Asthma episode coincides with high ETCO2 (End Tidal Carbon Dioxide), high temperatures, and need to hyperventilate

[tastyfood]

Have you tried a high dose of progesterone for its anti-estrogen properties? Estrogen steals oxygen from mitochondria.

I haven't. I took just a little bit because it's said to help with asthma. Estrogen was not to the problem in this case. It all started with the aspirin.

 

[redsun]

Would it make sense to test zinc levels in blood as a way to verify status? I was also planning to send hair to Idealabs in a month or so to see where things are. I was also wondering if it made sense to test salycilate levels in blood to see how "overdosed" I am? I am hoping to be able to benefit from aspirin again in the near future (at smaller doses of course).

To summarize the situation (thanks for all the comments), I think it went down like this:

- Continued high dose (3g+) daily aspirin ended up giving me asthmatic symptoms.
- In addition to the effect on COX metabolism, it is more than possible that I wasn't buffering the aspirin with sufficient baking soda. When taking that much, the alka-seltzer type proportions should be followed. Aspirin can also deplete glycine, which apparently contributes to glutathione metabolism which protects the lungs.
- With the asthma, sputum started to accumulate, leading to infection in the lungs, and reduced airflow.
- Reduced airflow means poorer ability of expelling the CO2.
- Between all the wheezing, excessive mucus in the lungs, restricted airflow, CO2 has been accumulating, leading to more respiratory acidosis.
- While exploring different asthma-inducing routes such as a serotonin, I engaged in supplementation of things that further pushed me in the CO2 producing territory, which aggravated the problem, leading to episodes of extreme asthma, need to hyperventilate.
- Given my recent test results, all the symptoms, and how I have been reacting to things, I probably just need to take a break from taking all these different things, let the salicylate levels go down on their own, and build back up.

Considering you have been eating oysters, your plasma zinc would probably be well within normal even if aspirin lowered it.

You can test it but I doubt its a problem. Aspirin half life can be quite long with high doses but its been awhile since your last dose.

The asthma issue can be recurring even if you never take that much aspirin again.

 

[yerrag]

Platelets were ok in the test results. Middle of the range, which was comforting.

Middle of the range would put it at 300?

 

[tastyfood]

Middle of the range would put it at 300?

Yeah. 250 in my case.

 

[yerrag]

It's not parasites. I dealt with asthma in the winter time last year (not aspirin related), and my eosinophils also went up. I tested for parasites and it was all negative. Eosinophils went down as soon as the asthma was gone.

Do you remember what you did then?

Eosinophils destroy larger microbes such as fungal parasites as well as larger stuff such as amoeba, protozoans, and helminths. They are called upon to do what neutrophils and macrophages can't eat up, since they are too small too swallow them, so to speak. The eosinophils spew out a lot of ROS to kill these parasites, and in the process there is a lot more of spillover ROS for the body to deal with.

There is a lot of oxidative stress burdening the body so your internal antioxidants stores could be used up and your glutathione can become oxidized and you would have more disulfide bonds than sulfhydryl bonds in your mucous and that makes your mocous sticky and that could gum up your alveoli and hinder gas exchange and that may cause asthma.

 

[tastyfood]

Do you remember what you did then?

The asthma then, from what I remember, was induced by the HVAC system at my place. Unchanged filters, excessive dust, sleeping under the vent for weeks, etc. I'm sensitive to all that, so it exacerbated the asthma.

Eosinophils destroy larger microbes such as fungal parasites as well as larger stuff such as amoeba, protozoans, and helminths. They are called upon to do what neutrophils and macrophages can't eat up, since they are too small too swallow them, so to speak. The eosinophils spew out a lot of ROS to kill these parasites, and in the process there is a lot more of spillover ROS for the body to deal with.

There is a lot of oxidative stress burdening the body so your internal antioxidants stores could be used up and your glutathione can become oxidized and you would have more disulfide bonds than sulfhydryl bonds in your mucous and that makes your mocous sticky and that could gum up your alveoli and hinder gas exchange and that may cause asthma.

