Bronchial Thermoplasty

Despite all medical efforts, my asthma is still fairly out of control and I'm frequently having attacks and ending up on steroids, My doctor has asked me to look into bronchial thermoplasty. I know it's a fairly new and uncommon procedure, but I just thought I'd check to see if anyone has any experience with it. Thanks!

Raw milk. Lemon juice. Coconut oil. Allergy shots. No more asthma.

Or just move somewhere else.

My oldest son had it really bad as well and was constantly on a nebulizer (sp?). We moved out to the woods and got on a better diet with fresher and more natural foods. He hasn't had to have a breathing treatment in the two years since moving out here.

Stay way from the steroids. They did a lot of damage to my body as a side effect, and I'm not talking about the kind athletes use. I'm talking about what they are treating you with.

Quote from someone28624 : Despite all medical efforts, my asthma is still fairly out of control and I'm frequently having attacks and ending up on steroids, My doctor has asked me to look into bronchial thermoplasty. I know it's a fairly new and uncommon procedure, but I just thought I'd check to see if anyone has any experience with it. Thanks!

I had asthma that was so severe as a toddler, it stunted my growth for two years. That was when my parents took me to one of the top, if not the top, asthma doctors in the country. His philosophy was, if the patent is still having out of control asthma attacks then you haven't found all of his/her triggers. He did so many skin prick tests on me, I looked like a pin cushion, but he found out exactly what I was and wasn't allergic to and started me out on asthma shots for everything I was allergic to. Along with that, he had my mom rid the house of everything that was a trigger and insisted that my box spring, mattress and pillows all be covered in dust mite proof cases. I started growing again and the attacks became infrequent.

So my guess would be there are things you're allergic to that you aren't aware of and the list could be long. The list for me is still long but I rarely have asthma attacks. Some of my worst triggers are, in no particular order, ragweed, cedar, juniper, animal dander (especially dogs), dust, jojoba, lavender, and eucalyptus. So a lot of things you find in beauty products (shampoos, makeup, perfume, soaps, etc.) and in household items like air freshener and cleaning products, are triggers for me and I bet some of them are for you too.

I'm allergic to many things and have been on allergy shots for 2 years. I actually drink a lot of tea with lemon juice and local honey to try and help with my allergy symptoms. I'm aware of how many side effects steroids have, and needing them less often is one reason I'm seriously considering this procedure. Raw milk is something I will not do.

Quote from someone28624 : I'm allergic to many things and have been on allergy shots for 2 years. I actually drink a lot of tea with lemon juice and local honey to try and help with my allergy symptoms. I'm aware of how many side effects steroids have, and needing them less often is one reason I'm seriously considering this procedure. Raw milk is something I will not do.

I can't blame you about the raw milk, the most I have had to deal with is inhalers, I have never heard of a bronchial thermoplasty... and I really do not like to use steroids unless absolutely necessary....

Is moving out of the question? ( maybe i should go back and read the whole thread)

Moving would be very difficult. I own a great home and have a good job here and all of my family is here.

Quote from someone28624 : Moving would be very difficult. I own a great home and have a good job here and all of my family is here.

I c, just a thought... well that is obviously not happening... I wouldn't move either

I have only had a few attacks that weren't controlled by my rescue inhaler. I have allergy-induced asthma, but it is exacerbated by weather changes.

Do you have any issues with GERD or heartburn? DH's cousin has battled asthma so bad that she had to take early retirement. After mentioning her GERD issues to her pulmonary Dr., he ordered some tests. After surgery to fix the flap between her esophagus and throat, her asthma has improved by more than 50%. The acid that was coming up from her stomach was causing double the inflammation in her lungs.

Quote from thearteest : I have only had a few attacks that weren't controlled by my rescue inhaler. I have allergy-induced asthma, but it is exacerbated by weather changes. Do you have any issues with GERD or heartburn? DH's cousin has battled asthma so bad that she had to take early retirement. After mentioning her GERD issues to her pulmonary Dr., he ordered some tests. After surgery to fix the flap between her esophagus and throat, her asthma has improved by more than 50%. The acid that was coming up from her stomach was causing double the inflammation in her lungs.

I was diagnosed with GERD at 16 with non-traditional symptoms after a year of throwing up 2-6x/day and losing 75 pounds. I started Prevacid at that time and continue on it now. I never really had heartburn. After starting the Prevacid, my nausea went away. Now when I try and stop I get heartburn, but I have no symptoms when I take it on schedule.

Quote from someone28624 : I was diagnosed with GERD at 16 with non-traditional symptoms after a year of throwing up 2-6x/day and losing 75 pounds. I started Prevacid at that time and continue on it now. I never really had heartburn. After starting the Prevacid, my nausea went away. Now when I try and stop I get heartburn, but I have no symptoms when I take it on schedule.

She really didn't realize that she had many symptoms. She figures that she had had them for so long, that she had quit paying attentions to them.

Wow. I've been officially diagnosed and lived in the TICU for a week after discovering, via biopsy gone bad, something called EoE.

http://apfed.org/drupal/drupal/what_is_eoe

which is now being treated with two Prilosac daily. It's an allergic thing, and I was forced to make dietary changes which, in the long run, are healthy and I feel a lot better. Don't miss beef at all anymore, if fact, it looks kinda gross and was a major trigger.

As a spin off, I think the asthma I've been facing for years has diminished. It was unpleasant, to say the least.

Hmm, I should change my user name from grump to something else - that's how bad I felt at the time before things turned around. How do I do that?

Look into everything before you have surgery. Leave no door closed, and let see ample qualified MD's before proceeding for their opinions.

Have you taken steps to avoid all known triggers?

Added: I find the new cfc free inhalers don't seem to work as well as the environmentally unfriendly ones, despite frequent cleanings. Anyone else?

I actually had biopsies testing for EoE, among other things, when I was going through my puking all the time phase. Thankfully, I don't have it. I tested as allergic to literally dozens of things during my allergy testing and a lot just can't be avoided, ie, dust, grass. Even when I keep my house immaculate, if I go to a friend's house that is dusty or they have pets I'm wheezing within minutes. I don't want to have to just stay at my house like some sort of shut in.

Quote from oldgrump : Hmm, I should change my user name from grump to something else - that's how bad I felt at the time before things turned around. How do I do that?

http://slickdeals.net/forums/prof...ntsettings

click the "edit" link next to your username

Since starting a low carb diet (no grains or lentils at all) we rarely have heartburn, maybe once every two months. Before the diet we went through antacids like crazy.