Flutter - Any Good??

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tripletrouble

Guest
Hello from Sydney Australia!!!

We are interested in buying the flutter for my 5 yo son who has CF. Is it any good? Does it work better than say Pep Mask or percussion? Any help much appreciated!

Thanks

Mum of triplets in Sydney!
 
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anonymous

New member
Hey Mum of triplets.
I'm a aussie too, I found the flutter to be quite good, once you get the technique right.
I aslo found the pep to be pretty good as well, I used both of them alternativeliy..
When I was doing PT treatments I would use pep, flutter and percussion, different days different things helped..

Ask the physio department, they usually have them to try first. that way your son can have a go at it, and see how he goes before outlaying the money to buy one.
All Up I have a pari pep, and astro pep, and a flutter, the pari pep gives you the choice of doing pep by itself, or you can use it in conjunction with you pari ned and do your treatments while doing pep as well, I actually found that by doing the pep during my treatments assisted in getting the ventolin and antibiotics into harder to reach parts of my lungs, cause you change the way you breath...
But get in touch with the hospital and see if you can get one of them try, or see if you can try all three, some ppl prefer different ones, and some have different results.

I would recommend all three, but thats just me, I had a lot of junk to get up, and the variation of pressure from pep, and vibration from the flutter etc aided in getting the stuff up.

Good luck
 
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kybert

New member
i cant stand the flutter. after a while your cheeks hurt from trying to keep them still. i too have the pari pep and i love it. its easy, doesnt make me wheeze and im more likely to use it!
 
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anonymous

New member
I've been using the flutter for about 10 years now. I like it and it seems to do the job. I've tried the acapella, but I think the flutter actually works better for me. I also tried the vest a couple of times, but I'm able to get more out with the flutter.

Tammy 43wcf
 
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jleigh

New member
I have not tried the flutter, but have used the acapella. That works okay for me, not the best but okay. I have also tried the vest and had little success with that.

Jen 34 w/cf
 
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MarkR

New member
<img src="i/expressions/brokenheart.gif" border="0">

I found the best way is old fashioned CPT , 15 min per position and I was ready to go
 
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AbsintheSorrow

New member
I agree Mark. And when I can't get it done for me because I'm at school living by myself, I usually go to the gym and use an elliptical machine and it gets the job done.
 
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NoDayButToday

New member
I am a big fan of the Flutter. It makes me have the most productive coughs, and is very portable. For a five year old though, who is sort of still learning how to cough hard, I don't know if the Flutter is the best way to do airway clearance. I think it really comes down to personal preference
 
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tripletrouble

Guest
Hi Guys & Gals,

Thanks very much for all your responses.

I have just bought the flutter from the US, and I'm waiting to hear back from someone who sells the Acapella. We'll try both!!

My angel is on 2 doses of nebulised antibiotics & hydro saline per day, plus we do pep mask too.

We don't actually do percussion as the physio's say that pep is better.

Fingers crossed for a cure soon!

tripletrouble

<img src="i/expressions/rose.gif" border="0">
 
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anonymous

New member
Wow...I'm absolutely amazed at all the different tools mentioned here. My oldest daughter w/CF (now 9 yrs old) was diagnosed at 2 1/2 and we were immediately given the Vest. That's all she and her 5 year old sister have ever used (other than when the younger one was too young of course, we did it by hand then)... I guess I never even realized there were other options, I really thought everyone used the Vest. The girls absolutely hate wearing it and they complain all the time but we persist. I wonder if it would be a good idea to look into something else maybe for an occasional break from the same old routine...Are these other products more transportable than the Vest? That thing is a pain to have to take everytime we are going somewhere overnight...any suggestions on what we should try? Thanks in advance...

Renee
 
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NoDayButToday

New member
The Flutter and Acapella are both MUCH MUCH more portable than the vest. The Flutter is about the size of a nebulizer cup, and the Acapella is a little bit larger than that. Like I said earlier on this thread, I LOVE my Flutter, but I think it is a matter of personal taste.
 
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anonymous

New member
Hi Dave,

The acapella is a cross between the pep and flutter. It has both resistance and vibration.

Tammy 43wcf
 
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anonymous

New member
Tammy,

When I use my flutter I have it set on the smallest hole, so which acapella should I have (I saw to different models on the site).

Dave 29 w/cf
 
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anonymous

New member
Hi Dave,

I'm confused when you say you have your flutter set on the smallest hole. Can you clarify?

Thanks,

Tammy 43wcf
 
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allie1

New member
Renee,

I was told by my daughter's dr that the vest was no more effective than hand PT so we just do that. She said the vest is better save for a teenager b/c by then they don't like their parents beating on them. My daughter is almost three.
 
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anonymous

New member
It's funny how we all get different advice from different people :) .... I've always been told that the vest is 3 x more effective than hand PT...of course I do believe from reading all the responses from people here that everything effects people differently. I guess we have to just take what works for us and go with it...I think it's great that we all give each other this info thou because it keeps our drs on their toes...when we go back and say, "this person's dr said this..." lol...keep them working for their money....Thanks for the info....I could definately do the hand PT while we are away from home overnight or something rather than dragging that darn vest around. I think I'll talk to the doctor about all the different devices since we see him next week anyway. See what he says about some of the other options. Thanks again!!!

Renee
 
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