I suffered from chronic asthma from the age of two (I’m now sixty five) and a few years ago I was diagnosed with moderate to severe COPD. In short I was in a bad way and unable to move about freely.
Some six months ago I started a course with Glenn White on the Buteyko breathing method and immediately started to improve, not spectacularly but slowly and definitely. I suspect the slow speed of my improvement was due to me not following the instruction properly rather than the content of the instruction.
Today I still do my Buteyko breathing as I will do for the rest of my life. I continue to improve as I become more proficient at what I’ve been shown. My worst fault is that I occasionally still forget myself and open my mouth to breathe (old habits die hard).
I still take some medication but fully intend to be drug free in the next six months or so. This is mostly a matter of confidence for me. I think because I was very ill and the drugs that I will be giving up are the only things that kept me alive before I learned Buteyko. All changes to prescription medication are discussed with my doctor, as instructed by Glenn. So far, I have successfully given up Seretide and Alanase100, I’ve reduced my Ventolin Inhaler usage by some 85% and I haven’t thought about Prednisone for five months.
Despite this reduction my general health has improved dramatically, I generally sleep well at night (no more snoring or [mild] sleep apnoea, I’m losing weight and I can walk for miles instead of a few hundred metres. Everyone I know can see the difference in me and I’m very happy.
I continue to take Spiriva and Flixotide. As my health continues to improve I hope to come off the Spiriva shortly.
Read Kevin's update on his health here.
