Buteyko -relief for asthmatics - Ajarn Forum

Mac Donn · 2nd August 2008, 17:35

For anyone out there who suffers themselves or their family suffers from asthma here are my recent experiences with the Butyeko method. I will update it occasionally over the next few weeks to let record its success or otherwise. Asthma is a very prevalent ailment and I am sure some of you suffer from it and/or have children who do/will suffer from it. To that effect I will record my experiences with the method to anyone seeking a way off the medicine merry-go-round. There is also a wealth of information on the internet to anyone interested, Likewise if anyone else has tried it themselves please share if you have the puff!

After years of increasing Ventolin use to attempt to control my asthma I finally decided to try to do something about it and have started seeing a Buteyko practitioner. Buteyko, if you don't know already, is a series of exercises based on the principal that many ailments are due to incorrect breathing -namely, hyperventilation. Initially it seemed counter-intuitive for me to reduce my breathing to help with feelings of breathlessness but the underlying principal seems to be that levels of CO2 need to be maintained to oxygenate the organs. I have been seeing a guy locally over the last three days and will have my final session tomorrow before he returns to Hong Kong.

The practitioner was initially surprised that I was only using Ventolin to manage my asthma without a steroid preventative and sent me off to get some Pulmicort. I had been prescribed one before but had refused to use it as I saw this as an acceptance of my worsening condition. I started taking it 3 times a day as directed by the Buteyko practitioner. The breathing exercises largely consist of retraining your breathing to be shallower and diaphragmatic preventing hyperventilation and loss of CO2. It is very early days but so far I have significantly decreased my use of Ventolin from 8+ puffs a day down to 4 on Thurs and Friday and 1 so far today -it being 4.30 today. This is, according to my Buteyko practitioner, a due to a combination of breathing exercises and the new medication balance. He has assured me that if I follow the techniques the doses of both meds that I will require will have significantly decreased by next weekend. And according to him with proper management I can look forward to controlling my asthma without meds (allowing for the occasional emergency) in the near future.

I'm just started on this road and don't know where it'll go for me but it is very comforting to be at least trying something other than resignation.

drdublin · 3rd August 2008, 15:51

I used pulmicort before and it didn't help much. I now use adavair it works wonders. I used to use the rescue inhaler twice a day or once every other day depending on how I was doing but I now use it on average once a month.

babyj · 27th August 2008, 13:01

It is more likely the medication that is making you use the inhaler less. I use a similar inhaler twice a day which has almost stopped my use of the Ventolin.
I will be interested to find out if this helps you though, may try it myself.

Mac Donn · 27th August 2008, 22:54

I was on steroid inhaler before and it didn't effect my ventolin intake dramatically. Incidentally I am now on less than the minimum dose recommended 400mcg -I'm on 200 -should be off all medication in the next week or two. I'll still carry some 'just in case' but less than 2 months ago being practically medication free was a complete fantasy. Buteyko has had some independent research with impressive results -google it -but needs more. A lot of GPs now refer patients to practitioners. There are a few good documentaries on youtube. Anyway it's worth a try to get off an ever-increasing medication cycle.

Just re-read my OP and that was before I stopped ventolin completely over 9 days.