Please accept my apology...
I also wanted to ask your trach...what size is the and the thickness of
your trach with cuff? I too to this day dread the trach change even though
it has been done often and by Jim, (my boyfriend) who I trust.
Also you talked about pain and tightness around the trach seperate from the
trach change. It is funny that you mention that in the fact that I have
had just that today. I woke up with it feeling like pressure around the
trach, but no sign of infection or shortness of breath. It just feels
tight. Do you know what that might be a sign of?
I also like your idea of how to put the adaptor in your mouth when you have
a trach change. I do something similiar at night when Jim is cleaning the
inner cannula for me.
One more thing..could you tell me what you mean by "the bead goes on"? Are
you into beading, if so..I would like to email you sometime.
Again, please accept my apologies for my harsh critisim the other day..it
all hit me on a bad day. I really can be an understanding person.
Thanks...
Annette
nete1(AT)midwest.net
At 01:00 AM 5/2/98 -0400, Gail A. Anderson wrote:
>Michael,
>My first question would be what kind of trach tube does your father use?
>I use a Shiley , fenestrated with a low pressure cuff. For the first
>seven years of trach changes does by a nurse from the VNA, I experienced
>major problems, pain and bleeding from each trach change. The nurse
>noticed that some of the cuffs were thicker than others. I talked to the
>engineers at Shiley and they told me that there were 4 or 5 different
>acceptable thicknesses of the cuffs. I asked for the thinnest. After
>that I was able to get away from the pain and bleeding but change the
>tubes myself without any nurse coming. Now I get what is called the PRV
>cuff. Supposedly it is the thin cuff. I still get nervous before each
>trach change but I rarely have a problem.
>
>When I began to have to be on the vent full time in the past 2 years, it
>was even more important that I get that tube in quickly to get back on
>the vent. I came up with the idea of putting the swivel adapter at the
>end of the vent tubing in my mouth before I removed the trach tube.
>Everyone said that it would not work, that the alarms would go on, that I
>would lose too much air through the stoma. I did not care about the
>alarms and I was not planning on leaving the stoma wide open for long.
>It works perfectly. I am still ventilated through my mouth. Once the
>new tube is in and the inner cannula inserted, I reconnect to my trach.
>It takes away some of the fear, although I did go back to having a
>visiting nurse come and watch in case something goes wrong.
>
>I have gotten terrible pain and swelling around the stoma separate from
>trach changes. Sometimes the swelling increases until something bursts
>and I find some blood on the trach dressing. Once that happens, the pain
>is gone. During these times I use Neosporin or Bacitracin salve around
>the area, but I'm not sure they really help.
>
>Gail ........The BEAD goes on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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