How my asthma improved

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Mr Angry - 22 Apr 2004 14:40 GMT

I don't know if this will be of any help to other people, but I
thought I would share my experience of how I was able to dramatically
improve my asthma symptoms to the point where I no longer use a
preventer and only use a releiver prior to exercise.

I found that a major cause of my asthma was due to a hiatus hernia
which was causing acid reflux. It didn't seem that bad and I never
associated it with the asthma but within 6 weks of the operation I
noticed a dramatic improvemnet in my asthma. No more wheezing during
the night and I could go day's without using the releiver, I got to
the point where I no longer required to continue using the preventer.
When I asked the doctor he said it was well known that people who
suffered with GERD quite often had asthma and when the GERD was
treated their symptoms improved, some quite dramatically depending on
how bad the acid reflux was.

The second action which made another dramatic improvement and was
completely unexpected occurred when I reduced my salt intake. Since a
child I had always added VERY large amounts of salt to my food. My
parents had been the same and I guess I just got the taste from them.
Anyway I had been told my blood pressure was on the high side and
after reading about the dangers of having a high salt diet I decided
to bite the bullit and stop adding any salt to my food after it was
cooked.

I guess it was about 6 - 8 weeks before I realised my asthma had
improved, these two factors have reduced my Asthma symptoms by around
80%.

Now I'm not a doctor and just because this worked for me doesn't mean
it would work for you, but if you suffer with acid reflux or have a
high salt diet it might be worth considering if these are aggravating
your Asthma.

Martin

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Meghan Noecker - 23 Apr 2004 00:13 GMT

>I found that a major cause of my asthma was due to a hiatus hernia
>which was causing acid reflux. It didn't seem that bad and I never
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>treated their symptoms improved, some quite dramatically depending on
>how bad the acid reflux was.

I would be interested to know more about the hernia, and how it was
diagnosed. I know I have GERD, but I have never complained to a
doctor, because I am terrified of having a camera down my throat. I
have a very small throat anyway and a very strong gag reflex. I had a
camera down my nose once, after inhaling acid reflux, and that was bad
enough.

The doctor said to take zantac before bed, and that works great for
me. The pill is small enough that I can take, and it does work for me.

At this point, I rarely have problems with my asthma. I used my
inhaler last in January, and went about 3 years prior to that. So, not
bad, overall.

But I do wonder if there is a worse problem that needs to be
addressed.

Meghan & the Zoo Crew
Equine and Pet Photography
http://www.zoocrewphoto.com

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jackmallory@webtv.net - 23 Apr 2004 05:29 GMT

Your suspicions are well founded Meghan. That's just what they'd do to
look for a hiatic hernia: put a camera down your throat (It's called an
"endoscopy")

It happend to me and I do have an hiatic hernia. But I can swallow
anything, well almost, and the proceedure didn' bother me.

Growing up in a family of serious meat eaters, I used to bring up acid
liquid easily. In those days we used antacids like Tums or Rolaids or
the many over the counter preparations of magnesium and aluminium salts.

You might try goat milk. You might need to take one less Rx that way.
I swear by it. About a half cup will do with strong medicine or spicy
or greasy food.

BTW the goat milk you get today is not like the milk from the smelly
goats on the farms of yesteryear. Modern dairy folk feed their goats
carefully. Consequently the milk is only a very little more flavorful
than cow milk, but distinctly richer. Makes really good ice cream and
cream cheeze. If you can get it.

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CBI - 23 Apr 2004 13:42 GMT

> Your suspicions are well founded Meghan. That's just what they'd do to
> look for a hiatic hernia: put a camera down your throat (It's called an
> "endoscopy")
>
> It happend to me and I do have an hiatic hernia. But I can swallow
> anything, well almost, and the proceedure didn' bother me.

A hiatal (or hiatus) hernia is when part of the stomach sticks up
throught the diaphragm into the chest cavity. Normally the diaphragm
helps to support the lower esophgageal sphincter which keeps the acid
down in the stomach and out of the esophagus. Reflux and the hernia
are associated but do not alwayy go together (IOW - you canhave either
one without the other).

For an asthmatic, or a person with symptoms of reflux, the function of
the sphincter is much more important than the anatomy. A hiatal hernia
(or lack of one) alone means little if there is not also reflux. When
the do the endoscopy it is looking for evidence of reflux. Of course,
this test is not 100% and misses about 25% of GERD.

A barium swallow could be done which would diagnose the hernia well
and assess how much it slides in and out of the chest. It also could
see some reflux but is not a particularly sensitive test for this
(i.e. it misses a lot of cases). The most sensitive test for reflux is
to do a pH study where they put an acid sensing probe in the esophagus
for a day and monitor for pH changes. It is not as bad as it sounds
(people really don't seem to complain about it) and is considered the
gold standard test for reflux.

Knowledge of the hiatal hernia could be useful in that it is a target
for correction if life style modification and medication fails (or if
you do not want to take the medicine for the rest of your life).

> Growing up in a family of serious meat eaters, I used to bring up acid
> liquid easily. In those days we used antacids like Tums or Rolaids or
> the many over the counter preparations of magnesium and aluminium salts.

High fat meals aggravate reflux because they take longer to empty from
the stomach and so have more opportunity to go the wrong way.

Signature

CBI, MD

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David S-H - 23 Apr 2004 22:57 GMT

Are you saying that a hiatus hernia on its own, minus the GERD doesn't
affect asthma/shortness of breath? Wouldn't the stomach sticking throught
diaphragm constrict lungs within the chest cavity, or would that have to be
an extreme case?

Rgds

> > Your suspicions are well founded Meghan. That's just what they'd do to
> > look for a hiatic hernia: put a camera down your throat (It's called an
[quoted text clipped - 35 lines]
> High fat meals aggravate reflux because they take longer to empty from
> the stomach and so have more opportunity to go the wrong way.

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CBI - 26 Apr 2004 00:58 GMT

> Are you saying that a hiatus hernia on its own, minus the GERD doesn't
> affect asthma/shortness of breath?

Exactly. And GERD without a hiatus hernia will.

The GERD is a functional disorder of the lower espohageal
sphincter while the hiatus hernia is an anatomic abnormality
that makes GERD more likely but does not always lead to it.

> Wouldn't the stomach sticking
> throught diaphragm constrict lungs within the chest

cavity, or would

> that have to be an extreme case?

Some kids are born with diaphragmatic hernias large enough
to do this. Generally the constriction of the lungs from a
hiatus hernia is not large enough to be of consequence.

Signature

CBI, MD

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Taterbug - 30 Apr 2004 19:28 GMT

Hi,

I dont know about the Hernia part but, when i first started seeing my
Asthma doctor i had horrible indigestion, he told me right from the
start that that has to be controlled before my Asthma would be. It was
amazing, i first started taking Axid and, it was like a
miracle.....Dont get me wrong i still had/have problems controlling
but, the indigestion sure makes it much worse.

Nnacy

> I don't know if this will be of any help to other people, but I
> thought I would share my experience of how I was able to dramatically
[quoted text clipped - 31 lines]
>
> Martin

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