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Vesting routine

L

Lance2020x

New member
I do flutter valve WITH the vest, so I'm always huffing and coughing non-stop.
<br />I wouldn't suggest this, because it's very rough on the body, but I spent a long time working my way up to it (my brother [also with CF] can't do both at the same time, it's too hard on his lungs).
<br />My program goes all the way from 12 up to 20 (the highest setting) in a matter of about 15 minutes.
 
H

hmw

New member
I am surprised you can get a deep enough breath to effectively cough while vesting, esp at the high speeds. What pressure do you use? I agree, most probably couldn't do that comfortably. Emily often has little coughs throughout her session, but for a 'big' ones that require a deep inhale, she must turn it off. You must have very good lung function- it obviously is a method that works for you.

In addition to being hard on the lungs, though, it's probably pretty hard on the diaphragm & muscles involved in breathing and coughing to continually huff and cough against the pressure the vest exerts.
 
H

hmw

New member
I am surprised you can get a deep enough breath to effectively cough while vesting, esp at the high speeds. What pressure do you use? I agree, most probably couldn't do that comfortably. Emily often has little coughs throughout her session, but for a 'big' ones that require a deep inhale, she must turn it off. You must have very good lung function- it obviously is a method that works for you.

In addition to being hard on the lungs, though, it's probably pretty hard on the diaphragm & muscles involved in breathing and coughing to continually huff and cough against the pressure the vest exerts.
 
H

hmw

New member
I am surprised you can get a deep enough breath to effectively cough while vesting, esp at the high speeds. What pressure do you use? I agree, most probably couldn't do that comfortably. Emily often has little coughs throughout her session, but for a 'big' ones that require a deep inhale, she must turn it off. You must have very good lung function- it obviously is a method that works for you.
<br />
<br />In addition to being hard on the lungs, though, it's probably pretty hard on the diaphragm & muscles involved in breathing and coughing to continually huff and cough against the pressure the vest exerts.
 
M

mamaScarlett

Active member
2 30 min sessions per day. 13 hz, then 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. 5 mins each frequency and 5 huff/spits per frequency.
my goal is to spit up at least 1/4 cup of mucus per treatment and i can always do that.
 
M

mamaScarlett

Active member
2 30 min sessions per day. 13 hz, then 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. 5 mins each frequency and 5 huff/spits per frequency.
my goal is to spit up at least 1/4 cup of mucus per treatment and i can always do that.
 
M

mamaScarlett

Active member
2 30 min sessions per day. 13 hz, then 14, 15, 16, 17, 18. 5 mins each frequency and 5 huff/spits per frequency.
<br />my goal is to spit up at least 1/4 cup of mucus per treatment and i can always do that.
 
L

Lance2020x

New member
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>hmw</b></i>

I am surprised you can get a deep enough breath to effectively cough while vesting, esp at the high speeds. What pressure do you use? I agree, most probably couldn't do that comfortably. Emily often has little coughs throughout her session, but for a 'big' ones that require a deep inhale, she must turn it off. You must have very good lung function- it obviously is a method that works for you.



In addition to being hard on the lungs, though, it's probably pretty hard on the diaphragm & muscles involved in breathing and coughing to continually huff and cough against the pressure the vest exerts.</end quote></div>

I do 10 soft flutter blows, followed by 3 hard flutter blows then huffing and coughing. I do this 4x.
Then I do 3 hard followed by huffing and coughing, 6 hard (with huffs in between) followed by huffing and coughing, and then 10 hard followed by (you guessed it!) huffing and coughing.

While this is going on with the flutter, I've got my vest programmed so that it goes from 12 vibration/6 pressure steadily all the way up to 18 vibration (highest is 20) / 9 pressure (highest is 10).

I follow all of this with huffing until I feel I'm either about to pass out, or I've gotten everything up.


The reason I started doing this is that I found if I 'freely' do I flutter, I get too easily distracted and end up 'sitting' between puffs, and then my mucus settles back and I just don't get much up. It's just the way my body works, I have to hit it hard and fast (or... as fast as we can). So using vest at the same time not only gives me an extra 'punch' to my therapy, but always keeps me accountable that I am doing it correctly, because it's so intense I HAVE to focus on it.

Again, I wouldn't suggest anybody else do it... I've spoken to my doctors and that's just the way <i><b>I</b></i> feel I get the most productivity out of vest/flutter.

But yes... it is definitely very exhausting, and my shoulders are ALWAYS in need of a massage :)
And I do the majority of my huffs AFTER the vest is finished. If my lungs aren't feeling quite peachy I'll often carry flutter over long past the vest.
 
L

Lance2020x

New member
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>hmw</b></i>

I am surprised you can get a deep enough breath to effectively cough while vesting, esp at the high speeds. What pressure do you use? I agree, most probably couldn't do that comfortably. Emily often has little coughs throughout her session, but for a 'big' ones that require a deep inhale, she must turn it off. You must have very good lung function- it obviously is a method that works for you.



In addition to being hard on the lungs, though, it's probably pretty hard on the diaphragm & muscles involved in breathing and coughing to continually huff and cough against the pressure the vest exerts.</end quote>

I do 10 soft flutter blows, followed by 3 hard flutter blows then huffing and coughing. I do this 4x.
Then I do 3 hard followed by huffing and coughing, 6 hard (with huffs in between) followed by huffing and coughing, and then 10 hard followed by (you guessed it!) huffing and coughing.

