Alone and afraid

Kimmiegirl

New member
Do you have or need any books on CF? I can try & get my hands on some. My heart breaks for you. The vests run about $16000.00 but there are places coming out with refurbished ones. I can get you the websites if you'd like. Keep your child away from fountains, hot tubs, green houses, standing water, or water that has an orange waterline. This is some of where the bacteria hide that causes infection in their lungs.Splash parks & swimming pools & the ocean are okay, as a matter of fact the ocean is one of the best plasces, because of all the salt in the air.
 
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DrRoe

Guest
Sorry to hear about your problems.. CF is so rare in Japan I'm not surprised that few of the physicians there have any 'real' hands on knowledge about it (I think the rate is something like 1/350,000). However, I stumbled on a site once (Japan CF Network) that you might find it helpful http://jcfn.jimdo.com/ (I say might, as I don't read Japanese, so can't be sure what info they have posted).

Just some side notes..

I try to stay away from books about CF as they are frequently outdated even before they are published. So tend to be even scarier that 'real' life. My suggestion is to either rely on current research from sites like pubmed.gov and/or go to the CF Wordwide website at http://www.cfww.org/

There are about 1500 or so defects on Chromosome 7 that result in CF but there are also some alleles that impact on the way the genes are expressed. So accurately predicting the progression of CF in anyone person is almost impossible. Having said that, IF you haven't had your little one's genes sequenced, I would do that are a couple of treatments are available in some markets for specific genetic defects and I suspect that even more will be on the market in the US in a short while.
 

Geodude

New member
Xarismata, sorry to hear about your struggles. Just a couple points...first, it is believed by a number of doctors that Pulmozyme can actually cause bleeding, so you may want to consider stopping it and substituting hypertonic saline (believed to be less causative toward hemoptysis). You may also want to consider adding mucomyst (acetylcysteine 10% or 20%) to her albuterol/atrovent (duoneb) nebulizer mix prior to the hypertonic saline (which is done seperately). My doctors (U of MN CF Center in Minneapolis, MN) also tell me to avoid fish oil supplements, as they can cause a thinning of the blood and contribute to hemoptysis as well. Just a note: both Pulmozyme and fish oil have caused hemoptysis with me. Re: digestive enzymes (Creon or whatever you use), I don't know of any CF patient who does NOT use them (although the readers here may be aware of such people). An over-the-counter supplement you might also want to add (especially when antibiotics are taken) is a probiotic, such as Culturelle (but this is just something I do on my own). Re: good websites, one that I always found very informative is Nourma Plourdes' site at http://www3.nbnet.nb.ca/normap/CF.htm which contains a ton of good information. Finally, do not do anything without first consulting with your doctor and getting his/her approval. Hope you will become "comfortable" with the issue of CF...it is undoubtedly more frightening for you as a parent than for me as a patient (52 yrs. old)!
 
Geodude - my daughter is 5 and is pancreatic sufficient - she does not need enzymes. i know of other kids here and in Europe who do not need enzymes. So their elastaze levels are chequed regulary to monitor when will be the time for them to start on enzymes. I know of people who started on enzymes in their teens and even after reaching adulthood. Some cf mutations are milder on pancreatis.
 

Xarismata

New member
Wow... I've looked into information before on my own but it seems there is so much still to find out. I took Fred's advice and got a little vibrating handheld massage thing and it seemed to help her clear quite a bit more than usual. There's been no recurrence of blood since last Thursday and then it was only a little, but I'll watch for it after she uses the pulmozyme. I had found that group in Japan before through their website, but it seems the person who set it up has since moved on.

Dr. Roe: we have had her genes sequenced. I'd have to look for the report we got back, but I do remember we were given names of two different alleles, one inherited from each parent. I'm sure it would take me a while to parse any information out there, but is there some resource that I could look at regarding those treatments you mention specific to different alleles?

Geodude: wow. Thank you for that information. I will ask our physician about fish oils at our next appointment. My daughter is pretty picky with her foods, but one she loves quite a bit is salmon, especially salmon steaks or rice balls with salmon inside. She probably has the rice balls with salmon inside at least three or four times a week. It's healthy and protein so we're happy to let her have it when she's not interested in what mom prepared for the rest of the family... All things in moderation is the moral? Anyway, it is also encouraging to hear of people living longer with CF since we've basically been told by our physicians that she's unlikely to live too far into her 20s. I know in my mind that treatments have improved from what I've read online, but actually meeting someone as living proof is encouraging.
 

Printer

Active member
I'm 73 and there are 3 people, as patients, at my CF Clinic over 70. There is a hugh number of people on here, over 50.

