Your Severe Asthma May Be Curable
As
my own experience has proved to me, my asthma was made much worse
due to a chronic bacterial infection of my lungs. I discovered this by accident. When I took a Zithromax dosage pack (Z-Pak)
for an unrelated problem, I noticed that my asthma got significantly better for
almost two weeks. During this almost two
week period, I was able to cut my inhaled steroid dosage in half, and I wheezed
and coughed less. This discovery
motivated me to search the web for keywords "asthma" and "azithromycin"
(azithromycin is the generic name of
Zithromax, which is sold exclusively by Pfizer in the U.S.: Zithromax information).
At that time, this link was found close to the beginning of the search results: Jim Quinlan's Asthma cure website (asthmastory.com) medications
page. I
presented some of the research that Jim Quinlan has assembled (Asthma cure
research page from asthmastory.com) to two physicians (both Internists, one
my physician, the other my brother-in-law) who both said that this treatment
would not improve my asthma. I was
convinced that this treatment would help me, and wanted very much to try it (one way to obtain Zithromax). Prior
to beginning the treatment, I was taking a lot of medicine for my
asthma: 4 puffs twice daily of the
strongest 220 mcg Flovent (the absolute maximum recommended dosage), 2 puffs
twice daily of Serevent, Singulair once daily, albuterol inhaler as needed,
theophylline as needed, and an occasional nebulizer treatment with albuterol. With all this medicine, I was still wheezing
most of the time, and coughing a lot. Over the years that I had been taking inhaled
steroids (e.g., Flovent), I kept increasing the dosage as the asthma seemed to
get worse and worse, until I finally reached the absolute maximum recommended
dosage. I tried acupuncture treatment
regimens (each lasting for about four to twelve weeks) for my asthma, and this
did not make a long-term difference. I
started taking the Zithromax once weekly on August 26, 2002. The dosage (once weekly) was two 250 mg
capsules in the morning, two 250 mg capsules in the evening (four 250 mg
capsules per week, all taken on Mondays). After six weeks of this, my asthma was so much
better that I was able to completely stop my Flovent, Serevent, and Singulair,
and I only needed to take an albuterol inhaler occasionally (less than one puff
per week). I took the once weekly
azithromycin for nine weeks in total, stopping on October 21, 2002. Despite
all that doctors have told me over the years, severe asthma may in fact be
"curable", at least reduced to the point that it is very mild. I'm not a doctor, but I know that this is
true from my own personal experience. On
the other hand, I'm sure that not all cases of asthma are alike and not all are
related to chronic infection. In my case,
I developed hayfever at age 5 years, and mild intermittent asthma at age 12 years.
At the age of 23 years (in the early 1980's),
I contracted a nasty secondary respiratory infection called pneumonitis. At that time, my asthma changed from very mild
to severe. From that time until
recently, I've been battling with asthma. The asthma sometimes got somewhat better, but
it never was mild again until after the azithromycin treatment. Moreover, the trend over the last few years
(before taking azithromycin for nine weeks) was a gradual worsening of my
asthma, with my Flovent dosage gradually increasing. Medical
Disclaimer: I am not a physician and I do not
offer medical advice here. Use this
treatment at your own risk. This
treatment may or may not work for you. It is likely that not all cases of
asthma are connected with chronic infection. Azithromycin and similar antibiotics can have
serious or even fatal side-effects for some individuals, especially those who
are sensitive to the antibiotic, or have impaired kidney or liver function. Digestive side-effects of lengthy antibiotic
use are fairly common. Eating yogurt
daily and/or taking acidophilus may help avoid this problem. I experienced minor fungal skin infections as
a result of taking azithromycin for nine weeks. Even if your asthma is worsened by a
persistent bacterial infection, you may need to pursue a treatment that
involves antibiotic(s) other than azithromycin, and the treatment may last
longer than nine to fifteen weeks. One
thing is clear to me, however. If you
have asthma that became much worse when you had a severe lower respiratory
infection (and remained worse after that time), a regimen of antibiotics may
greatly improve your asthma. I am living
proof. Jim Quinlan is living proof: How Jim Quinlan completely cured his severe asthma. I
have written this web page to try to "get the word out" about the possibility
that your asthma (or that of a loved one or friend) may be greatly improved by
this treatment. Please "spread the word" about both Asthma cure website
http://www.asthmastory.com and this page. Following
is a link to the Dean Foundation infectious asthma research: Dean Foundation infectious
asthma page UPDATE
March 9, 2003: Nine weeks of azithromycin might not have been enough in
my case. My asthma started to get significantly worse again around the
end of January 2003, coincident with a heavy cold. As of 3/9/2003, I am
about to complete another 6 weeks of azithromycin (at the same dosage as
above). My asthma responded immediately to the additional azithromycin,
and I will find out over the months ahead whether this provides long-term
relief or not. UPDATE
September 12, 2003: Other than some exercise-induced asthma, my asthma is
currently almost completely gone. I am not taking any inhaled steroids.