While this is going on with the flutter, I've got my vest programmed so that it goes from 12 vibration/6 pressure steadily all the way up to 18 vibration (highest is 20) / 9 pressure (highest is 10).

I follow all of this with huffing until I feel I'm either about to pass out, or I've gotten everything up.


The reason I started doing this is that I found if I 'freely' do I flutter, I get too easily distracted and end up 'sitting' between puffs, and then my mucus settles back and I just don't get much up. It's just the way my body works, I have to hit it hard and fast (or... as fast as we can). So using vest at the same time not only gives me an extra 'punch' to my therapy, but always keeps me accountable that I am doing it correctly, because it's so intense I HAVE to focus on it.

Again, I wouldn't suggest anybody else do it... I've spoken to my doctors and that's just the way <i><b>I</b></i> feel I get the most productivity out of vest/flutter.

But yes... it is definitely very exhausting, and my shoulders are ALWAYS in need of a massage :)
And I do the majority of my huffs AFTER the vest is finished. If my lungs aren't feeling quite peachy I'll often carry flutter over long past the vest.
 
L

Lance2020x

New member
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote><i>Originally posted by: <b>hmw</b></i>
<br />
<br />I am surprised you can get a deep enough breath to effectively cough while vesting, esp at the high speeds. What pressure do you use? I agree, most probably couldn't do that comfortably. Emily often has little coughs throughout her session, but for a 'big' ones that require a deep inhale, she must turn it off. You must have very good lung function- it obviously is a method that works for you.
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />In addition to being hard on the lungs, though, it's probably pretty hard on the diaphragm & muscles involved in breathing and coughing to continually huff and cough against the pressure the vest exerts.</end quote>
<br />
<br />I do 10 soft flutter blows, followed by 3 hard flutter blows then huffing and coughing. I do this 4x.
<br />Then I do 3 hard followed by huffing and coughing, 6 hard (with huffs in between) followed by huffing and coughing, and then 10 hard followed by (you guessed it!) huffing and coughing.
<br />
<br />While this is going on with the flutter, I've got my vest programmed so that it goes from 12 vibration/6 pressure steadily all the way up to 18 vibration (highest is 20) / 9 pressure (highest is 10).
<br />
<br />I follow all of this with huffing until I feel I'm either about to pass out, or I've gotten everything up.
<br />
<br />
<br />The reason I started doing this is that I found if I 'freely' do I flutter, I get too easily distracted and end up 'sitting' between puffs, and then my mucus settles back and I just don't get much up. It's just the way my body works, I have to hit it hard and fast (or... as fast as we can). So using vest at the same time not only gives me an extra 'punch' to my therapy, but always keeps me accountable that I am doing it correctly, because it's so intense I HAVE to focus on it.
<br />
<br />Again, I wouldn't suggest anybody else do it... I've spoken to my doctors and that's just the way <i><b>I</b></i> feel I get the most productivity out of vest/flutter.
<br />
<br />But yes... it is definitely very exhausting, and my shoulders are ALWAYS in need of a massage :)
<br />And I do the majority of my huffs AFTER the vest is finished. If my lungs aren't feeling quite peachy I'll often carry flutter over long past the vest.
 
H

hmw

New member
I am assuming the flutter is similar to acapella~ i agree that it takes good concentration to make this work. Between not having the strength to manage the sustained blows and lacking good concentration, this just didn't work well for Emily- and that was disappointing because it would be so much easier to stash the acapella with nebs than have to haul the vest for short trips. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> I'm very glad you discovered the way that works for you- it's such an individual disease and finding our own personal successful methods is crucial in staying healthy and compliant.

Jane~ I also agreed with Nicole's post in that getting them comfortable with the vest is a good idea for the times when they want or need to be completely independent with their treatment. I also don't know how often the RT comes, but esp with illness when treatments need to be multiple times per day (i.e. Emily is currently vesting 4x/day with a nasty illness) discovering which settings work best can help fill in the blanks even when the RT is coming to your home.
 
H

hmw

New member
I am assuming the flutter is similar to acapella~ i agree that it takes good concentration to make this work. Between not having the strength to manage the sustained blows and lacking good concentration, this just didn't work well for Emily- and that was disappointing because it would be so much easier to stash the acapella with nebs than have to haul the vest for short trips. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> I'm very glad you discovered the way that works for you- it's such an individual disease and finding our own personal successful methods is crucial in staying healthy and compliant.

Jane~ I also agreed with Nicole's post in that getting them comfortable with the vest is a good idea for the times when they want or need to be completely independent with their treatment. I also don't know how often the RT comes, but esp with illness when treatments need to be multiple times per day (i.e. Emily is currently vesting 4x/day with a nasty illness) discovering which settings work best can help fill in the blanks even when the RT is coming to your home.
 
H

hmw

New member
I am assuming the flutter is similar to acapella~ i agree that it takes good concentration to make this work. Between not having the strength to manage the sustained blows and lacking good concentration, this just didn't work well for Emily- and that was disappointing because it would be so much easier to stash the acapella with nebs than have to haul the vest for short trips. <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> I'm very glad you discovered the way that works for you- it's such an individual disease and finding our own personal successful methods is crucial in staying healthy and compliant.
<br />
<br />Jane~ I also agreed with Nicole's post in that getting them comfortable with the vest is a good idea for the times when they want or need to be completely independent with their treatment. I also don't know how often the RT comes, but esp with illness when treatments need to be multiple times per day (i.e. Emily is currently vesting 4x/day with a nasty illness) discovering which settings work best can help fill in the blanks even when the RT is coming to your home.
 
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