<P>Courtney ended up in the hospital yesterday with a 104 fever and a cough. They let us come home today since the fever broke.Please bare with me because I have a lot of questions to ask.Courtney has never had any lung issues before. While in the hospital we got to see one of the best pulmonary docs in town. He had her do PFTs, sputum culture, and chest x-rays.He stated that the x-rays showed some CF damage to the lungs, not a lot, but some. I COULDN"T BELIEVE THIS WHEN I HEARD IT! I guess I have made myself believe over the years that we would be the "special CF case" and we would not have to deal with the lung issues. I know that is pretty dumb of me, but I think that is how I was able to deal with it all.Okay here are my questions............What are normal FEV levels for PFTs?What are considered "dangerous bugs" that show up in sputum cultures?Courtney showed positive cultures forBACILLIPOLYMORPHONUCLEAR CELLSDIPLOCOCCIbut was told that these were "normal bugs in the lungs"?!?!?!?Any info will help.....I am quite confused with all of this new info.ThanksSeana</P>
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JUST GOT HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL
- Thread starter Seana30
- Start date
<P>Courtney ended up in the hospital yesterday with a 104 fever and a cough. They let us come home today since the fever broke.Please bare with me because I have a lot of questions to ask.Courtney has never had any lung issues before. While in the hospital we got to see one of the best pulmonary docs in town. He had her do PFTs, sputum culture, and chest x-rays.He stated that the x-rays showed some CF damage to the lungs, not a lot, but some. I COULDN"T BELIEVE THIS WHEN I HEARD IT! I guess I have made myself believe over the years that we would be the "special CF case" and we would not have to deal with the lung issues. I know that is pretty dumb of me, but I think that is how I was able to deal with it all.Okay here are my questions............What are normal FEV levels for PFTs?What are considered "dangerous bugs" that show up in sputum cultures?Courtney showed positive cultures forBACILLIPOLYMORPHONUCLEAR CELLSDIPLOCOCCIbut was told that these were "normal bugs in the lungs"?!?!?!?Any info will help.....I am quite confused with all of this new info.ThanksSeana</P>
All cf's past a certain age will have some lung damage, some more than others. There are TONS of normal bacteria in the lungs, regardless if you have CF or not. We have a vast ecosystem in our lungs (CF or not CF) that's similar to a coral reef, with tons of organisms interacting and hanging out. Many of the bacteria are helpful, some like psuedomonas and staph and others are very harmful, some aren't that bad. While some people have milder cases of CF, we all suffer from it.
I'm too lazy to google up those particular bacteria strains she had, but I didn't see pseudomonas in her culture, so thats a very good sign. You didn't mention the age of the patient, so can't really recommend what to do with her supplement wise. Many people are using GSH in a neb and have shown great results, others (like myself) are using oregano oil with great results, but the recommendation for what supplements to use depend on the age of the patient.
I'm too lazy to google up those particular bacteria strains she had, but I didn't see pseudomonas in her culture, so thats a very good sign. You didn't mention the age of the patient, so can't really recommend what to do with her supplement wise. Many people are using GSH in a neb and have shown great results, others (like myself) are using oregano oil with great results, but the recommendation for what supplements to use depend on the age of the patient.
All cf's past a certain age will have some lung damage, some more than others. There are TONS of normal bacteria in the lungs, regardless if you have CF or not. We have a vast ecosystem in our lungs (CF or not CF) that's similar to a coral reef, with tons of organisms interacting and hanging out. Many of the bacteria are helpful, some like psuedomonas and staph and others are very harmful, some aren't that bad. While some people have milder cases of CF, we all suffer from it.
I'm too lazy to google up those particular bacteria strains she had, but I didn't see pseudomonas in her culture, so thats a very good sign. You didn't mention the age of the patient, so can't really recommend what to do with her supplement wise. Many people are using GSH in a neb and have shown great results, others (like myself) are using oregano oil with great results, but the recommendation for what supplements to use depend on the age of the patient.
I'm too lazy to google up those particular bacteria strains she had, but I didn't see pseudomonas in her culture, so thats a very good sign. You didn't mention the age of the patient, so can't really recommend what to do with her supplement wise. Many people are using GSH in a neb and have shown great results, others (like myself) are using oregano oil with great results, but the recommendation for what supplements to use depend on the age of the patient.