This all makes sense but the aspirin story follows my progression way too closely to ignore. One day I noticed a bit of shortness of breath, which all progressed after making the wrong decisions in terms of how to treat it (kept taking aspirin, among other things). If I was dealing with parasites, that would not explain me feeling totally ok as I'm writing this. My digestion is not impaired, stools and bowel movements are ok. I haven't been in any situation where I would catch a parasite recently. I work from home in a suburban area of the US, good hygiene, and share a roof with my partner who hasn't had any issues.

The fact that asthma and allergies drove eosinophils up in the past is too good an indicator of why they went up again this time.

Appreciate the thought put into that theory, but before I engage in expensive and cumbersome parasite testing, I'll see how this asthma dwindles on its own with rest and avoiding supplements.

 

[yerrag]

Also, how do you explain that my temperatures goes up to 100F while I'm having the episode, plus my oxygen saturation drops?

Can't rule out infection. As fever is a way to deal with infection. And the infection could be from microbes that aren't being cleared from your lungs because the heavy mucus is in the way.

And that mucus is also in the way of good gas exchange. Your CO2 not getting out giving you respiratory acidosis, while you aren't getting enough oxygen in, which is why your oxygen saturation is low.

What may help are mucolytics and expectorants. The mucolytics will soften the mucus, and the expectorant will let you cough or sneeze them out. That will allow the immune system full access to those spaces in your lungs previously inaccessible, to clear the lungs of microbes and toxins.

I haven't been in such a situation, but am considering using aromatherapy with essential oils even as I don't seem to have any respiratory illness. As I felt my gut has always been fine, but realize "fine" only means I don't have perceptible gut issues, yet I find that my gut gets better each time I take something for my internals (anything but the gut and skin and hair) and has to course thru my gut.

Getting a solid piece of essential oil diffuser and using good essential oils and sleeping while breathing in the diffused oils may be your ticket.

Using the right oils as mucolytics first, followed by oils that are expectorants on succeeding days, may be a solution.

That is, after you move on from your initial suspects if and when you should discount them.

I'm not getting into specifics yet as it would not fit the moment.

 

[tastyfood]

Can't rule out infection. As fever is a way to deal with infection. And the infection could be from microbes that aren't being cleared from your lungs because the heavy mucus is in the way.

Some level of infection was likely going on, just judging from the amount of mucus and the color of the sputum. I think time and rest will be enough to deal with that.

haven't been in such a situation, but am considering using aromatherapy with essential oils even as I don't seem to have any respiratory illness. As I felt my gut has always been fine, but realize "fine" only means I don't have perceptible gut issues, yet I find that my gut gets better each time I take something for my internals (anything but the gut and skin and hair) and has to course thru my gut.

Getting a solid piece of essential oil diffuser and using good essential oils and sleeping while breathing in the diffused oils may be your ticket

Hope that works out for you. I found essential oils to be a slippery slope. I stopped being interested after hearing Peat talk about the estrogenicity of some of the more popular ones like tea tree and lavender.

Thanks for all your help again.

 

[yerrag]

Some level of infection was likely going on, just judging from the amount of mucus and the color of the sputum. I think time and rest will be enough to deal with that.





Hope that works out for you. I found essential oils to be a slippery slope. I stopped being interested after hearing Peat talk about the estrogenicity of some of the more popular ones like tea tree and lavender.

Thanks for all your help again.

I know what you mean. The PUFA content in essential oils is undeniable, but so is the presence of many beneficial compounds. When a few drops have strong effects that outweigh the benefits of taking pharma drugs without the many side effects, and the use is limited for a therapeutic duration and not a permanent lifestyle, it begs the question of why they shouldn't be seen in a better light when we just let it pass that we take pharma drugs and think nothing of like like a slippery slope.

And the estrogenicity from a few drops does not warrant the fear invoked when it doesn't approach Ray's four percent limit of unavoidable PUFAs from food that passes for caution.

 

[tastyfood]

@yerrag I decided to put more thought into the fungal infection theory. Especially because taking something like flowers of sulfur seems safe.

Also, seeing how taking two supplements that have nothing to do with each other creating such a strong immediate reaction suggests that perhaps my gut wasn't ready for that due to infection.

