November, 2010

November, 2010

It's been about a year and a half that I have been practicing the Buteyko method of breathing. My control pause varies between 20 and 40, depending on what I've been eating and doing - how much stress is in my life, etc... I've stopped getting colds. I have more energy than when I started doing Buteyko. I'm happy to report that my enlarged thyroid has shrunk considerably, although it is not completely gone. I have no thyroid symptoms and I believe it will recede entirely as my control pause increases. It is a deep habit of mine to only breath through my nose and on the rare occurrence that I do inhale through my mouth, it feels so wrong, I'm shocked by it and stop immediately.

November, 2010

Buteyko has been a great experience. It has not only relieved me from my asthma symptoms but also enabled me to do many other things including playing field hockey this past fall. And, in the spring, I plan to play lacrosse.  I first heard about the Buteyko method when both my uncle and grandma sent us the article about it from the New York Times. We bought the CD and tried doing at least one exercise once a day. We weren’t able to make real progress however and when my asthma became very bad over the summer we finally decided to fully apply ourselves to it by taking a course with Buteyko Center USA.

November, 2010

It has now been almost a year since I started practicing the Buteyko method. Prior to Buteyko, I was on symbicort, 2 puffs twice a day. While my pulmonologist wanted me to cut back, I would get asthma attacks if I tried. I also had a very bad milk protein sensitivity problem. Exposure to very small amounts of milk protein would cause prolonged stretches of gastric distress and sometimes I would even get these problems after intense exercise.

After 1 month of breathing through my nose and breathing less I was off of symbicort and after 10 weeks I was off all medicines. I have not needed any "rescue" inhaler or steroids this past year. Doing my exercises or chanting has stabilized my lungs in any situation I have faced. I exercise regularly. I participated in a group bicycle ride over the Labor Day weekend and was the oldest person to complete the hardest ride, 160 miles over 2 days with over 7,000 feet of climbing on Day 1.

Even more importantly, my milk protein sensitivity seems gone. I have experimented from time to time and found the symptoms getting less severe. At this point, I can barely tell when I have some dairy. Of course, I am trying to follow the Buteyko dietary recommendations which proscribe dairy.

I found that my ability to exercise with intensity and to continue breathing through my nose took a lot more work than just getting off asthma medicines. Throughout the course of the year my capacity has continuously improved and I am still working on it. But, to me the most important fact is that I can control my lungs without any medicines.
 

November, 2010

November, 2010
 
Just a year ago my breathing was very labored.  I couldn't walk fifty feet without a great deal of discomfort.  When I got off an airplane I would have to stop several times on the way to baggage claim, stairs in my house were avoided at all costs and so it went.  I was taking several medications, some worked a little, I used inhalers when I was very uncomfortable... All of my doctors tried to help me but nothing was making me better; Symbicort has been the biggest help.  But until I discovered the Buteyko Method and changed my lifestyle nothing seemed to help very much, I was feeling desperate and depressed. 

A friend had recently begun a program of care with Buteyko for his asthma and was better, he had been asthmatic his whole life; I listened to his story and immediately drove up to Buteyko Center USA and signed up for treatment.  Well it's about 6 months later and I feel the best I have felt for years!  I ride my bike over 30 miles per week, go to the gym three times a week, walk on the treadmill three to four times a week and do my Buteyko therapy every day.  My breathing has improved dramatically... I have lost 25 pounds and will continue to reduce my weight.  I have adapted my diet to exclude dairy, cheeses and other foods that can affect my breathing.  This has become a welcome way of life, not a chore.  I went on a bicycle trip with my wife and friends last weekend and rode over 40 miles.  Now that's progress!!

Yes, my life has changed since I decided to embrace the Buteyko approach.  If you have a breathing problem you can understand why many seemingly little things mean a lot.  I go upstairs in my house spontaneously, not worrying about being out of breathe, I am going on a trip to see my daughter at 6000 feet above sea level, I can walk through the airport without running out of breathe, I entertain on stage with no breathing worries.  Wow it just goes on and on!  I still can’t run a marathon but I could ride 40 miles on my bike!


