getting PFT's up

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sarabeth87

New member
I went for to the doctor yesterday and my FEV1 was 64%. It has NEVER been that low. It's normally in the 80s and 90s. I have been taking all of my stuff like I'm supposed to except my Vest, which I probably take 2 times a week, although I'm suppose to do it 30 min. a day. My doctor wants me to take bactrium 2 weeks on 2 weeks off. I was just wondering if anyone else takes bactrium like this and if not doing your Vest right would bring you pft's down that bad? I am going to start taking it right. I took it last night and this morning. Also, the doctor said Travis may be out Friday night or Saturday morning.
 
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sarabeth87

New member
I went for to the doctor yesterday and my FEV1 was 64%. It has NEVER been that low. It's normally in the 80s and 90s. I have been taking all of my stuff like I'm supposed to except my Vest, which I probably take 2 times a week, although I'm suppose to do it 30 min. a day. My doctor wants me to take bactrium 2 weeks on 2 weeks off. I was just wondering if anyone else takes bactrium like this and if not doing your Vest right would bring you pft's down that bad? I am going to start taking it right. I took it last night and this morning. Also, the doctor said Travis may be out Friday night or Saturday morning.
 
S

sarabeth87

New member
I went for to the doctor yesterday and my FEV1 was 64%. It has NEVER been that low. It's normally in the 80s and 90s. I have been taking all of my stuff like I'm supposed to except my Vest, which I probably take 2 times a week, although I'm suppose to do it 30 min. a day. My doctor wants me to take bactrium 2 weeks on 2 weeks off. I was just wondering if anyone else takes bactrium like this and if not doing your Vest right would bring you pft's down that bad? I am going to start taking it right. I took it last night and this morning. Also, the doctor said Travis may be out Friday night or Saturday morning.
 
J

Jem

New member
That's great news that Travis will be out by the weekend. I do hope he his feeling much better. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

Sorry to hear your news with the lower FEV 1. I know that can be disheartening. Do you neb Hypertonic Saline? I do 5ml of 7% twice a day while I do the vest (I do the vest 30 minutes twice a day). I have found that when I was compliant in doing this together and doing it twice a day that it really helped to bring up my FEV 1. Also since starting HS last April I have not needed an antibiotic for an infection except for 2 times (for two weeks each) when I had very minor bleeds and that was for precautionary reasons. Even with other family member getting awful colds this past winter I did not catch them and I really attribute it to the HS. It has really made me a healthier person. I am sure others will share what has helped them but don't get discouraged. Exercise and taking care of yourself before you do things for others is important too. You are in my thoughts and prayers.<img src="i/expressions/heart.gif" border="0">
 
J

Jem

New member
That's great news that Travis will be out by the weekend. I do hope he his feeling much better. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

Sorry to hear your news with the lower FEV 1. I know that can be disheartening. Do you neb Hypertonic Saline? I do 5ml of 7% twice a day while I do the vest (I do the vest 30 minutes twice a day). I have found that when I was compliant in doing this together and doing it twice a day that it really helped to bring up my FEV 1. Also since starting HS last April I have not needed an antibiotic for an infection except for 2 times (for two weeks each) when I had very minor bleeds and that was for precautionary reasons. Even with other family member getting awful colds this past winter I did not catch them and I really attribute it to the HS. It has really made me a healthier person. I am sure others will share what has helped them but don't get discouraged. Exercise and taking care of yourself before you do things for others is important too. You are in my thoughts and prayers.<img src="i/expressions/heart.gif" border="0">
 
J

Jem

New member
That's great news that Travis will be out by the weekend. I do hope he his feeling much better. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

Sorry to hear your news with the lower FEV 1. I know that can be disheartening. Do you neb Hypertonic Saline? I do 5ml of 7% twice a day while I do the vest (I do the vest 30 minutes twice a day). I have found that when I was compliant in doing this together and doing it twice a day that it really helped to bring up my FEV 1. Also since starting HS last April I have not needed an antibiotic for an infection except for 2 times (for two weeks each) when I had very minor bleeds and that was for precautionary reasons. Even with other family member getting awful colds this past winter I did not catch them and I really attribute it to the HS. It has really made me a healthier person. I am sure others will share what has helped them but don't get discouraged. Exercise and taking care of yourself before you do things for others is important too. You are in my thoughts and prayers.<img src="i/expressions/heart.gif" border="0">
 
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AnD

New member
Yes, not doing your vest (or whatever you use <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> ) can make you go down pretty quickly. When I started dropping, doing my vest or something else everyday made a big difference! Now I do it twice a day, and can tell the difference if I skip even one! It's a pita, but it is worth it! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0">
 
A

AnD

New member
Yes, not doing your vest (or whatever you use <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> ) can make you go down pretty quickly. When I started dropping, doing my vest or something else everyday made a big difference! Now I do it twice a day, and can tell the difference if I skip even one! It's a pita, but it is worth it! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0">
 
A

AnD

New member
Yes, not doing your vest (or whatever you use <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> ) can make you go down pretty quickly. When I started dropping, doing my vest or something else everyday made a big difference! Now I do it twice a day, and can tell the difference if I skip even one! It's a pita, but it is worth it! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0">
 
L

LouLou

New member
If you are not clearing mucus regularly, whether by Vest or other method, your FEV1 will eventually drop. Are you exercising. It was around your age that I woke up and smelled the roses that it was time to take care of myself as my #1 priority and with 100% diligence. The one thing I can say is once I embraced doing everything I knew made me feel better, it was stress relieving b/c I no longer questioned if I had time to do this or that. I just do it!