The only asthma medication which I now take is 2 puffs of albuterol before
strenuous exercise (bicycling). Over the past summer, I did a lot of
bicycling, some of it on very hilly terrain, and this did make my asthma worse
for a short time. I took 1 or 2 puffs daily of 220 mcg Flovent for about
two weeks over the summer, but the wheezing disappeared and I am no longer
taking Flovent. Six months after completing my second round of Zithromax
(9 weeks plus 6 weeks), my current feeling is that this is a nearly miraculous
improvement. UPDATE
November 9, 2003: My asthma symptoms are still nonexistent, even during and
after strenuous exercise. If this holds up through the winter, I will consider
myself "cured". UPDATE
March 19, 2004: My asthma medicine is all expired now, and I have no need
for it, even when I exercise. It is now a full year since my last dose of
azithromycin. It still seems that very few people know about this "radical"
treatment for asthma - what a shame!! UPDATE
March 25, 2005: I'm still asthma-free and loving it !! No wheezing,
no inhalers, even when I ride my bicycle for 60 miles. FANTASTIC. The
big question remains: when will physicians offer this treatment to those
patients who might benefit???? The
Zithromax dosages and length of treatment have apparently changed since my
course of antibiotics. The 1000 mg/week dose has dropped to 750 mg/week (with
an initial burst of 500 mg/day for 3 consecutive days), and the initial round
of treatment is typically 12 weeks. What Dr. Hahn does as of this writing is to write a prescription for #39 250 mg
azithromycin tabs and have you take 2 per day for the first three days then 3
tabs in one dose every week for 12 weeks total. UPDATE
November 4, 2005: My asthma is still in complete remission. I've done
numerous 30-50+ mile fast bike rides over the warm months, including one 70
mile one, all without any asthma medications, and without wheezing. I've even
gotten to be a stronger rider - with no respiratory handicaps to hold me back.
Now that Australian scientists Dr. J. Robin Warren and Dr. Barry J. Marshall
have won the 2005 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine (for connecting ulcers
with a bacterial infection), it makes me wonder if we will some day see a
similar prize won by the scientist(s) who clearly connects (connect) at least
some cases of asthma with bacterial infection. For those who are
suffering and even dying from bacterial asthma, this painfully slow process may
simply take too long.
Dr.
Hahn's latest recommendations can be found here: Dr. Hahn
PDF file
UPDATE
March 26, 2006: Perhaps I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but that's
just fine with me. I'm still free of all asthma symptoms, still no asthma
medications (all long expired), still riding my bicycle for miles and miles
with no wheezing and no inhalers. This was an uneventful winter, with no
asthma exacerbations whatsoever.
UPDATE
September 19, 2006: Asthma-like symptoms returned suddenly starting about
5 days after I returned from an overseas trip on July 25 (perhaps a bug I
caught on the long plane ride). I developed heavy chest cold
(bronchitis-like) symptoms - including chest congestion, coughing, and a raspy
intermittent "forced expiratory" wheeze. I am happy to report
that, 3 Z-Paks later, I am mostly asthma-free once again. I have taken
the first 5 weeks of Dr. Hahn's current Zithromax regimen (500 mg each on days
1 through 3, 750 mg once weekly thereafter) and this seems to have gotten rid
of the nasty bug and MOST of the wheezing. I will continue to report on
this as it unfolds.
