March 17, 2024
Was this an asthma attack? I bought a new set of sheets as a birthday gift to myself!! I washed them with natural detergent and put them through the wash twice as I always do so I don't have any chemical odour to deal with as even the natural detergent I find is bothersome for my sensitivities. And yet they still had a chemical smell to them...I bought them at Walmart, not saying that is a bad thing, at least they are affordable, and they are quite lovely, but it may be why they have such a smell to them...however, I cannot compare as I've never bought sheets at a high-end store either, so I really can't say if that is the issue. But the smell still remained after the wash.
I got maybe one hour of sleep before I woke up choking and unable to catch my breath, it felt like a minute before I could sort of breath again...I was just gasping for air, but my throat felt solid and closed off. Once I calmed myself down, I had some water to ease the burning at the back of my throat from coughing and put on a medical mask, as sometimes that helps, and tried to go back to sleep only to wake up coughing and gasping again, causing an even more intense sore throat, dryness and hoarseness, with chest pain and tightness rolling into my back along my shoulder blades. This happened around 2am, I gave up on trying to sleep in my bed and went to sleep on the couch, I knew I'd never be able to sleep in bed like this.
My inhaler was past dated as of August 2023 so I didn't bother using it and searched Google where it said to drink caffeinated warm drinks, so I had green tea...but of course then I couldn't sleep and laid on the couch watching Netflix until around 5am when I forced myself to go back to sleep. It was a much better sleep too although it was quite uncomfortable as my daily pain increased in that position. I only had small coughs and an irritated throat from the choking I had done in my bed, this has stayed with me the entire day too (it's now nearing 8pm) despite all the green tea I have had.
I have my sheets in the wash again now, one is done and had gone through maybe 5 cycles just to get everything I can out of it. The other sheet is on its second cycle. Plus, I decided to hang them to dry so that nothing is activated by the heat of the dryer. I am hoping this clears the chemical smell off of them, but I wonder if the irritated throat will let me sleep tonight anyway. And last night I was so excited to sleep in my new sheets for my birthday too!!! Fingers crossed it'll happen tonight...I really enjoy my couch, but she isn't the best for sleeping on...at least not long term, she is great for napping though!!!
March 18, 2024
I actually slept; I still woke up a number of times as I always do (insomnia...'eye roll') but I didn't have a coughing fit. The first time I woke I did have an irritated throat still, so I decided to wear my medical mask and that did seem to help. I discussed this today with one of the professionals in my healing circle and was told that I could have still used my inhaler, it just wouldn't be as potent, and that I should get a new one and carry it around with me to see if it will help with my other issues I have as well, like feeling winded even after only slight physical exertions. This one I find very odd for me too as I work out every day on my elliptical, and before 'getting sick', I had been super active and was used to heavy breathing. I know for a fact there is nothing wrong with my heart as I've seen a specialist and did all their tests...I was told I was fine but needed to lose weight...I know...freaken Perimenopause just holds onto fat. So, I'll try the inhaler when I'm working on the farm and see if that makes a difference with my breathing, it's a bit unnerving not being able to get a full breath and to feel like I was running when all I was doing was walking...especially as a former long-distance runner, hiker and mountain biker, being winded after just walking is very upsetting for me, even if I am 49.