Air hunger

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Angela44

Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2011
Messages
19
Reason
CALS
Diagnosis
07/2010
Country
CA
State
Ontario
City
Wallaceburg
Hi again, i am finding this site to be wonderful and i appreciate all the comments.
My next question is in regards to air hunger. My mom isexperiencing some air hunger at night. During the day she says herbreathing just feels shallow. Will the bipap fix this or just prolong her symptoms in regards to breathing. Does air hunger start off slowly? Also. are we getting close to end stages of als once air hunger begins?
I appreciate all the honesty this group is willing to give. I find drs only give general answers.
 
Air hunger comes in later stages of ALS and can be controlled very well with morphine. Is your Mom currently using the services of hospice? If not, that would be a great place to start getting the help she needs. We've got some great Canadians that can probably steer you in the right direction!
 
By all means get a non invasive vent, bi-bap or whatever it needs to be called for your mom to get one. I am not so sure if it is a end stage but it will help her rest. When I lay flat I am starving for air but I am not close to end stage. Even leaning back I struggle to get a good amount of oxygen.
 
I think your mum should start using a BiPAP at night and also make sure she's elevated and not lying flat. If you're working through Home Care, you should see the RT. You should also let the ALS Clinic nurse and RT know about this and they will definitely get your mum more comfortable. Morphine will help too if she needs that now - just low doses. It shouldn't make her tired or sleepy - just a little more relaxed. Yasmin
 
this disease is so exhausting on her and our family. she sleeps at almost a 90 degree angle. we have homecare coming in a night so we get some sleep, although it is hard to sleep when she struggles with her breathing. i am always lying awake listening when i need to be sleeping. its very hard to just sit and watch.
 
Hi Angela

Dad went on the bipap and it really helped him out. At first he wore it mostly at night as it gave him more energy the following day and also after meals as eating was tough on him.
He couldn't lay flat so we had a hospital bed. He slept at an angle which was such a great help and we also used a v shaped nursing pillow at night as he didn't have strength in his neck to move his head and he found this comfortable. He wasnt near the end stage when he went on bipap. He had a good year and a half after that.

Hope this helps :)
 
Definitely get the bipap. It will make breathing so much easier! She can start off just using it at night.
 
Agreed. Get the bipap. In fact, it will give her more energy during the day to do more important things.
It, of course, is not a fix all. Eventually, it most likely wont be enough, but it can at least help her now while she is struggling so much.
 
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