Cindy (Edison, Nj) on 07/03/2012

Out of desperation - it got so bad I could barely climb the stairs, I had to lean on the counter while doing dishes, and would get out of breath while walking the dog. I was using my inhaler 6 - 8 times a day. I looked for a demo of Buteyko method on YouTube and from the few short clips I watched, I was able to get relief almost immediately. By trying what I had observed over the next week or so, I saw vast improvement. I figured I should buy the program book/dvd so I could do the exercises properly, so I purchased the program by Patrick McKeown that other posters have mentioned here.

It's been about two weeks and I'm only using the inhaler once per day - and that is after I've gone a number of hours not doing any of the exercises.

The premise of the program: asthma and some other respiratory conditions are our body's reaction to overbreathing or hyperventilating. We are breathing through our mouths and taking in more oxygen which disrupts the balance of oxygen to CO2. In order to conserve the CO2, our airways constrict and plug with mucus. To overcome this, the method teaches us to breathe through our nose and shows how to clear our nose when stuffy. To balance out the oxygen to CO2 mix, we practise a few seconds of breath holds or control pauses. It may seem daunting at first to asthmatics who fear the feeling of not getting enough air, but the exercises quickly enable you to master your breath and control your asthma rather than it control you.

This program can easily be used by children as well. It works - I am so thankful I finally found relief!