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Hydrocodone can be taken at doses less powerful than morphine but still help w/ air hunger and coughing, as it did Larry. There is no reason not to stock a bottle, Neil & all, for if/when you need a spoonful. Yes, it's Schedule II [everywhere in the US, not just Texas] so someone needs to take a paper rx to the pharmacy, but I doubt you're that far from one.

IMHO no one except in the final hours should suffer from air hunger, and those final hours can be truncated as discussed.

I do want to parse Diane's comment about "active administration" of morphine or another opiate. It is not illegal to actively titrate up the drugs when someone is suffering and near death, as I, Tillie and countless others have done. Larry was unquestionably BiPAP-dependent, but when I removed his mask, after said titration, he suffered no distress whatsoever. He was conscious and talking up to the last couple of hrs, living till he died, then as always.

With preparation, your or your PALS' passing does not have to be painful or prolonged. Stock/take what you need and live till you can't.
 
surgery was easy; recivery is hell, suctioning the tube is like water boarding torture, but quickly not getting so bad. va has been great. Two days ago I was regretting vent. Now better.
Vented emergenct surgery 25th.

Air hunger was the main discomfort the first 8 days, until I realized what it was, and complained.
 
Are you back home GB?
 
Glad it is working out, GB. Happy April!
 
Greybeard, glad to hear you are getting settled with the vent! Your water boarding comparison was spot on for the first couple of suctionings until you learn to trust that is momentary and not painful. My only problem has been that if I am really congested I am short of breath before suctioning, and when my husband starts suctioning, he doesn't want to stop until he has got it all! I have to have a break for air sometimes!

How did they fix your air hunger? I was fine at 8 breaths per minute at first. It was heaven after struggling for every breath. But an infected gallbladder 2 months later caused a high fever and I was so weak that waiting for the next breath seemed an eternity. Turning the vent up to 12 breaths per minute solved that and I have never gone back to 8.

Prepare yourself for another bout of questioning what you have done when you first get home. It will seem rather overwhelming at first but you will soon get the routine down and be able to focus on living normally rather than breathing.
 
I always think of you when I see the galahs, so I snapped some this afternoon for you mate :)
 

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Graybeard, glad to hear your procedure is over and it sounds as though recovery is getting better by the day.

With preparation, your or your PALS' passing does not have to be painful or prolonged. Stock/take what you need and live till you can't.

Such wisdom...and in this entire thread. My PALS has already decided to vent when the time comes, and through Diane's site and other's shared experiences here, I'll be ready and have an idea what to anticipate. His neuro has already promised to relieve any air hunger--his biggest fear, and we feel like we can trust this one.

Graybeard, wishing you blessings for each day you wake up and decide to live for today. And that goes for everyone fighting this monster. It takes such courage and will. Continued healing, Graybeard.
 
GB, Wishing you a fast recovery!
 
survived to hell and back last few ddays with high bp over 200. had ct scan to look for clots in brain. All good. was almost ready give up. vent plumbing much more cumbersome than i expected. wifey can't be tied to me 24/7, so need fill-in help.

sitting in new pwc. bracket arrives tomorrow for ventilator, so can move around then.

was it worth it? we'll see.
 
> was it worth it?

Hey! You're still here to give us a ration, yes?
Of course it was worth it!
8^)
 
GB you sorted a fill-in help roster and staff before going in for the vent didn't you?

One single wifey looking after a vent patient is definitely not sustainable even short term. Hope you start getting a smoother ride going now xx
 
D I L shirked away from my care. Looking for paid help. Will be in VA Spinal Cord Injury care a week or two more. PVA has direct line to CONgress, I was just told, and gets everything they want. Sure been good to me.

Sitting in my new PWC now, with laptop on tray.

Feelling better each day, but BP issues. I can tell my BP by how hot I feel. Anybody else with that symptom?
 
Hey GB, doesn't the VA kick in some home help?
 
I had the opposite with my blood pressure after the vent. It and my heart rate had been high so I could hardly believe it when, after the vent, a nurse said my blood pressure was very low. It stayed low all through my stay (imprisonment) in a special care facility for my family to be trained on the vent and feeding tube. I freaked out the nurses with a blood pressure as low as 60 over diddly squat! I had no problems with that, no weakness, dizziness etc. Years later I hit 200/110 and am now on Cozaar generic and all is well.
 
Diane how many people do you need to take care of you? What about power outages? If you don't mind my asking, do you still have some movement left?
 
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