Herb Birch
President and CEO, HBHMC
Ocean City, NJ

October, 2010
 
For those wondering about the longer term benefits of the Buteyko Method, I have been using the Buteyko Method and techniques for 18 months now and I continue to marvel at how effective it is.  When I very first started, I was in bad shape, my health was poor and I was using my albuterol inhaler up to 20 or more times in a 24 hour time period.  I have now decreased my use of my albuterol by 95% and am requiring only about 5% of what I was using before I started Buteyko to maintain healthful breathing.  That remains as an astonishing result in my life - something that continues to amaze me.. 

My health is much more stable in general but to maintain that, I do take precautions such as getting my flu shot, restricting my exposure to irritants and other things that cause inflamation in my airways.   I have not yet reached the peak of what Buteyko can do for me and I will continue to practice the Method to improve my health and well-being, as well, I hope, extend my life expectancy.  Another remarkable aspect of learning the Buteyko Method is that once the techniques have been learned, a person can go about their life practicing it as much as they are able.  There is obviously always more to learn about it but once learned, there is a certain freedom.  That is a valuable gift in anyone's life.

October, 2010
 
My daughter has suffered from life threatening asthma since infancy.  Asthma has caused her to be absent from school, decreased her ability in school sports, caused numerous hospitalizations, constant illness which was inevitably monitored by high doses of inhaled and oral steroids.  Living with a life threatening illness causes panic for the sufferer as well as for their loved ones.  My first path was to seek an asthma and allergy specialist whose office was very crowded with similar people.  After years of giving my daughter all these medicines, I questions the effect they would have on her long term well-being and health.  The advair commercials state that the medicine can cause death in asthma patients taking their medicine.  I had to find another path.  This led me to change her diet, however, she still needed the medicine.  Then I found information on the Buteyko Method and signed up to take the course immediately.  Dr. Buteyko discovered the cause of asthma, not the “triggers” of asthma that my other doctors explained as they wrote out another prescription for medicine.

October, 2010
 
My symptoms of coughing completely disappeared after following the Buteyko Method of breathing exercises faithfully for six weeks. Initially, I took a two day workshop at the Buteyko Center in Woodstock, New York in July 2010. Their method of instruction was clear and specific: avoid breathing through your mouth, do breathing exercises three times daily and eat vegan including whole grains as you progress toward healing.

September, 2010
 
I love the Buteyko breathing method!  I've been able to reverse mine and my son's asthma attacks successfully.  Learning the Buteyko method is a journey.  In the beginning, I was very impatient because I just wanted to get better immediately, and I wanted my CP's and PMP's to be at 40 seconds after just a week!  That was not the case though.  It takes work and dedication.  In the beginning, during an asthma attack, my CP was pretty low at about 11 seconds.  Now, first thing in the morning,  I'm doing 25-30 seconds.  It's a great improvement. 

The thing I enjoy most about doing Buteyko breathing is inhaling through my nose while talking.  I didn't like that in the beginning and it felt very unnatural.  The more I practiced though, and watched others do it during my skype sessions with Buteyko Center USA, I began to get used to it and actually enjoy it!  I'm shocked at how much I was hyperventilating in the past just by breathing in through my mouth instead of my nose at the end of sentences!  A few times, while reading stories to my kids, I've tried breathing in through my mouth at the end of a sentence just to remember what I used to do wrong, and it feels so unnatural and strange!

Who would have thought that something I've been doing all my life could be so easily changed?  I also like being able to exercise effectively without using an inhaler like I used to when I was younger.  I just keep my mouth closed the whole time I exercise, and I'm fine.  I also don't mind taping my mouth closed at night before I go to sleep.  In fact, if I've forgotten, I'll remember because I can't seem to go to sleep without it!  It's like my little security blanket- except it's tape!

Thank you Dr. Buteyko and Buteyko Center USA!