UPDATE
January 2, 2007: I'm now free of any noticeable asthma symptoms, and no longer
taking any albuterol, even when I exercise vigorously. This is after
taking the first 11 weeks of Dr. Hahn's current 12 week Zithromax regimen (6
more weeks after the September 19, 2006 update above). After taking 6 Z-Paks
over 11 weeks, I felt just fine (no coughing or wheezing), so skipped the last
week of the protocol (rather than open up another Z-Pak). This experience
proves to me that asthma can recur after a successful treatment with Zithromax,
and that "retreatment" (as currently recommended by Dr. Hahn at Dr. Hahn
PDF file) can be quite successful.
UPDATE
April 25, 2007: After a heavy cold about 6 weeks ago, I seemed to have another
bout of asthma-like coughing. I am happy to report that, 3 Z-Paks (5
weeks) later, I am now back to "normal" with little if any wheezing
or coughing. This will apparently be an ongoing saga. The timing of
this was fortunate in one respect. Towards the beginning of this round of
Zithromax, I was bitten by a small tick after dragging some fallen trees into
the woods. If there was any Lyme Disease bacteria in that tick bite, it
is hopefully no more.
UPDATE
December 12, 2007: I continue to be free of asthma symptoms. All asthma
meds (including albuterol inhalers) are now expired. I have one leftover Z-Pak
(Zithromax pack) sitting in the refrigerator, waiting for the next time I need
a "refresher course".
UPDATE
February 22, 2009: Another infection
went straight to my lungs, and the deep wheezing and coughing started once
again. I am happy to report that after
two Z-Paks, I am back to my usual wheeze-free state. The dosage was the first 3 weeks of Dr. Hahn's
protocol, i.e., 500 mg (2 pills) each on 1/28, 1/29, and 1/30/2009, followed by
a once per week dose of 750 mg (3 pills) on each of 2/4 and 2/11/2009. I am going to stop the Zithromax now as two
Z-Paks seemed to do the trick this time - no more asthma symptoms!!!
UPDATE December 27, 2010: I remain basically asthma-free, with only a very occasional hint of some wheezing noise. I do not take any medication for asthma (even during strenuous exercise), and am SO GRATEFUL to be rid of this scourge. Until recently, all my asthma medications were either expired or thrown in the trash (or both!), but I decided to get an albuterol inhaler prescription just in case... It turns out that my wife needed the inhaler before I did, and I continue to do just fine without taking any asthma medications.
UPDATE
June 7, 2011: I recently had
an atypical upper respiratory infection, which went pretty quickly into
clogged ears and deep pressure while breathing (no wheezing sound,
just an uncomfortable feeling of pressure).
After two Z-Paks, I am back to my usual wheeze-free state.
I took the first Z-Pak as normally (500 mg the first day, followed by
250 mg per day for four days). That didn't seem to completely solve
the breathing congestion, so I took 750 mg one week after starting the
first Z-Pak, and then repeated 750 mg a week later. Two Z-Paks seems
to do the trick a lot better than one for such a bug.
Here's to clear breathing !!! And whoever discovered Zithromax deserves
a fancy prize, if s/he doesn't already have one!!
UPDATE
February 13, 2014:
Last fall, I took two Z-Paks once again to nail a respiratory infection
with asthma-like symptoms. The dosages were 500 mg each on
10/28, 10/29, and 10/30/2013, and 750 mg each on 11/4/2013 and 11/11/2013.
It worked like a charm. I haven't had any more such problems so far
this winter, and I am taking no medication for asthma.
UPDATE
September 15, 2014:
I recently developed another respiratory infection with asthma-like symptoms,
and this time took three Z-Paks over several weeks to nail it. I initially stopped after two Z-Paks
(the usual dosage regimen), but that did not seem enough based on some stubborn symptoms,
so proceeded to take another Z-Pak (in two 750 mg doses one week apart). This time, some very mild asthma
symptoms have remained longer than usual, but they seem to be gradually disappearing after I stopped the
azithromycin. I'm not used to carrying around an albuterol inhaler (which I have been doing, but only using
one puff occasionally), and hopefully will be able to get rid of it soon. Re-treatment with azithromycin has proved
to be a fairly regular thing for me, but thankfully I still have either no asthma symptoms or only very mild ones.
UPDATE
February 11, 2015:
After having asthma-like symptoms return a few too many times, and hearing by email from Dr. Hahn (thanks Dr. Hahn!!),
I decided to go through with the full 12 week course of azithromycin. I began this on 11/23/2014, and finished a few
days ago on 2/8/2015. The asthma-like symptoms are mostly but not completely gone. Hopefully, the full 12 weeks will
do the trick this time. We shall see how this plays out over the next few months...
UPDATE
March 8, 2015:
I extended the 12 weeks through 15 weeks, and have now stopped taking azithromycin for the time being. There are still
some mild asthma-like symptoms, but nothing that concerns me too much.
UPDATE
April 20, 2016:
The stubborn symptoms I've been having for over a year have been different from the earlier symptoms
that would pop up intermittently. This time, I noticed that the symptoms were worse when I was around
my house, and better while I was away from the house. The symptoms themselves were different. The
most noticeable symptom was chest tightness (a "heavy", uncomfortable feeling, similar to having
eaten too much),
with very little but some wheezing sounds, almost no coughing, and almost no mucus. To make
a long story short,
an adorable cat showed up in our back yard in August 2013, and we adopted him at that time, bringing
him into the house. I developed an allergy to that cat some months later, which manifested itself in
asthma symptoms (mainly chest tightness) along with a chronic stuffed nose. I tried several months of
David Wheldon's triple antibiotic
protocol (azithromycin weekly, doxycycline daily, a pulse of metronidazole once a month for about
5 days, and ending it with replacing weekly azithromycin with 50 days straight of clarithromycin
500 mg twice daily), but this did not put a lasting stop to these new symptoms. We eventually
decided that it was an allergy to the cat, after suspecting this for a number of months.
After finding an excellent new home for the cat, we moved him out of our house on April 2.
As we expected, after thoroughly cleaning
the house, my asthma symptoms have been steadily decreasing, and I expect them to basically disappear.
This proves to me that the same person can have different kinds of asthma at different times,
and perhaps in some cases, different kinds of asthma simultaneously. There is the "bacterial" asthma
that I've described on this web page at length, that responds well to antibiotics. And there is
"allergic" asthma that does not respond well to antibiotics. It would not surprise me if some
people have both kinds simultaneously, and the antibiotics only helps with one of the two asthma
variants, leaving symptoms behind of the other variant. There are probably other asthma variants
as well, such as GERD-related, with which I have less experience.
UPDATE
November 8, 2018:
I have been remiss in updating this web page over the last couple of years, as not much has changed. The chronic asthma
symptoms that I had while our cat Sandy was living with us are now completely gone. I still occasionally
have a sudden bout of asthma-like symptoms along with a respiratory illness, and usually knock it out with about the first 5 weeks (3 Z-Paks or 18 250mg azithromycin tablets)
of Dr. Hahn's 12 week protocol. This works great, until some months later, an "atypical" respiratory infection recurs, along
with asthma symptoms. So, I repeat, again, and again. I had no problems at all in 2017 or late 2016, but twice this year respiratory
infections have popped up (first late June after a long plane flight, and again just a few weeks ago). I have no idea whether
this repeated recurrence is because I never truly got rid of the long-term infection, or I have acquired a brand new infection.
This has occurred multiple times after a plane flight, which makes me suspicious that I am picking up a new
infection from another plane passenger. Besides only rarely
updating this page, I have been remiss in that I did not mention that I had the privilege of meeting Dr. David Hahn and Jim Quinlan,
both at the Oshkosh, Wisconsin WREN conference in the fall of 2015. That truly was a pleasure; both of them are my "asthma heroes".
For information on the conference,
which included an asthma discussion, see:
2015 WREN conference web page.