraged as well. I remember sitting in a GP's clinic in Geelong the day before the Geelong 70.3 asking what I could do for my cough. When I mentioned asthma the Doctor asked what I took. I told her what I have prescribed and the dosage. She agreed with all that, and then she said six little works that have stuck with me ever since 'you know you can take more?' That seems to be the way with Asthma. Don't mess around with it, you have the medication, use it.

My little pearl of wisdom today was learning about why consistency with medication is the key. According to my Doctor today, if you aren't taking your medication consistently, but rather just as your asthma demands it, then every time you have a chest cold you lose a little bit more lung function. That's about all the encouragement I need. I need all the lung function I have left.

Anyway, this cold is marching on, as colds do. I am hoping that the level of functionality that I am currently feeling remains, and doesn't evaporate when the cold and flu tablets I have taken wear off. If that happens then I am reasonably confident that I might feel like a human tomorrow. Probably not like a training human, but at least a talking and walking one.

One step at a time.