Best Help for Asthma Sufferers
New asthma treatment for adults. A patient’s view. Bronchial Thermoplasty is lifesaving and a life changer. Orlando, Florida. Orlando Health. Dr. Mark Vollenweider.
Having asthma since age 10 has not been fun. If you suffer from this disease, you know exactly what I mean.
Finally this year, when my lung capacity dipped into the thirty and forty percent ranges, my asthma doctor, Mike Anderson, strongly recommended a new procedure.
“You’ve been feeling so bad for so long,” he said, “that you truly don’t remember what it is to feel good.”
My 61 years of severe asthma had finally caught up with me.
The truth of his statement really made me stand up and take notice.
I wasn’t walking daily anymore, my annual bouts with asthma were getting worse, and working out in my yard was a huge ordeal that not only left me breathless but on the verge of passing out.
Waiting in the wings of course was the knowledge that pneumonia or a bad case of the flu could pose a severe danger.
“This new three-stage Bronchial Thermoplasty (BT) procedure,” Dr. Mike told me, “won’t cure your asthma but it will certainly allow you to pull in full breaths. And the best pulmonary guy to do that, Dr. Mark Vollenwieder, is just down the street at Orlando Health. If I were going to have those three procedures done, he’s the one I would go to.”
Dr. Mark Vollenweider
Within a week, I was in Dr. V.’s office, late in the day, meeting with both him and his physician’s assistant, Amy Stumpf.
The actual probe
What a joy that meeting was. Both those people took all the time needed to review my records, explain the procedures thoroughly and answer all my questions.
By the time we got done, all of the doctor’s staff had left for the day. You don’t get that kind of personal care very often.
In the end, Dr. V. declared me to be an excellent candidate and we set the wheels in motion for my three procedures to happen in March, April and May.
I’m not going to detail what is involved in these events. If you haven’t already explored what’s involved in Bronchial Thermoplasty, I’ve added a bunch of links at the bottom of this post for your review. What I am going to do now though, is to tell you about my experiences.
Orlando Health
First of all, I couldn’t be any happier with my doctor. What a thorough, competent, open and compassionate guy he is. No wonder people come from all over to have him work on their lungs.
Both before and after each procedure, he carefully and warmly explained everything in very understandable terms. My wife, Barbara, who comes from a long line of doctors, was greatly impressed by how he was able to connect with both of us.
I tell you what, if you wish to consider this treatment, and you don’t live in an area with a pulmonologist competent in this procedure, it would be well worth your time and effort to become Dr. V’s patient .
Below you will find a video where he explains BT.
The End Result
During each procedure, Dr. V. worked on an overage of 120 bronchial tubes. So that means somewhere around 360 airways were permanently opened.
It is now early July of 2014 and I am breathing better than I have in DECADES! Amazing. I’m back to walking 1 ½ miles a day and I can work in my yard without feeling like I’m going to pass out.
My lung capacity went from a high of 48% to 79%, a 31% increase! And my blood oxygen level that usually showed 96-97% shot up to a steady 99%. No wonder I now feel more alert and clear-headed.
Yes, I still get a little tightness in my chest and I have to occasionally use my emergency inhaler to help bring up a clot of congestion. But that’s it.
I no longer have to use my nebulizer and I’m not downing Prednisone and antibiotics on a regular basis. What a joy!
In fact, one of our local TV channels did a story on Dr. V. and the value of these procedures, using me as a sample patient. Click here if you would like to see that news report.
Behind the Scenes Details
Now, here is what you need to know about the 3-week time period between each of the 3 one-hour, out-patient events.
Dr. V. and all the literature give fair warning that asthma symptoms will increase after each procedure. That is the main side effect. They say on average, it takes people 3-5 days for those symptoms to fully subside.
But for me, it took the full 3 weeks between each event. I had to use albuterol in my nebulizer 3-4 times a day and after the last procedure, Dr. V. also had me use a saline solution in my nebulizer to effectively bring up all the build-up of congestion. I also had to request addition doses of Prednisone.
Oh, a word about congestion. Be aware that for a number of days you will bring up great clots of the stuff. Mine was very dark. Dr. V. told me that it had been down there a very long time. His opening of the bronchial tubes set in motion a squeezing of the lungs like you would squeeze tooth paste tubes.
Nasty but true
But it isn’t always just congestion you bring up. Dr. V. warned me that old congestion actually congeals in the lungs and plugs up the bronchial tubes. Those plugs can be in there for years.
