tracheostomy

I read the following on the ALS network Web site: "Unlike other diseases, living or dying is a choice. In other words, ALS itself is not fatal when a ventilator is used successfully and complications are avoided. Methods of mechanical ventilation, used to relieve symptoms and prolong survival...

Dear All My mother was diagnosed with ALS last sep. She has deteriorated to need assisted ventilation for which she underwent Tracheostomy last tuesday . Presently secretions and cough reflex are troubling her a lot. It is very difficult to see her writh in discomfort whenevr she has a bout for...

Hi, My mom in India was diagnosed with MND in Sep 2006. It started in her abdominal muscles, spread to the back and legs. Her speech is not slurry but has lost its volume. She speaks clearly but with a very very low volume. She can still swallow but has started to have trouble breathing...

My last post was in June. I inquired about persons on vents, but I became too ill to go on so I had to go in to the ER for emergency tracheostomy. It has been 2 months since it was installed and I am very confused about how the home vent has been portrayed as being a possibility that can be...

I have had PBP since April 2004. My progression has been slow compared to some. My last breathing test was at 46%. I have experience with SOB on a daily basis. I am scheduled for trach in about a week. I wanted to get some views from others who have undergone this procedure to see what their...

Hello again, everyone. I "left" abruptly in the middle of a discussion of what to do about my friend Joe's mucus problem. Everyone's advice was so helpful and I printed it out and gave him the sheets to read. But I have schizophrenia and had a relapse under the stress of it all. Luckily, other...

Hi All, I have posted on this forum a few months back about my dad's als and I am back with questions. Seems like he is progressing faster than average. In last 9 months from being able to walk a mile to needing a wheelchair, no speech and now trach and feeding tube. Pardon me if I am repeating...

My dad is going in to get a PEG tube placed tomorrow morning. The doctor told my folks to review their living will, make any changes necessary, and bring it with them. This is a scary thing to think about, and nothing really happened about it. The document currently says that in the event of a...

I am still researching whether or not to go to a ventilator when I need one. However, I just got out of the hospital after a 4 day stay due to a high cpk count of 1450, and my kidneys were shuting down. I had no urine all night before I went into the hospital. So I may not reach the point of...

Is dementia more common in bulbar ALS? I worry about that with my friend, because his memory seems so bad, though what I've read about ALS is that it is not memory-related, not like Alzheimers at all...So maybe it's just my worry that makes his memory seem worse than before. Or maybe it is the...