Question:
Does anyone have asthma that improved with the surgery?

I have asthma really bad and I noticed that when my feet and legs swell, I get even more congested in my lungs and I wheeze really bad...I constantly wheeze and at night when I lay down I cough alot. I am waiting for approval, we are trying to prove the surgery to be med. nec. I feel it is as I swell up so bad I can't get my shoes on, I have high blood pressure, take pills for that and lasix and my asthma is out of control year round. I get so short of breath it is ridiculous. I wanted to see if anyone else had these types of things and did they improve once you started losing the weight? I have United Healthcare choice plus and I have seen where alot of people where approved and alot were denied. There is an exclusion in our policy that it must be proved med. nec. so I hope they can prove it!!! THANKS!!! And please pray for me that my insurance will approve this..I am trusting God for these bondages to be broken!!! P.S. I would love to have an Angel that is a strong spirit filled christian if there is anyone is out there!!!    — Marie B. (posted on July 3, 2001)

July 3, 2001
My asthma has greatly improved since I've had my surgery and lost 86 pounds! I was going through inhalers faster than my insurance company and doctor would allow. I was on 3 inhalers per day...now I just take one - a preventative called Flovent. If the air quality is bad (we've been having 100+ days here in Sacramento) then I need my albuterol - but otherwise I don't. And I exercise reguarly and don't need it either. A contributing factor to my asthma at night was GERD. The more I would have reflux problems, it would trigger a coughing spell, which in turn would trigger my asthma. My GERD was resolved immediately with my Lap RNY...thus no more keeping an inhaler on my night-stand for those late-night wheezing episodes. Best wishes to you.
   — T.L. S.

July 3, 2001
I am no physician, but from the sounds of your symptoms, your heart failure and asthma are WAY out of control! You may need to get back in to see your MD, SOON, to get some relief from your symptoms. Wishing you all of the best,
   — Whitney D.

July 3, 2001
I had asthma, but not in your league. Very minor in comparison and it was IMMEDIATELY gone! On of my friends WAS in your league and she had more of a gradual fading of symptoms, until hers was gone. She now runs in local charity races. Better yet, she was just starting dialysis for her diabetes. Gone. Yep. Gives you something to think about while you're in having a sleep study done to be sure nothing is adding to the problem, right?
   — vitalady

July 3, 2001
I had asthma before the surgery. I think that I used the inhaler once or twice when I first came home from the hospital. I have lost a total of 91 pounds so far since February and have not used it since. I breathe just fine now.
   — Tracy C.

July 3, 2001
My asthma was so bad prior to my open RNY almost a year ago that I was on 3 diferent inhalers, oral meds, steriods more often than not as well as a nebulizer every 1-4 hours. It was so bad that I even had to have a portalbe nebulizer that I could plug into a cigarette lighter in the car. I haven't had to use ANYTHING since my WLS. I forgot to mention that at one point (about 5 years ago) I had to have a procedure done where they went into my left lung and flushed it out with saline and took a biopsy just to make sure that it was just my asthma because I had been coughing up blood for a while. It was just a very hard to control case of asthma.
   — livnliter