I read Richard Firsheins book with much interest. Yes, it is well written and contains factual information but I found my asthma was as bad after reading it as it was before. The book did little to improve my condition - it did not reverse it.

In all my search- only one book solved my problem- it is called Asthma Free naturally by Patrick McKeown and it does what it says it will do. It teaches readers how to correct their overbreathing based on the work of Russian respiratory professor Konstantin Buteyko. This book is a real gem and should be made mandatory reading for all asthmatics.

Although I greatly admire Dr. Firschein for his initiative, my experience with asthma has taught me to be skeptical of the theory of correcting breathing presented in the book. If you consider how a normal person takes a natural deep breath you will see that the chest is vigorously expanded and the upper abdomen is drawn in and upward (Gray's Anatomy). It therefore seems highly arguable that an asthmatic simply "gets stuck" in his frantic effort to take a deep inspiration, and that the upward straining of the shoulders so typical of an attack is not pathological and the deep breath should be taught by correctly learning from a healthy breather in all details. Also, a healthy breather tends to restrict the inflow of air during the deep inspiration with his lips and/teeth.
If taking a deep breath is regarded as a distinct maneuver (like a yawn or sigh), then it is just a case of an asthmatic failing to do it. It is not a question of his breathing wrongly by being misguided. Therefore, diaphragmatic breathing as advocated in the book should be treated as something of a different kind. Regards, Richard Friedel s3e0101@mailin.lrz-muenchen.de

There is significant evidence that the root cause of many, if not most, cases of asthma (and many allergies as well) is deficiency of magnesium. This fact is discussed in detail by Dr. Carolyn Dean in her excellent book The Miracle of Magnesium. Dr. Dean recommends 600 mg of supplemental magnesium daily. People with asthma who follow Dr. Dean's advice about daily magnesium supplementation often improve dramatically even if they have continued to struggle with asthma under other treatments which omit magnesium supplementation. If you are suffering from asthma please read Dr. Dean's excellent book and follow her advice regarding daily magnesium supplementation. It may well be the most important thing you will ever due to relieve this terrible ailment. By the way, although a variety of magnesium supplements are available, and beneficial, chelated magnesium -- which is readily available in most health food stores -- is the most effective.

As a lifelong asthma sufferer and an Ehlers-Danlos Patient, I was told my prognosis was poor. The drugs were destroying my body and yet were no longer relieving the problems. When my daughter starting suffering herself, I found this book...and now our whole approach to healing is thru diet and supplementation. Within a year, both of us are better than the doctors could have imagined. This book has paid for itself hundreds of times over, in the lack of doctor visits and medicne co-pays alone!

I've run into people who claim that doctors who advocate getting off of medications and using alternative methods are quacks. I agree that there are many quacks out there, but Dr. Firshein is not one of them.

Years ago, I was on 4 different asthma medications and now I'm completely drug free! I've had some asthma problem from time to time since getting off of the medications, but I feel that I'm now more intelligent about isolating the cause so I'm now able to control it without going to the doctor. What I find interesting is that I've virtually followed the same advice Dr. Firshein gives in his book without having read it. He outlines a method call the Comprehensive Asthma Prevention Program or CAP. In the CAP program, he outlines methods such as breathing exercises, visualization, biofeedback and locating and eliminating the source of your problem. He also talks a great deal about diet and exercise. There are certain foods which help repair the damage asthma may cause and prevent this disease from causing further damage. Exercise can't be emphasized enough for asthmatics. I see no reason why any asthma sufferer who conscientiously follows Firshein's CAP program wouldn't be able to get to the point where he/she requires no medications. I'm living proof that one can get off of asthma medications if determined. I simply refused to be sickly and use inhalers 3 or 4 times a day. As Firshein points out, asthma medications can cause more health problems than most realize. "Locked Lung" syndrome is a condition which is caused by overdosing on an inhaler. What happens is that the patient reaches the point where his inhaler won't work as well as it had before so he keeps using it. Eventually, the lungs completely choke themselves off and the patient can die unless he gets immediate medical attention.

So the imformation is definately out there it's just a matter of following it. The problem with most however is that we want a quick fix. We're constantly bombarded by ads telling us: "if you can't breathe, take a pill or puff on an inhaler", "if your stomach hurts, take a pill", "if you have high cholesterol, take a pill", "if your toe hurts, take a pill". Don't get me wrong, medications have their place and in some situations they are a necessity but so many people don't really need them and abuse them. The best doctors are those who try to suggest ways of working your way off medications (like Dr. Firshein) for things such as asthma instead of blindly prescribing medications.