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From Beautywood.com
To: meta@beautywood.com Subject: copd Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2008 10:17:52 -0500
COPD TIPS Hi! I have been living with COPD for almost 18 months now. I hope these writings will help anyone who has been on oxygen for just a few hours and those who have been on for many years. More about me at the end.
Seven Topics Covered: 1. TIPS FOR WASHING LONG HAIR, 2. TIPS FOR EXCERSIZING, 3. WHEN PEOPLE STARE AT YOU, 4. SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT, 5. HOW TO KEEP YOUR HOSE OUT OF THE WAY, 6. OUR TRAVEL MACHINE 7. EASY BREATHING TECHNIQUES 8. LINKS 1.TIPS FOR WASHING LONG HAIR How to wash your hair. I have long hair, and it holds a lot of water, it's heavy and thick. I use a hand held shower head and rubbermaid stool to help me.
Remember to always start off with cooler water that won't make steam. Steam is hard to breathe, even with the oxygen hose on.
1. I separate the hair using three rubber bands. I section off the top, including the sides, then I split the back of the head into two parts, like for pig tails and band those two parts up. 2. I get into the shower, bringing the hose over the top of the shower curtain so that water doesn't travel along the hose onto the floor. 3. I sit on a small foot high Rubbermaid stool. This gives me stability and makes it easier to wash and rinse my hair. 4. Start with one of the back sections of hair. Pull off the rubber band and wet and wash and rinse as much as you need, using your hand held shower head. Then, wash and rinse the other side of the back. Then once you have the back hair and scalp clean, do the top by bending your head forward so that the top of the head can be rinsed by holding the shower head into the top of head and the water doesn't go anywhere but the top of your head and mostly down in front, but not on your face. You can rinse the whole head now if you think it's needed. 5. Stand up now and rinse your body and face. 6. Grab a towel before you get out of the shower, so you can dry off quickly and not get too cold. Then, step out of the shower and rest on the seat for awhile. I like to brush my teeth before I get into the shower so that when I get out, all tired, I am clean and ready to put on some clothes and have a nice rest. 2. TIPS FOR EXERSIZING I use a stationery bike. There are no parts to wear out, there is no energy being paid for, there is only the pace you set for yourself and a nice comfortable place to rest in between exersizing. And you get to work out a large number of muscles at one time. I am on 3 to 3.5 liters of oxygen per minute, so I can do about 5-10minutes on the bike for a normal daily work out. I try to do more and usually can do 7 or 8 minutes a day. It usually takes me about three times as long to actually do the work. So a five minute work out may take me up to fifteen minutes with resting time included. I also like to walk around the grocery and big box shopping stores with a cart. They are usually clean, brightly lit and, if you can pick your times, not too filled with people to bump into. If you can do a hour or even fifteen minutes, you will have a better day.
Another of my favorite excersizes to do is leg lifts. I lay on my back on a flat surface and lift one leg then the other in turn. I start with 12 lifts to warm up, then, I continue with another 12 or 24, or whatever I can manage without getting too winded. I go up to 140. I do what I am able to do at the time. I work up to it. I take my time. If it takes an hour, that's okay, it's still exercize and it still counts. I now have a completely flat stomach. Benefits like that are nice.
I do arm circles and all the ways I can move my arms, I do. It seems to help the chest muscles a lot. and it helps get rid of the flagging wings we develop on our arms.
Any kind of stretching you can do is very good. Don't ever go farther than you think is comfortable. But do try to go further than you normally can by a little bit. After you stretch, go back and stretch again, the same way, and you will find you can go an inch or two further after you have loosened up.
