Re: passy valve
Eric Olson (oly(AT)execpc.com)
Tue, 17 Sep 1996 15:55:50 -0700
MarkOhMan wrote:
>
> Eric,
> It took a while to get totally used to it. A couple weeks. A few minutes
> for a day or two. I gradually built it up. I'm up 15 hours per day. I
> remove it for sleep. With the valve, I had to "retrain" myself to
> breathe. Hold epiglottus muscle closed for complete breath, then exhale
> through nose or mouth. I find that it makes me growl sometimes. It feels
> like normal breathing, but takes effort. I was tired at first. The
> isometrics of the invention makes your throat muscles and lungs strong
> and maintain. Its been 6 years with it now. I can't go without it. If I
> feel short of breath I can hold air in longer. It's a one-way valve. It
> lets air in, but kind of makes you exhale to let it out. I'm bullheaded.
> I was determined to make it work. If I talk when inhaling it makes my
> voice loud. The voice sounds normal exhaling. Sometimes I slip a loud
> word out and scare myself. A guy with muscular dystrophy invented it,
> David Muir (I think). Somewhere I saw a video about it. A very good
> respiratory therapist worked with me for the first two weeks. A
> breathing coach, so to speak.
>
> Control 3 can eat up the "membrane" in the valve, if it is in too long.
> A small swish is okay. I have a lot of different nurses who forget and
> let things soak too long. It is a bit abrasive on dry hands. Too much of
> it on anything can be harsh. I still use it but tell my workers to not
> overdue it.
>
Mark,
Thanks for your help. I just have two more questions. What do you set your vent
volume on with the valve in and with it out? I know that will probably just take
experimentation on my part, but knowing what you do might give me an idea. But the
other thing I was going to ask is what do you do with the valve when you take it out?
Do you clean it each night?
Thanks
Eric