Connect
Knocking on Wood
Allowing for the possibility that I'm out-of-my-tree and totally deluding myself, at the moment I'm awash in self-congratulation. I'm closing in on 16 months without a flare-up requiring antibiotics to tame. I've tweaked the twice daily treatment session so that I get it done in 23 minutes not counting clean-up time. Twenty-three minutes nebbing 7% saline, switching on the Thumper for only the final three minutes. By that time the saline is almost entirely gone. Somehow those 7 minutes render the whole experience less oneous. Don
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the MAC & Bronchiectasis Support Group.
Connect
Don, how did you get the nebulizing down to 23 minutes? Do you breathe faster?🙄 Did you soup up your equipment? How do you get that 7% ampule of saline to empty from the cup that fast?
Btw, thanks for continuing to buoy our spirits.
Hi Glenda - I can chime in here - deep belly breathing is also known as "diaphragmatic breathing" - it is helpful for many things - increasing oxygen levels (helpful for those of us with lung issues), stress reduction, improved concentration...
Here is a description I found: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/decrease-stress-by-using-your-breath/art-20267197
Sue
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
2 Reactions@woot - My old workhorse Pari Vios (the big greenish neb Medicare pays for) empties a 4ml vial of saline or levalbuterol in 8-10 minutes as long as I breathe deeply. I feel the increased output penetrates my lungs better as well. My little portable Innova takes 20 minutes each to do the same. After years of trial and error, I have decided to foresake portability and quiet for speed & noise - I'm far too impatient to sit still.
Sue
@glendamoseley1 Hi Glenda...there are a lot of instructions for belly breathing or diaphragmatic breathing on the internet. Here is just one of them. I do it while nebulizing my saline to try to get it deep into my lungs. Also I hold it in for maybe a count of 5 or more....it might make you a little lightheaded so don't overdo. I worked up to doing more belly breaths over a period of time. Don't force it. Hope it helps and I would love to hear from you if it does. It is also a great overall excercise for your lungs. Kate
https://www.verywellhealth.com/how-to-breathe-with-your-belly-89853#.
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@sueinmn If noise is an issue you might consider getting a pair of wireless "noise reducing" headphones. I use them to listen to music while nebbing and the noise from the nebulizer is greatly reduced. My Pari Vios is set up at my computer desk and I surf the web at the same time. Makes the time fly.
Woot, your question prompted me to examine my nebulizer which. When I took a look I was surprised by the absence of the word "PARI." It took a moment or so to remember that my old Pari died of old age several months back. The replacement is utterly nondescript; not a "brand" name to be found. Can't help but envy such commercial modesty. Maybe they're just making it harder to sue them if the thing electrocutes a user. I usually set the timer on my iphone to remind me to check the "cup" twenty minutes in. I've found that after 20 minutes the vapor production is pretty anemic, so I tip it, tilt it and cuff it around for a moment, eager to leave no drop unnebbed and then I call it quits yielding to some recondite law of diminishing returns. Then, having "hosed up" before I started the nebulizer, I switch on the Thumper for a "clocked" three minutes. Then depending on whether it's morning or evening, I'm coughing and spitting a little, or coughing and spitting and sneezing my fool head off. Morning = a little; evening = a lot (when I was a kid my mother would often speak of "night" air, conveying the notion that it was somehow different. I suspect she was repeating the received wisdom of untold generations. However, it wasn't until Bronc and MAC came a visiting that her words got turbocharged.)
After dutifully doing the full 30 minutes pre-programmed into the Respirtech for some three years, I revolted and shaved off 27 minutes having gradually discovered what a lot of folks who post here seem to know; nebulizing is central to the overall treatment regimen; percussion is a supporting actor.
btw, your use of the word "ampule" caught my attention. I've always called those little things "vials." Being more than a bit fascinated by the world of words I looked into it and discovered I've been misspeaking all these years. Doubtless throngs of people are laughing behind my back. Ampule/Vial, I'll never make that mistake again. Thanks to you! Don
P.S. I just now checked my stock of saline solution. Lo and behold, the label on the box reads "vials." No "ampule" in sight. Oh well, A rose by any other name. LOL
.