I have this new asthma prescription. The medicine that helps me most is an inhaler that I need to use four times a day. As I have firmly established here, my MS riddled brain simply does not handle remembering very well. This means I get maybe two doses a day...if it is a good day and I remember again before going to sleep. This new medicine is a once-a-day hit. Sounds perfect for me, right?

Hah!

I was a bit surprised to see the new prescription came in a box too large to be an inhaler. The size alone sent a shiver of worry along my nerves, but tried to remain positive as I opened the box.

Now, I am QUITE skilled at using an inhaler. I can get the perfect dose even without using a spacer. Quite skilled. Not so much with this thing. The instructions fill a ledger size piece of paper even using print that cannot be larger than 8 pica. Oh, already you see the problem?

Yes, instructions and I do not get along. Foolish me, I never thought to ask the doctor about demonstrating the use of this new contraption. I assumed it was another inhaler. Three days past and it still fills me with fear and trepidation to spread out the sheet of directions and try to use it once more.

First, you have to open the dust cover. Next comes the mouth piece. This must be raised to access the capsule chamber below. Once the chamber is exposed, you have to open the blister pack of capsules with the medicine. There are three capsules to a pack, and they go bad quite soon after opening. So, you have to peel back the foil wrapping carefully as to not open the next capsule down in the sheet. When the capsule is removed from the blister pack, you place the capsule into the chamber and close the mouth piece. Next, you have to push a lever on the side that will puncture the medicine capsule. After exhaling away from the contraption so as to not get any moisture into the inner chamber, you have to cover your mouth on the mouth piece and breathe in slowly and steadily enough to rattle the capsule, being careful that you do not block the air intake valves as you do so. Once you have drawn a deep breath, you have to hold the medicine in your lungs as long as possible before exhaling again, remembering to not do so back into the contraption. Then, you have to repeat the repeat the last two steps once more. When you are finished with the process, you have to remove the capsule, wipe down the mouth piece, close the dust cover, and put the box in a place where your dog won't try to investigate it.

Now, you might think that the whole process sounds easy, but believe me it is not. There are at least a dozen ways to mess up on many of those steps. And let me tell you that "rattling" that blasted capsule might actually be a skill outside of my reach.

Still, if I can master this process, breathing might just get a bit easier. That ought to be impetus enough, eh?

I hope so.

NOTE: There is an entire column for cleaning the contraption. I think it might just last the whole month before needing a cleaning, right? A new month...a new contraption...no need to clean.