3. WHEN PEOPLE STARE AT YOU Don't mind if people look at you. They are either concerned, don't understand what they are seeing, simply curious, or just spaced out. Children are especially curious, and some might get a little afraid. Mostly from a bad movie they have seen, more than of you or me. I try to smile and allow the children to ask questions. I tell them this is how I get my air. I show them that I can take off the cannula for a moment or two without falling over. That seems to make it alright for them. I am thinking about putting a pretty flower with an O2 sign on my oxygen condenser so people will see it and feel better knowing what it is. 4. SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT When I first went on O2, I slept well. Then I started loosing my cannula, or my nostrils would clog up or my throat would dry up in the night and I would wake up in a start. So, I went for two months like that, sleeping only 4-5 hours a night. Then, I'd nap in the day and that messes up the sleep cycle.. Turns out, I was not getting enough O2, because we wanted to use the Sequal Eclipse at night and that only goes up to 3.0 lpm. We switched over to the Invacare O2 condenser at 3.2 lpm or so. It has been much easier to sleep.That, plus I have adjusted my inhaler to just before bed time and early in the morning because it helps clear my nostrils, so my throat does not dry up and that feels so much better. I keep a jar of water near my bed and take small sips throughout the night. 5. HOW TO KEEP YOUR HOSE OUT OF THE WAY We have a clip that has a snap on a small piece of plastic which is used for employee security cards. The hose fits right in the snap on plastic piece and the clip clips on a strong part of my clothing...I use the seam for strength on the side of my garments. The hose will stay on one side, will absorb the shock of the dog laying on your hose before your neck gets wrenched. If you don't have a clippy thing, try to fashion one from some things in your sewing box or bag clips used to close potato chip bags. 6. OUR TRAVEL MACHINE We bought a Sequal Eclipse oxygen condenser for travel. It is a good machine, but several things went wrong for us. (We ALWAYS carry a back up tank and regulator in case we need it.) The Eclipse plugs into your car cigarette lighter, ironically enough. Well, the part that touches the lighter metal seemed to be crooked and would loose solid contact, the Eclipse would start beeping and wouldn't stop, so we had to have that replaced. No problem. The company stands behind it's product very well. I tell you this story so you can see how important it is to check out every detail of the equipment you are using to support your life.
7. EASY BREATHING I have not been to the respiratory therapist yet, but I think it is a good idea to load up on some air by breathing deeply as possible before you go and start walking around or eating or going to the toilet. All these things require an extra amount of oxygen and you must be sure to do yourself proud and get all the oxygen you can to avoid feeling bad. Once you get to where you are going, if you are out of breath, my nurse told me to sniff in through my nostrils, very short and quickly, hold one second and send air out through pursed lips. You should hear a shhhhhhhhhh sound for a count of three or so. I do that three times...sniff in, hold, blow out for 3 with pursed lips, then continue to breath in your normal manner. This helps you recover your breath more quickly. 8. LINKS
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/copd/DS00916/DSECTION=11 http://www.lungusa2.org/embargo/copd/ http://www.copd-international.com/Library/Breathing_Exercises.htm http://www.breathineasy.com/tips.asp http://www.lifesteps.com/gm/Atoz/ency/emphysema.jsp
My Individual Personal Situation
I have about 15% of my lung capacity and I seem to have the familial gene in that I got the disease in my early forties even though I barely smoked one pack a day and never had an other bad habits. I now eat very well with fruits and veggies and a super food supplement every day. I am nearly 60 years old.
For ten years, I went without oxygen even though a doctor told me I should be on it. I did not have the money and I did not want to be tied to a machine or tank, but it was very hard and my life was very planned, so I was never in a situation for long without an controlled atmosphere and temperature range. As a result, my lungs grew and my white blood cell count went up, allowing some relief. The elongated lungs however disallow some procedures as far as getting new lungs, but there is as of this writing an new mechancial lung that is soon coming on the market that will help many people get out and about. Check with your doctor. I don't recommend going without oxygen, but I do want people to know what is possible. In the end, I had to go on oxygen because my heart started failing, as was evidenced by swollen ankles. My heart has since healed by itself and I am otherwise very healthy. I did quit smoking right after the doctor told me I needed oxygen ten years before I started on oxygen. The oxygen helps me to feel very good most of the time. The Spiriva and Albuteral inhaler are a bit tricky and tend to make me go up and down energetically and make me feel hungry when I am not. It's a balancing act. I have gained 10 pounds over the eighteen months, but I was underweight when I started, because my body was trying to eliminate any extra carry weight.
