non-invasive vent

[CAHPAH]

Our pulminologist was out the other day making some adjustments to Serena's bi-pap and we where talking about the lack of protablity. Since Serena needs her bi-pap 24/7 now she can only go where the electric cord will let her. He suggested we look into a non-invasive vent. He said there is no trach involved and they come in portable models that could hang from the back of a wheel chair. Anyone here heard of this? Thankd

 

[Danijela]

Jim , bipap is a non-invasive ventilator (NIV). He may be referring to a particular brand like Trilogy which can run both as a NIV and with a trache/invasive. Dani

 

[BarryG]

Anyone have any idea how much a Trilogy 100 costs if a person with no insurance coverage (ie me) wanted to buy one themselves? My bipap is a loaner provided by the ALS society and the government will provide a ventilator to those who need it but it would be just that, a ventilator only, nothing as sophisticated as the Trilogy. Part of the reason, but not the only reason, why my clinic is discouraging the laryngectomy or trache. I'm only on bipap at night and for naps right now.

I did find one website with a cost listed at over $15,000 and am wondering how real that is.

 

[smwelder]

does she have medicare be cause they will fund two one for mobil and one for home i just got mine it has a ten hour external battery with a 30 min back up it can be used as a niv or inv is smaller than a igloo junch box its a newport HT70 ventalator the newest model.

 

[DocJ]

If you can't get a Trilogy or similar model,you might want to look into a battery. I have a C 222 rechargeable battery that gives me about six hours of bi-pap time with my AVAPS. If you have a similar machine, you will need a sine wave inverter. That is because the battery is a 12 V battery, but the machine requires 24 V so you have to go through the process of converting the battery to 110 AC, and then plugging the transformer for the bi-pap into the inverter. Of course, if you have a 12 V machine, you won't have to go through the hassle of the inverter. The batteries are fairly expensive ($4-500), but it beats 15 grand for a new machine. Good luck on finding a solution that works for you.

 

[ctk56]

Kudos to your pulmonologist for suggesting this.

You can use a vent machine with a bipap mask, no need for a trach. My understanding is that the vent machine is more powerful than a bipap for help in breathing.
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I tried this set-up for about a year and it was covered by Medicare. I think many vent machines are made to be portable, having internal batteries that can last hours.

At some point in the progression, many ALS patients have a lot of secretions in the nose and mouth, making it difficult to use a mask connected to *bipap or vent machine.

Barry G.: I think most ventilators are sophisticated machines by their very nature. Perhaps the government would pay. The one I had was the size of a oversized laptop. I'm not familiar with Triology.

 

[Iloveocean]

Do any of you who used Trilogy or similar machine experience bloating? Just a regular bipap pushes air into my husband's stomach and there are times he does not want to use it because of that. Can't say I blame him, with his multiple health issues is causes more discomfort than not being connected to the bipap at this time.

 

[trfogey]

Do any of you who used Trilogy or similar machine experience bloating? Just a regular bipap pushes air into my husband's stomach and there are times he does not want to use it because of that. Can't say I blame him, with his multiple health issues is causes more discomfort than not being connected to the bipap at this time.

I use a BiPAP and have the same trouble with air being swallowed. Our solution: regular doses of simethicone, which the active ingredient in anti-gas medications such as Gas-X.