Re: passy valve
MarkOhMan (marks99(AT)skypoint.com)
Tue, 17 Sep 1996 00:35:39 +0100
Eric Olson wrote:
>
> Mark,
> A couple questions. Did it take you awhile to get use to it? I tried one years
> ago and it just didn't feel as much like "normal breathing." Do you leave yours in all
> the time? I guess I mean when your sleeping. Why don't you recommend control 3? Does
> your speech change at all from inhalation to exhalation? I'd appreciate any input you
> might have on any of this.
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.
This is a cool mail group! It could prove quite useful to me. I've
learned some new things. If anyone needs support or more info, I'm
available (in THAT way too.:-)).
Mark