Encouragement to those struggling to improve lung function

[running4life]

Melissa,

Wow - that's encouraging that you have children. My OBGYN isn't sure if I can have kids, obviously they cannot tell until I have tried. She says there aren't any specific reasons other than having CF and CFRD that would prevent healthy pregnancies. At this point, I am unsure if I even want to have kids and I'm no where near being in that place in life anyway. I do think it's great you seem to be living a healthy, "Normal" life that isn't ruled by CF. Good for you!

I'll have to check out that video, but unfortunately I rent so its not really feasible. I am thinking of training for a Half Ironman again. I just talked with a guy who is training for a full and was SO inspired. We shall see. I have a bad shoulder so it puts a damper on swimming, but like I said, we shall see.

Ashley

 

[Melissa75]

Here is an old thread with CF moms talking about having kids. More than a few with multiple children. I don't have CF. I was tested for it as a baby and adult--very low sweat test numbers.

http://forum.cysticfibrosis.com/threads/26551-Know-of-anyone-with-more-than-2-kids

I am lucky that my bronchiectasis has not been so bad to prevent me to doing a lot, and also it set in fairly late...well, not my 70s or something, but late compared to CF-bronch. In my case, my first two pregnancies were before the bronchiectasis diagnosis. Back then, I just had a chronic junky cough and about one bronchitis or no-hospitalization-needed pneumonia a year. It was between kids two and three, when I was 28/29, that the lungs got weird. Baby three a year or so later, involved a very difficult pregnancy. Everything turned out okay. I don't know how to express how grateful and lucky I feel about that. They don't know why I have bronchiectasis, and I can only suspect that whatever was causing it to develop (single-organ autoimmune disease??) was also not friendly to pregnancy.

WOW to you on the half-Ironman plans! I have "issues" with swimming--feel like my lungs are being squeezed. I hope your shoulder can hang in there. Do you have bursitis? I've had that and it comes back to haunt me here and there. When it acts up, I dance with one arm at my side, and my gym buddies know not to copy my moves.

PDC, I've heard a lot about the NHS from the bronchiectasis r us message board. Many of its members are in the UK. You seem to wait longer for hospital beds and not get as many gadgets, but you get more services from humans (physio, visiting nurses). Does that sound about right?

I hope you get to train for and do a triathlon now that your kids are a little older. Impressive!

 

[PDC 4 EVER]

Melissa.

Definitely right about beds and gadgets, I can't speak for others but I don't get any nurse/physio visits and its always seemed a problem when suggested. I had 2 visits in a year when I put my foot down about going because I moved in with my mum to be her carer as she was in the last stages of Cancer but apart from that there has always been some reason why it's best I go up there and I think the real unspoken reason is cost. There is such a vast difference in the quality of treatment between hospitals it is a concern but I'm still bloody glad we've got it and my life would be worse without them!!

R4L

Half iron man is still blooming impressive sounding.....how far is that for each discipline?

 

[welshwitch]

I'm going to sign up for a 5 K or a Half Marathon! Time to kick some more CF a$$

 

[running4life]

The Half ironman is 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run.Melissa,Thanks for the information. My OBGYN actually said having Diabetes will probably be more of a struggle since blood sugar is such an issue during pregnancy.

 

[Melissa75]

PDC, I'm sorry you lost your mom to cancer. Thank goodness you were able to get some in-house physio during such a difficult period.
Running, I can see how diabetes could be more of an issue for pregnancy if a person's lungs are fairly stable. It sounds like you are a good candidate for pregnancy, though--when you are ready for it, of course.