I'll try flowers of sulfur and report back. If I don't get better with that, I may go ahead and test for infections.

Thanks again for all your comments.

 

[Normal Human]

Sorry if this has already come up for you, but have you looked at Aspirin-Induced Asthma?

DEFINE_ME

 

[tastyfood]

Sorry if this has already come up for you, but have you looked at Aspirin-Induced Asthma?

DEFINE_ME

Thanks! Yes, it's been discussed at length in this thread.

 

[yerrag]

@yerrag I decided to put more thought into the fungal infection theory. Especially because taking something like flowers of sulfur seems safe.

Also, seeing how taking two supplements that have nothing to do with each other creating such a strong immediate reaction suggests that perhaps my gut wasn't ready for that due to infection.

I'll try flowers of sulfur and report back. If I don't get better with that, I may go ahead and test for infections.

Thanks again for all your comments.

Glad to offer just another possible way out. I always like to have a plan B at the backburner and as is often the case plan A doesn't work out, I don't keep doubling down on plan A like I'm joined to the hips with it. I'll give it time and thought before moving on though. And I wouldn't mix A and B unless I think they can stack up together. Some doggedness needed, but not the bullheaded one, because you may even need to exhaust the alphabet soup. Still, the odds are better than taking the presumed easy way out thru the doctor's clinic.

Isn't your problem at the lungs and not at the gut, one being internal and the latter being external? Translocation (of microbes) is still possible, so we'll see how that plays out for you. And hope that works out.

I have Humco's sublimated sulfur from Amazon, which is the same thing with another name. I've not used it, as it's for an external issue that involves the scalp, but being a cosmetic issue it's not numero uno for me. But Peat has suggested flowers of sulfur mostly for gut -related issues, and haven't seen him suggest any use for it that is internally directed. So I'm interested in how it plays out for you as well.

Good luck!

 

[tastyfood]

Glad to offer just another possible way out. I always like to have a plan B at the backburner and as is often the case plan A doesn't work out, I don't keep doubling down on plan A like I'm joined to the hips with it. I'll give it time and thought before moving on though. And I wouldn't mix A and B unless I think they can stack up together. Some doggedness needed, but not the bullheaded one, because you may even need to exhaust the alphabet soup. Still, the odds are better than taking the presumed easy way out thru the doctor's clinic.

Isn't your problem at the lungs and not at the gut, one being internal and the latter being external? Translocation (of microbes) is still possible, so we'll see how that plays out for you. And hope that works out.

I have Humco's sublimated sulfur from Amazon, which is the same thing with another name. I've not used it, as it's for an external issue that involves the scalp, but being a cosmetic issue it's not numero uno for me. But Peat has suggested flowers of sulfur mostly for gut -related issues, and haven't seen him suggest any use for it that is internally directed. So I'm interested in how it plays out for you as well.

Good luck!

Flowers of sulfur seems like something safe to try for a couple of days. At the very least, I'll clean the gut a bit.

The problem is at the lungs but the strongest reactions came after ingesting something that is not food (supplements). I had a few stools in the last couple of weeks that were smellier than usual too. Plus the high eosinophils of course.

 

[yerrag]

Flowers of sulfur seems like something safe to try for a couple of days. At the very least, I'll clean the gut a bit.

The problem is at the lungs but the strongest reactions came after ingesting something that is not food (supplements). I had a few stools in the last couple of weeks that were smellier than usual too. Plus the high eosinophils of course.

It's often the case with me that in trying to solve a problem, I improved on another thing in a big way, but the problem still stayed on.

I started out trying to fix my keloid problem, then improved my blood sugar regulation as well as my endurance levels (lactic acid was the problem that I wasn't aware of).

Then in doing all the things I've done so far to lower my bp, all my joint pains disappeared, but my bp wasn't much improved.

I still have keloids and my high bp, but no headaches, not gut issues, no flu for the last twenty plus years, normal weight without needing intermittent fasting, no allergies (used to have allergic rhinitis frequently). The times my bp dipped, I actually feel sleepy and maybe depressed.

It makes me wonder things aren't what they appear to be. The negatives aren't always as negative. This, from a pessimistic person lol