Confession

I had to give up coffee.
I know, I know, it was such a huge part of my brand! I used to put 'coffee addict' in my social media profile descriptions. And I LOVED it so much.
But I thought I had asthma because I started experiencing shortness of breath and was prescribed an emergency puffer. Then I noticed it was generally after I drank a caffeinated beverage. I was drinking very strong black coffee - two large mugs full every day - plus tea in the afternoon.
I stopped drinking coffee first and noticed a HUGE improvement. Then I noticed the same thing but not so severe after drinking tea. So I cut out all caffeinated beverages and I haven't needed to use my puffer since.
Whether it was anxiety increased by the caffeine, or another kind of caffeine sensitivity, I had to cut out coffee and caffeinated tea which was a really hard thing to do. But when it's breathing vs a great drink, well you decide you can do without the drink. 
I'm not a fan of decaffeinated products because of the methods they use to take the caffeine out, so now I drink chamomile tea in the morning and a really yummy coffee substitute made from barley and chicoree in the middle of the morning. It's called Uncoffee and it's really good.
I definitely feel a drop in my 'cool' factor, as drinking strong black coffee made me feel ruthless and capable for some reason, lol. But I have to say the gentle soothing taste of chamomile tea has grown on me and I do quite like it.
I may try drinking caffeinated coffee and/or tea at some point in the future, but for now I'm happy with my coffee substitute and herbal tea. The funny thing is that I still make strong coffee for everyone else in my household every morning, because it's become a habit and I love them and I like to do it.
Still trying to find out what has been causing coughing and lung irritation since the end of November, but so far we have determined that I don't have asthma or a lung infection. My doctor has put in a requisition for allergy testing, but my husband also stopped using some new laundry rinse he had started just before I developed these issues, so I'm hoping that's it (yes, he does the laundry). I really, really hope that was the issue because I'm worried I've developed an allergy to our dog and my doctor seems to think that's quite possible, if not even likely. And I don't know what I'm going to do in that situation.