spirometer for home testing

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AHands

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Joined
Dec 10, 2007
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206
Reason
PALS
Country
US
State
NC
City
Carrboro
the clinic i go to only sees me once every five months and offers little hope. i bought my own spirometer for home testing so i can experiment and try to keep my breathing up. i really get them impression that my neuro would rather i not try because it confuses his statistics or something. the spirometer set me back $360 with shipping. theres no "consumables" and its very easy to use. i need to get somebody healthy to test it to make sure its working right. if anyone is interested, reply, and i'll send details or updates or whatever.

i will not recommend my vendor--they took six weeks to get it to me, kept saying "back ordered--one more week", never sent a tracking # or shipment confirmation, but it finally got here eventually.
 
(ack...that reads funny...when i said, "if anyone is interested" i was NOT referring to getting a healthy person to test my unit, rather i meant i'll post more details (e.g. maufacturer, model, operation, etc.) if anyone expresses interest.)
 
Adrain,

If the nuero is only willing to see you once every 5 months (that's along time), you need to do what you need to do.
Who cares if you are messing his statistics up........
 
thanks! i agree.

lately, i'm thinking a fingertip oximeter might be an even more useful investment. plus, they only cost $50 - $100. see the oximeter article on wikipedia.

i intend to repair the damage done by this disease to my breathing through massage, breathing exercises, conscious breathing, diet, careful use of bipap to fully inflate my lungs, nasal breathing, belly breathing, preventing exposure to pollutants, eliminating stress.
 
Found this old thread - is anyone else using one (spirometer)? If so, which one? I looked on the web and prices can go into hundreds even thousands of pounds. And then there are some for mere £3!
 
I am a respiratory therapist and I know that a true spirometer is in the price range of $350.00 it is what we use to measure tidal volume and vital capacity, what you might be seeing for really cheap is an incentive spirometer which is given to post operative patients it is a plastic breathing excersise device to prevent pnuemonia.
 
So PLEASE someone explain to me exactly HOW all these things help? If the bipap is "helping" by giving my diaphragm muscles a rest, why does not resting our legs serve any use before we lose them? I really truly do not understan what is going on. I could understand if I could no longer breathe and the machine took over for me, but right now I am lost. Why do they advise this but not similar machines to do our other muscles' work? Why should all the breathing exercies make any difference if our leg exercises come to nothing.
I really think it is just to soothe us that they are trying to do something.
Please put me right, someone............;;;;
 
Irismarie,

Bipap also helps for the actual exchange of oxygen and CO2 sometimes PALS because they actually don't have the strength to rid there body of C02 because of the weakness of all there breathing muscles have an excess of CO2 this can cause drowsiness, confusion and in very extreme cases respiratory failure. So the Bipap helps with those type of things. It also does give your muscles a rest so you don't have to spend that energy on breathing every minute of the day, and you can save it and spend it on something fun or necessary. Hope that helps a little to explains its need. I know that the more time dad spends under it during the day the better he feels in the evening when mom comes home so they have more quality time together. After all isn't that what it is all about if we don't have quantity we certainly want the best quality we can get. Hugs to you girl.
 
Thanks, Helpinhand. We appreciate it!
 
Thank you very much; helpinhand. I just had to turn it on in the night as breathing was difficult so i have to appreciate its help..........;
 
Thanks for replies. We have located a product similar to the one used in our clinic. An additional question - does a common cold affect FVC reading? Partner had a test done yesterday (at the clinic) and it was slightly down from his previous one. He has a cold with nasal congestion - would this play a part? D
 
A cold should not effect the reading unless he has underlying condition such as COPD or Asthma.
 
Thanks. No, he hasn't got either CODP nor Asthma. FVC went down 3% since the last reading 2.5 months ago, so just wondering if it is a normal flactuation or a start of a downward trend. I guess we'll now in a few months time. D
 
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