Hi /r/Asthma! I had bronchial thermoplasty today and wanted to share.

I actually found this subreddit when someone had messaged me, inquiring about my procedure which was still pending approval at the time. I'm fortunate in that I've only had to deal with debilitating asthma for the past year, otherwise I was a perfectly normal and healthy, very active young adult.

I was first recommended to have bronchial thermoplasty in October 2013, two months after delivering the lovely baby girl that caused all of this. Post-partum treatments failed and my asthma was so severe I was forced to quit my job, change my school degree to something I could do online from home, and put my kids into daycare as I couldn't take care of them anymore. I was finally approved through insurance to have the procedure in January of this year.

I was saddened that a search only showed one other person mentioning having the procedure done and it was unsuccessful for them. I'm hoping for a much better outcome.

The intention was for the catheter to be threaded through my nose but oops! It was too small. So instead they went through my mouth but honestly, the last thing I remember was anesthesia telling me, "Here comes your first cocktail!" Then it was all over. I woke up with no irritation, no shortness of breath. Just a mild cough with deep breathing and was promptly given an albuterol treatment. I only required post-op oxygen until the anesthesia wore off entirely and my breathing returned to normal.

Seven hours later, I'm home, I've had a nap and a lovely cup of tea. My cough is nowhere near the cough that first put me into the hospital almost a year ago and diagnosed with asthma, and the minor bit of blood I cough up isn't bothersome. This is supposedly the worst I'll feel.

I still have two treatments left, one in three weeks and another in six weeks before it'll all be over. I'm curious, and secretly hopeful, that tomorrow morning I'll get out of bed without coughing or having to stop to catch my breath for the first time in almost a year. Oh, to dream.

If you haven't heard of bronchial thermoplasty, it's provided by Alair and Boston Scientific, and here's a YouTube video of a presentation of the procedure, along with a clip of it being performed.

Has anyone here looked into having it done?

Update: Aside from coughing up a bit of blood the first night, so far recovering has gone well! Minimal coughing with strenuous activity, but heck, I've had colds worse than this. (: