Bronchial Thermoplasty

I see reports in the media about people in the areas affected by the Noto earthquake who are unable to receive medical treatment or visit clinics.

Living in Tokyo, I am fortunate enough to be able to visit my clinic as usual.

Yesterday was my first clinic visit of the year. I have had bronchial asthma since I was in my 20s and have been visiting the clinic regularly for several decades.

Every day, morning and evening, I keep an asthma diary as part of my daily health check, recording my peak flow value (a measure of breathing strength), blood pressure, and oxygen saturation (blood oxygen level).

However, three years ago, I encountered a procedure called "bronchial thermoplasty."

Bronchial asthma is essentially a disease where waste products accumulate in the bronchi connected to the lungs, causing them to narrow and making it difficult to breathe.

This "bronchial thermoplasty" is a procedure where the accumulated waste is burned away using a fiber-optic scope in the three bronchial areas—the right lung, left lung, and central airway—to widen the bronchial passages and improve airflow.

Before I found out about this "bronchial thermoplasty," I had tried changing various medications and even underwent gene-targeted therapy, but I struggled to get good results.

Just before the state of emergency was declared in 2020, I was able to undergo the "bronchial thermoplasty" procedure, and it was a success.

I was under observation for about a year after the surgery, and since it coincided with the state of emergency, which made it difficult to go out and increased the amount of remote work, it was actually a blessing for me.

This year marks three full years since I underwent the "bronchial thermoplasty" surgery.

Before having this surgery, I was diagnosed with moderate bronchial asthma and, while visiting the clinic once a month, I would often end up hospitalized due to attacks triggered by climate changes and other factors.

During my asthma treatment, I tried changing various medications and underwent gene-targeted therapy, but because of individual differences, I could not easily achieve good results.

I successfully completed the follow-up period the year before last, and I have been able to withstand recent climate changes without any attacks.

Since last year, my clinic visits have gone from once a month to once every two months. I am happy to report that at my visit yesterday, I was diagnosed as having stable asthma.

Although I still cannot skip my daily morning and evening medication and my asthma diary, I am very happy to be free from the suffering I experienced before.

I have never been used to talking about myself, but I am glad I could share this today. I would be happy to post about my own experiences, lessons learned, and memories this year.

I know everyone has various concerns regarding disasters and climate change, but please take care of your health first and foremost.

Thank you for reading until the end.