I take Bactrim every day from Dec. 1 - April 30th. It's my umbrella to keep the 'sickies' from bringing me down. I use it while I've been living in an inner city. If I wasn't exposed to as many germs as I am I probably wouldn't be taking it. Make sure to take a probiotic otherwise your girls parts will get imbalanced (itching, cracking, not good!).
 
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LouLou

New member
If you are not clearing mucus regularly, whether by Vest or other method, your FEV1 will eventually drop. Are you exercising. It was around your age that I woke up and smelled the roses that it was time to take care of myself as my #1 priority and with 100% diligence. The one thing I can say is once I embraced doing everything I knew made me feel better, it was stress relieving b/c I no longer questioned if I had time to do this or that. I just do it!

I take Bactrim every day from Dec. 1 - April 30th. It's my umbrella to keep the 'sickies' from bringing me down. I use it while I've been living in an inner city. If I wasn't exposed to as many germs as I am I probably wouldn't be taking it. Make sure to take a probiotic otherwise your girls parts will get imbalanced (itching, cracking, not good!).
 
L

LouLou

New member
If you are not clearing mucus regularly, whether by Vest or other method, your FEV1 will eventually drop. Are you exercising. It was around your age that I woke up and smelled the roses that it was time to take care of myself as my #1 priority and with 100% diligence. The one thing I can say is once I embraced doing everything I knew made me feel better, it was stress relieving b/c I no longer questioned if I had time to do this or that. I just do it!

I take Bactrim every day from Dec. 1 - April 30th. It's my umbrella to keep the 'sickies' from bringing me down. I use it while I've been living in an inner city. If I wasn't exposed to as many germs as I am I probably wouldn't be taking it. Make sure to take a probiotic otherwise your girls parts will get imbalanced (itching, cracking, not good!).
 
M

MCGrad2006

Guest
Yea...the bactrim might take a lil while to seem to be effective, but once you start it, it will definitely help you. It may make your stomch feel kind of icky at the beginning too, but that goes away after a few days. Try exercising, doing treatments regularly. I also went through a stage, and everyone does, where they dont do treatments correctly and all that jazz....and my PFT's went to about what yours are. I just didnt take care of myself, never did nebs, didnt take enzymes...so when my PFTs went that low, I knocked some sense into myself. I very rarely miss a treatment now, and when I do, I def can tell the difference.

Hope you feel better soon and so glad to hear that Travis is better!
 
M

MCGrad2006

Guest
Yea...the bactrim might take a lil while to seem to be effective, but once you start it, it will definitely help you. It may make your stomch feel kind of icky at the beginning too, but that goes away after a few days. Try exercising, doing treatments regularly. I also went through a stage, and everyone does, where they dont do treatments correctly and all that jazz....and my PFT's went to about what yours are. I just didnt take care of myself, never did nebs, didnt take enzymes...so when my PFTs went that low, I knocked some sense into myself. I very rarely miss a treatment now, and when I do, I def can tell the difference.

Hope you feel better soon and so glad to hear that Travis is better!
 
M

MCGrad2006

Guest
Yea...the bactrim might take a lil while to seem to be effective, but once you start it, it will definitely help you. It may make your stomch feel kind of icky at the beginning too, but that goes away after a few days. Try exercising, doing treatments regularly. I also went through a stage, and everyone does, where they dont do treatments correctly and all that jazz....and my PFT's went to about what yours are. I just didnt take care of myself, never did nebs, didnt take enzymes...so when my PFTs went that low, I knocked some sense into myself. I very rarely miss a treatment now, and when I do, I def can tell the difference.

Hope you feel better soon and so glad to hear that Travis is better!
 
J

jfarel

New member
I think the real trick is just getting the phlegm out. If you do that your FEV1 will probably come up some. I would recommend the Hypertonic saline though. When I was at your stage of the disease the vest never helped a whole lot and only did it 30 min a day. Was I using the vest teh right way? I don't know, but it never brought anything up. Exercise always worked for me. Unfortunatley I was too self conscious to do it once I developed a productive cough.
 
J

jfarel

New member
I think the real trick is just getting the phlegm out. If you do that your FEV1 will probably come up some. I would recommend the Hypertonic saline though. When I was at your stage of the disease the vest never helped a whole lot and only did it 30 min a day. Was I using the vest teh right way? I don't know, but it never brought anything up. Exercise always worked for me. Unfortunatley I was too self conscious to do it once I developed a productive cough.
 
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