“To allow me to reduce my cortisone intake, I now measure my inflammation value”

“I’ve suffered from severe asthma for as long as I can remember. As a child I had severe pneumonia. After I’d just about got over that, I experienced difficulty breathing. I have eosinophilic asthma; that means my lungs are permanently inflamed. I have grade 4 – that’s the most severe form of asthma, bordering on COPD. My lung function is a mere 59 percent. So I breathe much less air in and out than healthy people. It’s like breathing through a drinking straw that has a kink in it. The ‘air pump’, in other words my cortisone spray, has been my constant companion for decades.

• Eosinophilic granulocytes belong to the white blood cells and as part of the immune defense mainly fight pathogens such as parasites. If an asthma patient has a very large number of eosinophilic granulocytes, doctors speak of eosinophilic asthma. This leads to a chronic inflammation of the lungs.
• In eosinophilic asthma, immune defense reactions can occur. However, in this type of asthma these are not caused by allergens, but by other triggers such as viral infections, drugs, chemicals, or pollutants.
• Eosinophilic asthma is a severe form of asthma. Despite therapy, patients have severe and frequently occurring symptoms. Their condition continually worsens.
• Often there are mixed forms between allergic and eosinophilic asthma. A distinction is not always easy, because the affected persons usually react equally with asthmatic symptoms to non-specific triggers, such as cold air, fog, cigarette smoke, or strong scents. These triggers don’t cause the asthma, they merely set it off.

My asthma definitely interferes with my daily life. I often suffer from shortness of breath; it’s especially bad at night or in the early morning hours. My asthma also limits me physically. That’s why I retired at the age of 57. Now I have time to travel. But the worry of getting an asthma attack in a faraway country is always there.

But I didn’t want to become an anxious old man, so I decided to put up a fight. I’ve learned that I can do something to help myself – no matter how bad things are. My motto: become your own asthma expert. So I actively search the internet for any new information about asthma: studies, medicaments, tips, or advice. That’s how I stumbled upon Vivatmo me.

The handy little device can measure how severely my lungs are inflamed. Vivatmo me measures what’s known as the FeNO value. It’s reassuring to be able to monitor my values myself. There’s no need for a trip to the doctor and the measurement takes no time at all. This helps me to plan my day: if my inflammation values are okay, then I can get out and get active. If they’re not, I just take things easy.

To avoid having to use my cortisone spray more than necessary, I regularly discuss my Vivtamo me readings with my doctor. The readings I manage in my app help him to better gauge how I’m doing and optimize my medication and treatment. Because everyone knows that while cortisone helps with asthma, but it has side-effects. It makes me feel hungry and I’ve put on some weight. The measurements help to keep the doses down. And that’s my declared goal: to keep the cortisone dose as low as possible. For that reason alone it was worth investing in my Vivatmo me.

This handy measuring device helps me feel on top of my asthma. I now have a better idea of how my lungs work – and don’t feel so out of it when I get together with the guys to plan our next motorbike tour. I have a better understanding now of what works for me and what doesn’t.”

*Names have been changed for reasons of privacy protection. These experience reports are for information purposes only and are no substitute for the advice provided by a physician. For more information about the experience reports, please check out the site details.