Bill
 

Julie7

New member
Xarismata-san,
I have some colleagues/friends in Japan and will try and see if they have anything helpful to add, especially regarding clinics, etc. have you looked into Tokyo, whether any clinics there? Realize that would be a decent train ride but doable.
 

CFSanDiego

New member
I know I am assuming a lot here, but can you move your family to Canada? I think the life expectancy there is 47. Also, pancreatic sufficient cf people, on average fair 1 to 2 decades better than those who are not pancreatic sufficient, although better nutritional status is closing that gap. If your doctor is telling you that you can expect for your daughter to live into her 20s, then I would do everything I could to get out of there.

Good luck to you. You are your daughter's only advocate. Do everything you can to get her the expertise she needs to stay as healthy as possible for when these miracle drugs come out. For me that would mean getting her to a doctor in a country that can properly take care of her, drawing on first hand experience from treating 100s of patients and consulting doctors within the same field.
 
Moving to Canada might be a good idea - but please do not let numbers scare you.
In Poland life expectance for cf is now 26 - 5 years ago it was 22 and 10 years ago it was just 12 or so.
The problem with these numbers was lack of proper diagnosis in the past, different treatments available and lack of proper input for counting theses things. So now we have alot of patients being diagones who are - at this point over 30 or 40 - this means the life lenght even 10 years ago was counted inncorrectly.
 

albino15

New member
If you can, I would move to Canada or any country that has more experience with CF, having access to the best treatments is key. This disease is too serious to settle for less than the best if you don't have to.
 

vbs420

New member
I want to offer some additional "opinion" to your situation.

Coughing and blood: this may not necessarily mean infection. And the source of bleeding can be anywhere in the airway-lung. A "mild" bleeding is merely caused by irritation and dryness and a broken vessel in the trachea or upper bronchi. Not to say that it's NOT an infection, but rather to give an alternate view.

And yes, for some CFers, Pulmozyme causes bleeding.

Appetite: inflammation of lung tissue CAUSES decreased appetite. Get the inflammation reduced, and you will likely see an increase in appetite.

Pancreas: there are two functions: endocrine and exocrine. Don't forget about blood glucose levels. Your daughter may have sufficient ability to produce enzymes for digestion, but may not have adequate insulin production. Insulin and bg also have an effect on appetite.

Not to offer insult to Americans who have posted, but the reality of healthcare, whether public, private, or insured, is that CF Clinics and doctors are in BUSINESS. The most basic economic model that all will follow in order to maximize profit is to keep you alive, but not well. A relative amount of "sickness", to insure repeat business, is the only trusted model. I think that the only way to find true altruism in medicine or health care is that you will never find it.

Therefore, with relatively few CF patients in Japan, you will likely do better at finding healthcare professionals who are genuinely interested in treating your daughter, rather than maximising profit.

I am Canadian and have lived in Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Don't be fooled by the myth of "universal healthcare". This public insurance system only insures access to a hospital ER, and access to a physician, without expectation of payment. EVERYTHING beyond that requires payment, co-payment, or insurance. In my experience, the public insurance is woefully inadequate, unless you plan on being on welfare/social services for you, your family, and for your entire life.
 

Geodude

New member
Re: pancreatic "sufficiency"...yes, many CF patients are sufficient with respect to enzymes, not to mention insulin. Others are not, and as many of you know, that can change over the course of a lifetime. And vbs420, yes, healthcare is a business, but I think my doctors (and many of those reading this) would have great issue with your comment that their business is to maximize profit by keeping us "alive but not well". That may be the mode in Canada (although I obviously have no idea), as well as for drug manufacturers, but in the US, that would be a very bad business model for many participants in the healthcare business: insurance companies would unnecessarily lose far more money, and healthcare teams/clinics would fail to thrive and grow if a better product was readily available. If another healthcare team/clinic can keep you “well”, while yours simply keeps you “alive but not well”, then the other team will succeed (and their business will grow), and your team will fail. To say that “…the only way to find true altruism in medicine or health care is that you will never find it” is patently FALSE. If you – or anyone - have experienced that, then I would strongly encourage you to consider looking elsewhere for a better team to help manage your care. Xarismata, I would not be concerned about these issues regarding the overall business of healthcare. You simply need to find the best that is available to you. To that end, find a doctor/team you are comfortable with, and one(s) who will LISTEN to you. Other posters in this thread have indicated some good leads for you in terms of CF knowledge. And please remember, when it comes to CF, I've met far, far more good people in the business than bad…and I’m sure you will find the same is true.
 
Xarismata
I tried to send you a private message - but something went wrong with this forum... :(
If it would be a help to you and your physicotherapists - I can make a short move how I do hand CPT to my 5 year old so you can consult this.
But I would need some private email to send you short movies or I could add it to our picassa web so you can watch them.
Let me know if you are inetersted.
 
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