Question- Breathing difficulties

[thistlegal]

I have a question about breathing difficulities for those that are or have gone through this part of the this disease.

My spouse is starting to experience difficulty. His coughing is a lot weaker than it was a couple pf weeks ago when he has his last test. He could give the big belly cough then but now he can barely make a baby cough. I'm not sure how to discribe it....it takes several tries to cough up the phlem and sounds like it is mostly coming from the throat instead of the belly.

I am worried about how quickly this is progressing and wondering if this is normal? I have read on here that quiet a few people are on vents or BIPAP? What is the difference and at what point did you or you doctor decide it was necessary?

We are trying to get a hospital bed and hoping this helps by elevating his chest while he is sleeping. I keep pumping the Buckleys to help loosen the phlem and make it easier to cough up. The puffer helps for a bit so he can catch his breath to cough again, but he is current dose is four puffs at a time. Any tips or pointers would be appreciated!!!!

[Pat Paine]

this is what helps me, BiPap most of day, cough assist machine 3x a day,
keeping well hydrated, taking 400 mgm of guaifenesin 3X a day. Some folks
find using a vaporizer helps too. Your pulmonary doc or the resp therapist at the ALS center
can help assess and order the needed resp equipment, don't wait too long to see them.
blessings, Pat

[thistlegal]

Thaks Pat for responding so quickly. We will be seeing our nuroligist on Monday for our trial visit. We will be discussing this with her. It just scares the crap ( sorry) out of me that it is progressing and it is effecting his breathing. What is a cough assist machine and how does it work?

[Pat Paine]

The cough assist machine is calibrated by RT,
I t super inflates your lungs and then pulls the sputum out.It really helps
and prevents pneumonia when you cannot cough yourself. ASk for a pulmonary consult soon.
Pat

[TedH5]

A bipap is a a non invasive apparatus to assist your body with breathing. It usually consists of a mask (think of Top Gun pilots) that both helps "push" air in and pull air (CO2) out. While a Ventillator as I understand it is what you have if you decide to have a tracheomoty, and the machine will actually breathe for your body. Obviously this is considered invasive. I could be mistaken but that is how I understand it. I use a bipap at night and it is very helpful. After I started utilizing it my breathing tests scores start to improve after about a month. If you want to learn about a ventillator ask Joel, he is the residential expert.

[joelc]

I have a question about breathing difficulities for those that are or have gone through this part of the this disease.

I am worried about how quickly this is progressing and wondering if this is normal? I have read on here that quiet a few people are on vents or BIPAP? What is the difference and at what point did you or you doctor decide it was necessary?

There is no normal for progression, every person is so different. It can also speed up and slow down.

The explanation you have already been given is correct about Bipaps and vents. The Bipap is considered to be non-invasive and requires you wear a mask. A vent is used with a tracheostomy and is considered invasive. Either one will give relief to labored breathing. When a person has trouble breathing, especially while laying down, it is time for a Bipap. When the use of a Bipap increases so it is being used for most of the day it is time to consider a trache and vent. A trache and vent is a far superior and more comfortable way to breathe.

Take a look: Living and Surving with ALS (http://www.LifeWithALS.com) and go to the Content Index and choose "T" for trache and then "V" for vents.