I’ve been chronically sick with eosinophilic asthma for the past 3 years. 20+ hospitalisations and 12 ICU admissions. I was only just discharged from hospital (which included an ICU admission).

I was told by my first specialist (in 2017) that my prognosis was bleak. I was told if the trend of exacerbations continued, I’d have fairly severe, irreversible scarring inside my lungs & I’d be lucky to be around by my 21st birthday. At that time I was a bit non-compliant with meds.

I am now compliant (for at least the past year and a half) but still get exacerbations. I’m on mepolizumab which has decreased the frequency of attacks, but they’re still at least every 2/3 months and progressively more severe.

I don’t know if it is relative to my condition, but as of the last 3/4 months, my weight has been significantly fluctuating, going up and down by 10kgs every couple weeks. My hair has been coming out in bigger amounts. Significantly more fatigued and in pain generally just all over.

I am on steroids (prednisone, corticosteroid puffers, etc) which I’ve been on for years now though.

I’m turning 20 this year and the trend of my exacerbations is continuing. I’m put on non-invasive ventilation every single admission, luckily never been tubed. IV steroids barely help, it’s always adrenaline, ketamine (to relax the airways) and back-to-back salbutamol nebulisers. I’ve gone into lactic acidosis every admission the past 5/6 times (always being between 9 to 15, I don’t what unit they use). I’m rarely hypoxic though, so it isn’t acidosis in that setting. Apparently my body is quite good at maintaining sats in the 90’s besides during sleep (my breathing becomes shallow, very fast and I desat).

But I’m just scared. I don’t know the implications all this medication and acidosis is having on my body. I was starting nursing&midwifery next year and now I’m so concerned I won’t even get to live out any of my dreams. Nursing & midwifery itself was a fall back from emergency medicine, which I don’t think I have enough time in my life to do now.

And with my hair falling out so significantly & all the other effects, I don’t even feel like myself anymore. I’m not sure what to do, if there’s even a single thing I can do 😭 I guess this is more a rant than anything.

I do have one question though, my appearance does mean a lot to how I feel (sounds materialistic but it’s just how I am), what sort of hair extensions are most affordable to add thickness and length? I used to have extremely thick, long hair but it has thinned out a lot and it feels shorter. I’d rather keep one thing feeling like the normal me than nothing..