chest congestion

[KinzaDAF]

I am in Ohio now, visiting my parents. Dad has been having a hard time. He caught a nasty cold..or SOME kind of bug, when he went to a football game a couple weeks ago. and now has terrible chest congestion. Mom even took Dad to the hospital in the middle of the night since he was so bad. ( She admitted to having called the squad a couple nights ago. ) They did a chest x ray, did bloodwork and gave him an antibiotic. He MAY have pneumonia, but we don't have the test results yet. They tried to suction the mucous I guess but apparently it was "too deep down" for them to be able to get. Doesn't sound good to me. Mom has not been getting sleep because of the noises Dad makes while he is trying to sleep, and of course didn't sleep last night because of taking Dad to the hospital. Dad has been sleeping on his side but I have told Mom to have Dad be propped up or even have him sleep in a recliner so he is upright. A home health nurse, as well as the squad who was called, said Dad sounds ok in his lungs. Mom says he is NOT ok. My sister will bring her stethoscope over soon and I'LL listen to Dad's lungs ( I am a nurse. )myself. Dad kind of groans at times and then trys weakly to couch and I can hear that he is just FULL of "gunk". He just can't cough the stuff up. Mom has been trying to give him meds in his PEG to try and break things up but Dad is still not doing well. What ideas does anyone have for us to try? Poor Mom is asleep in a chair right now.

Debbie

 

[wacked]

We have a cough assist that's been extremely helpful in "getting the gunk out." It forces air into the lungs, pauses, and then sucks the air out. It takes a while in tandem with the suction but it works. I'm assuming his primary care Dr. is aware of his current condition.
Good luck.

 

[h37skipper]

We consider the cough-assist a necessity, maybe even a life saver. Sometimes my wife Maura panics when she has breathing difficulties. Four or five "breaths" from the cough-assist and she is fine. The other device that has helped tremendously is the rented hospital bed. Having control of the head and foot has made all the difference. Her more upright position has made it possible for both of us to sleep better. We put it right beside our regular bed so we are still sleeping together. Before the hospital bed I was in another room or on the sofa almost every night but 1 or 2 a.m. Her breathing with the BiPap was so noisy that I feared our condo neighbor would be awakened. It was from having her neck bent and constantly switching from side to side and moving the mask. Now she sleeps on her back through the night and the mask doesn't leak. The result is better breathing and less secretions.

 

[LauraW]

The cough assist has saved my Mother's life. Now she even uses it with her trache.

 

[KinzaDAF]

Thank you all so much for your replies. I will pass them along to my mother. Dad is doing better on the Augmentin but is up a lot in the night ( says he has to go to the bathroom but then can't *go ) and sleeps upright in a chair during the day. I have suggested to Mom that Dad may need Bi Pap and a cough assist but she is so stressed and overwhelmed right now that just the thought of having to get/do "one more thing" got her upset with me for mentioning these things. It is so hard, knowing the stress she has to be feeling, but also understanding that dad would benefit from these devices. He is sleepy during the day, up frequently at night, and seemed really "out of it" when I visited. I feel so bad for Mom. I don't want her to get sick from being overwhelmed and yet, when I suggest things that might help Dad ( and therefore *her ) it just upsets her more. I don't know what to do. Dad's ALS doctor does not yet know the current status of things but I think an appointment is coming up soon.

Debbie