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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@melinda561

I have Hill Rom also. It’s set at 13Hz and I use it twice daily. I’m 99lbs, are your settings too high. You may want to call the therapist back and discuss the problem your having. It may not be the right choice for you.

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Thank you all. I will try again, on lowest setting. I want to do all I can before I tell doctor I can’t use it. I did take Christmas off. Will start again Wednesday. I am hoping it works. I do very well with clearance. I’m not sure what dr thinks is in there!

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I have had a percussion vest for 1 year. The therapist told me to dial down the pressure
I generally start at 40% and go up y 50-60. I could not tolerate higher . It hurt my ribs and neck. I don't use it right after eating. I was also told by pulmonologist that I didn't need to wait for 12 hrs. Hope this helps!

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@kkp10

I have had a percussion vest for 1 year. The therapist told me to dial down the pressure
I generally start at 40% and go up y 50-60. I could not tolerate higher . It hurt my ribs and neck. I don't use it right after eating. I was also told by pulmonologist that I didn't need to wait for 12 hrs. Hope this helps!

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Kkp10. Thank you. Yes I did put it at one for now. My ribs and muscles are still sore and spasms still bad. I am trying one for 5 minutes. If I can keep that up I’ll go higher. I was ready to quit, but I won’t give up yet, my muscles will let me know. Physical therapy for those 10 months was costly. I can’t get like that again.

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@northland

Sorry to hear that...maybe positional or rebounder will help the gunk to come up?

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Northland, what is rebounder? Never heard the word in drs office.

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@Cathln

Kkp10. Thank you. Yes I did put it at one for now. My ribs and muscles are still sore and spasms still bad. I am trying one for 5 minutes. If I can keep that up I’ll go higher. I was ready to quit, but I won’t give up yet, my muscles will let me know. Physical therapy for those 10 months was costly. I can’t get like that again.

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I must have a different vest then some of you. Mine goes from 1/10 and then the minutes. I can’t control the rest.

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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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@Cathln

Dulwich thank you. What did your dr. say? I’m afraid to tell mine because he ordered it.

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Be Your Own Advocate and tell your Doc it didn't work for you. My Pulm says it is an "option" some people like. I tried it under a 30 day trial period and took it back after a week. Like you, I can do my own postural drainage and felt the vest wasn't bringing up any more than I could do myself. I also was not able to nebulize as deeply because the vest constricted my airways. The Vests are expensive! I bought a small $50 percussion shoulder wrap and use it on my lungs - it works pretty good! My guess is your doctor won't have any problem with you not wanting it.
Good Luck!

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@barbfit

Be Your Own Advocate and tell your Doc it didn't work for you. My Pulm says it is an "option" some people like. I tried it under a 30 day trial period and took it back after a week. Like you, I can do my own postural drainage and felt the vest wasn't bringing up any more than I could do myself. I also was not able to nebulize as deeply because the vest constricted my airways. The Vests are expensive! I bought a small $50 percussion shoulder wrap and use it on my lungs - it works pretty good! My guess is your doctor won't have any problem with you not wanting it.
Good Luck!

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May I know the brand of percussion shoulder wrap you use?

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@barbfit

Be Your Own Advocate and tell your Doc it didn't work for you. My Pulm says it is an "option" some people like. I tried it under a 30 day trial period and took it back after a week. Like you, I can do my own postural drainage and felt the vest wasn't bringing up any more than I could do myself. I also was not able to nebulize as deeply because the vest constricted my airways. The Vests are expensive! I bought a small $50 percussion shoulder wrap and use it on my lungs - it works pretty good! My guess is your doctor won't have any problem with you not wanting it.
Good Luck!

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Hi! Can you tell me the name of percussion shoulder wrap. This sounds like a good alternative.

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@barbfit

Be Your Own Advocate and tell your Doc it didn't work for you. My Pulm says it is an "option" some people like. I tried it under a 30 day trial period and took it back after a week. Like you, I can do my own postural drainage and felt the vest wasn't bringing up any more than I could do myself. I also was not able to nebulize as deeply because the vest constricted my airways. The Vests are expensive! I bought a small $50 percussion shoulder wrap and use it on my lungs - it works pretty good! My guess is your doctor won't have any problem with you not wanting it.
Good Luck!

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hello barbfit, what is a percussion shoulder wrap. I looked online and they show just shoulder wraps; but where is the percussion part? Thank you,

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