Please help pulmonary vest problem

Posted by Cathln @Cathln, Dec 21, 2023

Dr orders vest. Therapist shows me how it works and leaves. 20 minutes on it twice a day at 10. I weigh 97lbs. It made me vomit. Does everyone here with a vest use it twice a day, on high? Is it up to you? Im in pain from brachial plexus neuropathy and chostrocondritis. I just finished 10 months of physical therapy for these problems. Pulmonary dr. Didn’t let me finish telling him. He just said, ok I’ll order the vest for you! I do fine with postural drainage. I’ve learned to do it so my muscles don’t spasm. I get nothing with this. I can’t imagine doing this the rest of my life. Thanks for reading this!

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@sherrig

I have an InCourage vest. You select a percentage for your therapy. I am not able to tolerate 100%. Was doing OK at 65% until I cracked a rib from coughing. I moved it down to 50% for 2 months, now doing it at 55%, and will work back up to 65% over time. The therapist for my machine suggested I loosen the bottom strap and sit up very straight until my rib healed and that helped a lot. I was getting neck and shoulder pain when doing 65%. They sent me a different size vest (hopefully this is now the correct size) to see if that will help with the neck and shoulder issues (that was right before I broke the rib). I use my vest for 30 minutes at 6 AM (before Breakfast) and between 3:30-4:00 PM (2-3 hours after eating lunch). I cannot use the vest if I have a full stomach.

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I also use Philips InCourage but I use it at 35 or 40% max otherwise it feels very tight. I am 102 pounds and the vest is size 34- I think it is too wide for me because no matter how I move the straps I really dont feel any shaking on my back but should I even feel any vibration on the back? I know when I sit and lean my back against the chair there is no air cushion at the back. Does anyone can comment on this? I asked the tech from the company to come and set the vest again for me since I understand better how it works.

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Hey everyone, I’m sorry I have not replied to your question about the massager. Actually, mine stopped working a few weeks ago after 3 years and I’ve just ordered three different kinds to see which ones I might like best. I should have all of them by Tuesday. So I will get back to you and let you know my reviews, but keep in mind that these are just regular massagers with vibration and not any kind of medical equipment.

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Thank you everyone for your comments. I have sent it back. I emailed the doctor and just told him I can't use it. Even on the lowest, it was too much. I am back with Physical Therapy to get spasms out of my back and chest muscles.
My areobika and postural drainage work every day, and have for years. I don't know why he thought I would need it. It did nothing but hurt me.
Thank you all for your help!

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I used the Hillrom vest for 4 months and returned it. It caused bad shoulder pain even though I lifted it up from my shoulder with my hands and it didn't help at all with expectorating.

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Same experience. Returned it. Go back to what works for you! There is no magic to the best. Works well for some people but not everyone.

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@barbfit

Hey everyone, I’m sorry I have not replied to your question about the massager. Actually, mine stopped working a few weeks ago after 3 years and I’ve just ordered three different kinds to see which ones I might like best. I should have all of them by Tuesday. So I will get back to you and let you know my reviews, but keep in mind that these are just regular massagers with vibration and not any kind of medical equipment.

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This is what I decided on. It is not perfect, but it helps. Since it is flexible, I will roll it and put it on my side and front to get vibration all over but just having it hit my back seems to bring some stuff up. I don’t know why they don’t have something that works with vibration that isn’t so cumbersome like a vest Seems like a no-brainer to me.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B073142HJX?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_image

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@barbfit

This is what I decided on. It is not perfect, but it helps. Since it is flexible, I will roll it and put it on my side and front to get vibration all over but just having it hit my back seems to bring some stuff up. I don’t know why they don’t have something that works with vibration that isn’t so cumbersome like a vest Seems like a no-brainer to me.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B073142HJX?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_image

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Thank you. Does it bring up the mucus out?

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I expel a lot of mucus at every treatment. For me, within 5 minutes with massager on high, I started to cough. (This is before any other treatments).
However if you already have difficulty coughing up much mucus, I don’t know if it would work as easily. I just got it from Amazon, so, if you have prime, you can easily take it back.

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I started with the vest, neubulizer and aerobika in October 2023 after NJH prescribed it. At first I was concerned with the vibrations of the vest near the heart and the small hiatal hernia I was diagnosed with while at NJH. Because of that and what I felt on my right side near my kidney, I decided to make a front cushion out of a roll of bubble wrap and a also protection for my right side near my kidney. I still feel the vibrations for all areas but of course mostly my back area. I do feel that using it probably does help but hard to know what truly is doing the most good...Nebulizing, Aerobika, Vest....all at the same time. For me I do not believe it is causing me problems, no broken ribs etc. etc. I also decided to use a hand vibrator at times while in between the therapy of the three (Neb,Aero,Vest) if I am in a sitting position to use it. I think all is a help, as long as no side bad effects, be it physically or just mentally knowing you are doing for oneself what you think is helping.

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