So I went to a specialist to figure out more about my lung condition. It's a combinatory disease of 2 diseases in 1: Interstitial Lung Disease (Fibrosis), and Bulla Disease of the Lungs (stage 4). For the medical nerds on here, the raw numbers as ranges are as follows. Pre and Post are used to denote pre and post albuterol per a pulmonary function test.
FEV1 PRE .85L - 1.3L FEV1 POST 1.7L - 1.99L
Respectively, the percentages are
FEV1 PRE 22% - 30% FEV1 POST 35% - 45%.
Weirdly FEV1/FVC is higher without meds than with. As such FEV1/FVC goes from 65% PRE, to 55% POST.
So there is definitely a marked improvement with the medication they gave me in terms of both FVC and FEV1. knowing that lung function can be partially regained, my goal is to now figure out what naturopathic stuff i can take to simulate the medications.
The Forced Exhaled Volume in 1 second (FEV1) is the amount you blow out in 1 second.
Your numbers are not good. FEV1 should be over 5 liters for a healthy male and over 4 liters for a healthy female.
Do you know your PEF? (peak exhaled flow, in liters per minute, should be a few hundred)
I don't know your money situation, but the meds are worth it! There are generics that are often cheaper than your insurance deductible if you have medical "insurance." Try several pharmacies to see who has what kind of discount cards. Ask them what their best price is and explain that being sick is expensive. Price shopping is hard because most of the jerks will want a script before they give you a price. Try every grocery store that has a pharmacy in it in your area.
1. There will be a long-acting medication or two that comes in an inhaler.
2. There will be albuterol or something similar that comes with a nebulizer. You can get a nebulizer online for cheaper than a local store, but the liquid is by prescription and must come from a pharmacy. See my comments about getting good deals on prescriptions. The nebulizer makes you sit there for 10+ minutes to inhale the vapor it creates.
3. There may be a rescue inhaler that is albuterol, but it fits in your pocket. Ventolin HFA is awesome because it has a lock onit that stops it from puffing in your pocket every time you move. The others empty in 5 minutes and leave me with frost bite from the cold puffs of albuterol.
If you can, also buy some equipment to test yourself will let you see if you improve, decline, or stay the same. It will also tell you when to go to the hospital.
2. Ask your doctor if you should buy a digital spirometer and start tracking your numbers every morning when you get up. $109.50, but takes weeks and weeks to ship from China: https://www.ebay.com/itm/166292523285
3. Ask your doctor if you should buy an oxygen concentrator from someone on CraigsList and start using it. $300, depending on your area.
7. Ask your doctor if you should buy a CPAP to blow more air into your lungs. They are about $300 for a good one on CraigsList, depending on your area.
If you have insurance and money, your doctor may write prescriptions for some of these things and get very expensive versions from a pharmacy or specialty store. I think you are better off dealing with online resellers that get them from China, but it's up to you.
I'm not saying this very well. Your doctor may not like the idea of buying things from eBay, but may love the idea of spending 6x the money on an inferior product from a local store.
If you do not have insurance, but can spend money to extend your life a year, I suggest you buy these yourself and track your vitals every morning when you get up.
If you can not afford this stuff, I really feel for you and wish I could do more to help you. Unfortunately, 90% of these posts are from pigs and if I spend $1k+ to help someone online a pig will pawn the gear, laughing at me, and threaten to put me in jail. It's happened.
LiberalsAreMental 0 points 6 months ago
Don't worry about the FEV1/FVC.
The Forced Exhaled Volume in 1 second (FEV1) is the amount you blow out in 1 second.
Your numbers are not good. FEV1 should be over 5 liters for a healthy male and over 4 liters for a healthy female.
Do you know your PEF? (peak exhaled flow, in liters per minute, should be a few hundred)
I don't know your money situation, but the meds are worth it! There are generics that are often cheaper than your insurance deductible if you have medical "insurance." Try several pharmacies to see who has what kind of discount cards. Ask them what their best price is and explain that being sick is expensive. Price shopping is hard because most of the jerks will want a script before they give you a price. Try every grocery store that has a pharmacy in it in your area.
1. There will be a long-acting medication or two that comes in an inhaler.
2. There will be albuterol or something similar that comes with a nebulizer. You can get a nebulizer online for cheaper than a local store, but the liquid is by prescription and must come from a pharmacy. See my comments about getting good deals on prescriptions. The nebulizer makes you sit there for 10+ minutes to inhale the vapor it creates.
3. There may be a rescue inhaler that is albuterol, but it fits in your pocket. Ventolin HFA is awesome because it has a lock onit that stops it from puffing in your pocket every time you move. The others empty in 5 minutes and leave me with frost bite from the cold puffs of albuterol.
If you can, also buy some equipment to test yourself will let you see if you improve, decline, or stay the same. It will also tell you when to go to the hospital.
1. Ask your doctor if you should buy a pair of digital pulse oximeters and start tracking your readings throughout the day. $9.99 each: https://www.amazon.com/Saturation-Monitor-Reading-Included-Batteries/dp/B08QFK6QV3/ Buy 2 different colors so you can tell them apart.
2. Ask your doctor if you should buy a digital spirometer and start tracking your numbers every morning when you get up. $109.50, but takes weeks and weeks to ship from China: https://www.ebay.com/itm/166292523285
3. Ask your doctor if you should buy an oxygen concentrator from someone on CraigsList and start using it. $300, depending on your area.
4. Ask your doctor if you should buy tubing and canulas from an online seller for the O2 concentrator. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=oxygen+tubing and https://www.amazon.com/s?k=oxygen+cannula
5. Ask your doctor if you should buy an O2 tester and test your O2 machine. $83, but takes weeks and weeks to arrive from China: https://www.ebay.com/itm/403614815561?hash=item5df9515549
6. Ask your doctor if you should buy a sleep study watch and track your pulse oximetery as you sleep. $83.99 https://www.walmart.com/ip/CONTEC-Wrist-Pulse-Oximeter-Finger-Tip-Spo2-Probe-Oortable-Watch-CMS50F/256398889
7. Ask your doctor if you should buy a CPAP to blow more air into your lungs. They are about $300 for a good one on CraigsList, depending on your area.
If you have insurance and money, your doctor may write prescriptions for some of these things and get very expensive versions from a pharmacy or specialty store. I think you are better off dealing with online resellers that get them from China, but it's up to you.
I'm not saying this very well. Your doctor may not like the idea of buying things from eBay, but may love the idea of spending 6x the money on an inferior product from a local store.
If you do not have insurance, but can spend money to extend your life a year, I suggest you buy these yourself and track your vitals every morning when you get up.
If you can not afford this stuff, I really feel for you and wish I could do more to help you. Unfortunately, 90% of these posts are from pigs and if I spend $1k+ to help someone online a pig will pawn the gear, laughing at me, and threaten to put me in jail. It's happened.