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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) - Does this sound right??
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<blockquote data-quote="susiestar" data-source="post: 442056" data-attributes="member: 1233"><p>Why did they think you took allegra 3x per day? Even an idjit would know not to do that. I am glad they kept you on the rx for it, esp if they pay for it. I HATED it when they took seldane off the market (old version of allegra) and wish I could afford allegra. Never had insurance that owuld pay for it. </p><p></p><p>The diagnosis means you have to be careful with colds/flu/etc... Keep up with your flu vaccines, make SURE to get the pneumonia vaccine every so many years, and get into a doctor when you have any upper respiratory problem. Have you ever had asthma? That can contribute and needs to be carefully monitored. The Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) diagnosis, even if it is mild, puts you into the high risk group that gets the flu vaccine first in any shortage. </p><p></p><p>With your next cold you need to push to get them to give you a nebulizer and medications. Or at the next appointment if they will give it to you then. It is good to have an inhaler of albuterol also. If you come across something that you are allergic to and you don't have it, you can end up in real trouble as the breathing problems can set in FAST. I had that happen 2 yrs ago from just wlaking past some people smoking. Not a whole lot of smokers, but suddenly I just could NOT breathe. I had thank you's inhaler and otherwise would have passed out and been in BIG trouble, esp as I was around the corner from anyone when the symptoms got really intense. Since then I always have one with me, just in case. </p><p></p><p>Chances are that at some point you will benefit from an inhaled medication like advair or flovent or symbicort. Make SURE that when you end up with an inhaler that you use a spacer with it. The spacer is a chamber that lets you get most of the medications into your lungs. with-o the spacer, the medications from an inhaler - regardless of medication - end up out in the air and not in your lungs. With a spacer the inhaler is almost as effective as a nebulizer. with-o a spacer the last figures I saw were that you get less than 50% of the medications that are dispensed from the inhaler. </p><p></p><p>Nebulizers are the most effective way to get the medications into your lungs. They are awesome. Even if you don't need albuterol or a steroid, just using saline in the nebulizer can really help when you have a cold or virus or allergy problem. If at all possible, see if you can get one through the VA. Otherwise check ebay and estate sales. Generally the compressors last a long time and it is just the tubing you have to replace, so a used one usually isn't a problem. Somewhere I have a couple of them, plus a battery powered one that we got when thank you was little because he couldn't go to the zoo, a park, etc... in the spring and summer. Oddly, they call nebulizers "portable" if they have a cord. I think it just means they are light enough that a person can carry them. It does NOT mean what I think of as portable. The Va and most insurances will not pay for the battery for a nebulizer because they are outrageous. To buy the battery alone was more than the cost of an entire nebulizer when we got it. Idiotic, in my opinion, but what can you do?</p><p></p><p>Anyway, I hope htis doesn't cause you a lot of problems. It could be why you had such a hard time getting over the last couple of viruses. Oh, one last tip for medications - make SURE you have a drink with you when you use them. Esp an inhaler or advair. Advair is a strange delivery system. IT looks like a purple spaceship. the medication is a powder inside it - you move the lever and it dispenses a dose. You hold it flat and put it to your mouth and inhale VERY strongly. It never worked for thank you because he could not inhale strongly enough to get the medicine into his lungs. Advair is very effective when properly inhaled, but it is also very hard on your esophagus and vocal cords. It can cause real problems with your vocal cords if you don't drink and gargle immediately after using.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="susiestar, post: 442056, member: 1233"] Why did they think you took allegra 3x per day? Even an idjit would know not to do that. I am glad they kept you on the rx for it, esp if they pay for it. I HATED it when they took seldane off the market (old version of allegra) and wish I could afford allegra. Never had insurance that owuld pay for it. The diagnosis means you have to be careful with colds/flu/etc... Keep up with your flu vaccines, make SURE to get the pneumonia vaccine every so many years, and get into a doctor when you have any upper respiratory problem. Have you ever had asthma? That can contribute and needs to be carefully monitored. The Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) diagnosis, even if it is mild, puts you into the high risk group that gets the flu vaccine first in any shortage. With your next cold you need to push to get them to give you a nebulizer and medications. Or at the next appointment if they will give it to you then. It is good to have an inhaler of albuterol also. If you come across something that you are allergic to and you don't have it, you can end up in real trouble as the breathing problems can set in FAST. I had that happen 2 yrs ago from just wlaking past some people smoking. Not a whole lot of smokers, but suddenly I just could NOT breathe. I had thank you's inhaler and otherwise would have passed out and been in BIG trouble, esp as I was around the corner from anyone when the symptoms got really intense. Since then I always have one with me, just in case. Chances are that at some point you will benefit from an inhaled medication like advair or flovent or symbicort. Make SURE that when you end up with an inhaler that you use a spacer with it. The spacer is a chamber that lets you get most of the medications into your lungs. with-o the spacer, the medications from an inhaler - regardless of medication - end up out in the air and not in your lungs. With a spacer the inhaler is almost as effective as a nebulizer. with-o a spacer the last figures I saw were that you get less than 50% of the medications that are dispensed from the inhaler. Nebulizers are the most effective way to get the medications into your lungs. They are awesome. Even if you don't need albuterol or a steroid, just using saline in the nebulizer can really help when you have a cold or virus or allergy problem. If at all possible, see if you can get one through the VA. Otherwise check ebay and estate sales. Generally the compressors last a long time and it is just the tubing you have to replace, so a used one usually isn't a problem. Somewhere I have a couple of them, plus a battery powered one that we got when thank you was little because he couldn't go to the zoo, a park, etc... in the spring and summer. Oddly, they call nebulizers "portable" if they have a cord. I think it just means they are light enough that a person can carry them. It does NOT mean what I think of as portable. The Va and most insurances will not pay for the battery for a nebulizer because they are outrageous. To buy the battery alone was more than the cost of an entire nebulizer when we got it. Idiotic, in my opinion, but what can you do? Anyway, I hope htis doesn't cause you a lot of problems. It could be why you had such a hard time getting over the last couple of viruses. Oh, one last tip for medications - make SURE you have a drink with you when you use them. Esp an inhaler or advair. Advair is a strange delivery system. IT looks like a purple spaceship. the medication is a powder inside it - you move the lever and it dispenses a dose. You hold it flat and put it to your mouth and inhale VERY strongly. It never worked for thank you because he could not inhale strongly enough to get the medicine into his lungs. Advair is very effective when properly inhaled, but it is also very hard on your esophagus and vocal cords. It can cause real problems with your vocal cords if you don't drink and gargle immediately after using. [/QUOTE]
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