Generally, they will give you PFT results in percentage form... meaning standardized to the sex, age, weight, height of the patient.
Bad bugs are:
Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA)
Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
Burkholderia cepacia (the worst of the bad bugs)
Does she currently do any treatments for lung involvement?
Bad bugs are:
Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA)
Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
Burkholderia cepacia (the worst of the bad bugs)
Does she currently do any treatments for lung involvement?
Generally, they will give you PFT results in percentage form... meaning standardized to the sex, age, weight, height of the patient.
Bad bugs are:
Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA)
Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
Burkholderia cepacia (the worst of the bad bugs)
Does she currently do any treatments for lung involvement?
Bad bugs are:
Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA)
Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
Burkholderia cepacia (the worst of the bad bugs)
Does she currently do any treatments for lung involvement?
thelizardqueen
New member
As long as she doesn't have Pseudo yet, this is good. I'm not too sure what these other bugs she has is, but as we all know CFer's are a breading ground for all sorts of bugs and viruses. You should watch out for the bugs that Michelle mentioned. Those are the one's we have to worry about. I myself only culture Staph once and awhile, Pseudo more often then not (usually 2 strains of it), and Aspergillus (which I'm told is a harmless bug that we all have).
Does Courtney take any anti-inflammatorys for her lungs? This helps with infections. Are there any treatments that she does for what she's culturing? Its enevitable that she'll get lung damage - we all do at some point. Just be very diligent with her physio and treatments.
Does Courtney take any anti-inflammatorys for her lungs? This helps with infections. Are there any treatments that she does for what she's culturing? Its enevitable that she'll get lung damage - we all do at some point. Just be very diligent with her physio and treatments.
thelizardqueen
New member
As long as she doesn't have Pseudo yet, this is good. I'm not too sure what these other bugs she has is, but as we all know CFer's are a breading ground for all sorts of bugs and viruses. You should watch out for the bugs that Michelle mentioned. Those are the one's we have to worry about. I myself only culture Staph once and awhile, Pseudo more often then not (usually 2 strains of it), and Aspergillus (which I'm told is a harmless bug that we all have).
Does Courtney take any anti-inflammatorys for her lungs? This helps with infections. Are there any treatments that she does for what she's culturing? Its enevitable that she'll get lung damage - we all do at some point. Just be very diligent with her physio and treatments.
Does Courtney take any anti-inflammatorys for her lungs? This helps with infections. Are there any treatments that she does for what she's culturing? Its enevitable that she'll get lung damage - we all do at some point. Just be very diligent with her physio and treatments.
<P>Thank you all for the quick responses.Courtney is 13 years old.Her results do not show any Pseudo's althought they say that the finally results will be in on Friday.Since diagnoses, 3 years ago, she take 2 puffs twice a day of Albuterol and Flowvent for her lungs. Of course she takes many other meds such as Ultrase MT20, Aciphex, Vitamax, etc, but for the lungs that is all she takes.I don't know......I am tired and VERY confused right now. I had oral surgery on Monday, and Tuesday I am in the hospital with Courtney and I have a mouth full of stitches. I think this was just a little to much to take at once.Thanks again for the responses!!!Seana</P>
<P>Thank you all for the quick responses.Courtney is 13 years old.Her results do not show any Pseudo's althought they say that the finally results will be in on Friday.Since diagnoses, 3 years ago, she take 2 puffs twice a day of Albuterol and Flowvent for her lungs. Of course she takes many other meds such as Ultrase MT20, Aciphex, Vitamax, etc, but for the lungs that is all she takes.I don't know......I am tired and VERY confused right now. I had oral surgery on Monday, and Tuesday I am in the hospital with Courtney and I have a mouth full of stitches. I think this was just a little to much to take at once.Thanks again for the responses!!!Seana</P>
to seana, i feel for you, i know sometimes i feel like i cant take it, too much at once, just try to bear in mind, god only gib=ves you what you can handle... my mom always says that too me, do i believe it! not alkways but it just makes me feel better.. things will get better...
to seana, i feel for you, i know sometimes i feel like i cant take it, too much at once, just try to bear in mind, god only gib=ves you what you can handle... my mom always says that too me, do i believe it! not alkways but it just makes me feel better.. things will get better...