This I understood but was unprepared for the spider-like thing that popped out of my mouth. It was so large, I even took a picture of it. The branching is simply showing how the plugs had solidified in multiple tubes and were interconnected.
The red color, blood, you see in this picture, simply shows the thinness of the cell walls at that point.
“Unless you’re coughing up cups of blood,” Dr. V. told me, “what you are seeing here may look scary but it’s nothing to worry about.
As difficult as it was having increased asthma symptoms for so long and having to cough up all that old stuff in my lungs, it was definitely worth it to have the procedures done.
One Final Change
For whatever reason, I find that my ability to cough up congestion has changed. Before BT, I expelled congestion in the usual way. But after BT, I have found that doesn’t always work very well.
Maybe it’s just me and my lungs’ unique reactions to the procedures, but the easiest way for me to get rid clotted mucous now is to rapidly expel air from my lungs.
And when I say rapidly, I mean just the way you do when you are fully exhaling during the breathing test in your doctor’s office. If you are an asthma patient, you will know exactly what I mean.
So just take that information in as an indicator that everyone reacts differently. Above all else, if and when you have BT done, keep in close contact with your pulmonologist and ask lots of questions.
The Acid Test
I’m a writer of fiction for young adults. This past weekend, I traveled up to St. Augustine, Florida to do some on-site research, take pictures, etc. This is the final stage of completing the third book of The St. Augustine Trilogy.
One of my final stops on the way out of town was the St. Augustine Lighthouse.
Previous to that visit, I definitely avoided going up very many stairs And I shuddered as I looked up that winding staircase of 207 steps.
But then I thought, why not givge it a try? The proof is really in the pudding, right?
I thought I walked up that staircase slow and easy but it turned out it took me only a little over 10 minutes.
Sure, I was somewhat out of breath when I got to the top but I wasn’t exhausted, wheezing, and coughing. To be honest, my legs hurt more than my lungs but I’ll take that trade any day.
Breathing free through BT
Prognosis
As if I don’t have enough good news to report, Dr. V. told me that my lung capacity could even increase more over time. Instead of losing the usual 1% per year, I might bump my 79% up some more. Wouldn’t that be something? To help make that a reality, I have to maintain a good exercise schedule and keep up my allergy shots with my asthma doctor.
The Cost Factor
Make no mistake about it. Even though Bronchial Thermoplasty is an outpatient event, it isn’t cheap. We’re talking about 3 hours of skilled intervention with a full surgical crew. According to Orlando Health, where the procedures were performed, the total cost was estimated in the $18,000 to $20,000 range.
Lucky for me, Medicare in Florida now covers this procedure to some degree but it is so new that how much is actuallycoveraged isn’t completely clear. And even though I have a secondary health insurance policy, so far, most big insurance companies won’t pay for it.
They (he insurance companies) call the procedures experimental, a ridiculous assessment based on how long this treatment has been used in the U.S. and Europe. The good news, Dr. V. tells me, is that because Medicare accepts Bronchial Thermoplasty, the insurance companies are sure to follow sometime soon.
My Estimated Costs
Orlando Health, where my procedures were done, has really been wonderful about the complexity of financing. They have been my advocate with both Medicare and my other insurance company. Way ahead of time, they were able to tell me that the maximum I might have to pay would be $1,800 per hospital visit, down to a minimum of $350. So altogether, my total payments, including Dr. V.’s fees, might top out at $5,400, or go as low as $1,050.
Believe it or not, I am writing this on the 16th of July, 2014 and even though my first procedure was March 25, I have yet to receive a bill. Not bad, eh? I’ve seen paperwork going back and forth between Orlando Health and Medicare, including appeals that Medicare accepted, but that’s it.
What a pleasure it was to arrive for each procedure back in March, April and May and not have to address the money issue at all. Way to go, Orlando Health. You all are great!
OK, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. If you would like to contact me and chat about this some more, just use the contact form on my website and we’ll get together via email or phone. I thoroughly enjoy talking to people about my experiences. In the meantime, here are some website links that you might find useful.
Asthma – Anderson Allergy and Asthma in Orlando
Orlando Health:
• Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine Specialists – Services
• Orlando Health – BT Description
Overall BT Details & Programs
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology on BT
Are You a BT Candidate? (BT for asthma.com)
National Jewish Health in Colorado
University of Minnesota Medical Center
Keck Medical of the University of Southern California
Mary Parks Asthma Center University of Rochester, NY
