~Dr. Seuss
At times Cystic Fibrosis can be very dictating, but I've decided to make my own rules and show who's boss these days. There are different respiratory machines that are offered to help clear the secretions from our lungs, but throughout the years I have continued to drop in lung function despite having the Vest, Flutter, and Acapella on hand. Out of the three respiratory clearance devices that I own, I have found that I favor the flutter device because it's small and easy to travel with. Even though I show more favoritism towards the flutter, I have always continued to be compliant with my respiratory treatments and got to a point that even while doing different respiratory devices 4 to 5 times a day, I wasn't climbing higher as far as lung function goes. And like a rat in a maze, after running into the wall so many times, I started to look for a new path.
My last Pulmonary Function test showed my FEV1 in the 40's. When a Cystic Fibrosis patient drops to the 30's, a doctor proceeds to talk about going on the lung transplant list. And to me my lungs are my own and I can't give them up that easily especially not to Cystic Fibrosis. I believe that people come into our lives for a reason and I was blessed this year to have a respiratory therapist show me a respiratory device that could help get the mucus secretions up easier. I had thought that I knew every device that was out there for Cystic Fibrosis patients, but I had never known about the G5 Percussor! How did I not know about this!? This device provides vibration and percussion to create a powerful and comfortable percussion to get the goodies up. At first I felt mad that my past doctors had not told me about this machine because it really targets my problem areas which are in my upper airways. My upper airways in my right lung are really narrow from lung damage. I believe that if I would have known about this machine it could have possibly prevented some damage to my lungs that was caused by the disease. I realize that I can't focus on "what if" and I have to proceed with "right now."
I feel blessed to have this new device at my fingertips! My G5 Percussor:
For me respiratory treatments are like giving birth through the mouth haha. I do a lot of huffing, deep breathing, and blowing out to get the thick mucus up. After each respiratory session, I'm pooped. I'm happy to say though, having my G5 makes my secretions come up so much faster compared to the Vest, Flutter, and Acapella. Also, I get so many goodies up! I love it and have been feeling better since I started with the machine. Having tons of mucus in the body/lungs can feel like a huge weight and the goodies are better out then in! Hopefully having this new airway clearance device will help me out during my maze of life and I'll get my piece of cheese at the end.
