I tend to stay in pretty good shape. I walk everywhere. I go to yoga. I recently started pilates. I eat right more or less. But the one thing that I don’t do that I really need to start doing is moe cardio work. Although I get a decent bit of cardio in whenever I climb up one of SF’s hills, I mostly manage to avoid this important part of a regular exercise routine.

Many people make sure that they do cardio for weight loss. I’m not really looking to lose weight so that’s not my motivation. However, I have problems with asthma and I’d really like to build up my lung capacity which seems like a really good reason to start getting active about doing more cardio.

The problem is that I’ve really never done much cardio. Getting started with it isn’t easy, especially since the asthma kicks in right away and I have trouble getting past that first difficult hump. However, I realize that this is not something that’s going to get better with time – at least not until I start making the effort to get that cardio in.

If anyone has tips on how to get in your cardio when you’re just getting started with it – I’d love to hear them!

Tags: asthma, cardio, exercise, fitness, health, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, weight loss

Last month I was so sick that I couldn’t get out of bed for almost a week and I couldn’t really do much else for about three weeks after that. It was awful. It wasn’t even serious really – just a cold that turned into a bit of a lung infection which exacerbated old problems with asthma. Once the cold was out of my system, I was able to get the rest under control.

However, I did have to go to a doctor about my asthma because I hadn’t been to one in ages. The trip went exactly as I expected that it would. He told me that I need to use a steroid inhaler every day forever and ever and I told him that I didn’t want to do that and we were basically at a standstill. It ended with me agreeing to try this inhaler for one month and come back to the doctor.

I tried the inhaler for all of two or three days before I decided that the side effects weren’t worth the trial. I also just felt like I was going against all of my gut instincts by taking this steroid inhaler so I quit it and now I have to go back to the doctor and explain that. And I really just don’t want to bother. I’ve spent years trying to figure out what to do about my asthma and I haven’t found any great solution that works for me.

Sometimes I really hate the hassles of trying to figure out the right medication and medical choices. I don’t know if I should use a steroid inhaler or an albuterol inhaler or keep trying to find a holistic solution for asthma that works for me. I don’t know if I should get my wisdom teeth removed or just leave them be. Heck, sometimes I don’t even know if I should take aspirin or Tylenol for a headache.

And I feel like I don’t really get information from my doctors that is helpful. The pulmonologist just says that I need the steroid inhaler end of story. The dentist insists that I need to get my wisdom teeth removed even though they don’t bother me but she can’t really give me a good reason why. I feel like I have to be my own advocate and do research myself but there doesn’t seem to be enough accurate information out there for me to know what to do. It’s frustrating! And it makes me really really glad that I’m basically healthy.

Tags: asthma, doctors, health, hub pages, kathryn vercillo, medication, medicine, pain relief