I'd be of no help to you on those issues, gwapo, as I don't have those specific problems with my illness at this point anyway. Sorry.

Peter,
Did you ever think of getting rid of the roosters?

I got sinuses also, and tend to breath out of my mouth more then my nose. I think it is because our noses are stuffy at times.

Yup, I do too. Don't know why.

Know that feeling too. Do you use 1 puff or 2? And I find it hard to use as I am trying to breath.

Please keep in mind, stay active, and take your meds, You can slow it down greatly and almost live a normal life.
Keep the faith and have a great one.

Peter, have you ever tried using your supplemental oxygen while you sleep? I wonder if that might help?

As far as the rescue inhalers go, by the time I think to use mine, I'm practically hyperventilating and have to work hard to calm my breathing down so that I can get the rescue inhaler into my lungs rather than my mouth.

I'm seriously thinking about investing in a little emergency fold up chair. I was in the supermarket the other day and became so sob I HAD to sit down. And the floor was the only place to do so. Boy, did I get some weird looks!

As for the roosers, Peter, do you own a bb gun? (just kidding of course)
vicki

Vicki, saw a ad for a pocket chair. It was kind of neat.
I try to inhale the inhaler when i suck in when I hyperventilate, that was what I was trying to say. LOL. My son thinks its funny, i hold the inhaler in my my and try to time it right.

Empathise with you on numbers 2 3 4.No rooster problem ha ha.PLB is really helpful because it assists in releasing trapped air from the damaged lungs, with emphy it tends to be more of a problem clearing the lungs than filling them hence the need to breathe by mouth sometimes.Post med nausea can be eased with an anti emetic drug.For me, resue inhaler ventolin is very helpful though unsure how much is a case of mind over matter.The pulmonary rehab courses here and in oz are invaluable with regard to teaching how to understand and live with this disease.I really sympathise with your situation Peter, have a good evening.

Peter, if you have sinus problems that arenn't being treated. you will most likely have a stuffy nose more often than not. When your nose is blocked you will naturally breathe thru your mouth. This in turn will make it difficult for you to do the PLB effectively.

I have allergy problems which cause sinus problems. I recommend using a Neti Pot or something similar to rinse the sinus of the allergens that may be causing the stuffy nose. Aids to rinse the sinus can be found at any drugstore.

Fortunately no problem with my meds.

I use the Ventolin inhaler but it does not replace the fact that sometimes I am just so shortof breath that I just need to sit, relax and let my breathing even out. Has your doctor told you that you are retaining too much co2? That is what causes me the most problem BUT the PLB will help tremendously with that.

The rooster could be causing more problem than you realize. If it is interrupting your sleep and you aren't getting enough rest, you will not feel as well during the day. Your energy level is very important in order to cope with this every day.

Sorry for all your problems.

well, puff is the only chicken i dont have problems with my breathing! and he an be a bit annoying sometimes too! hehe

but the co2 retaining is a real pain in the rear!!! it knocks me to my knees all th time!

my nurse has told jme to lay down an drest up for it. which does seem to ehlp me!

good luck with it!

well if I come down with any more issues they are going to lock me up and throw away the key but sure....

so I am no help beleive me....

Good point re the need for restful sleep LilEllie.

I find that the weather determines my good and bad breathing days. When the barometric pressure changes a lot is when I seem to have the bad breathing days, I also have discovered when I dont get a full good night sleep my days are not so good. On those bad days I just sit around and rest just to breath with comfort.
I have a lot of nose and sinsu problems. I make sure my tubing isnt kinked/also check to make sure the water in the humidifier is at right level/ and I take allergy medicine. My lung doc told me when I have a stuffy nose to pop a menthol cough drop in my mouth and that seems to open the nose so I can breath,
My doc switched me from provental to ventolin and I dont think it works as well even though they say it is the same thing,
I didnt do well on advair so I take serevent and flovent, I know these are same medicines as in the advair but taking separatley helps me better, Check with your lung doctor as mine told me there are so many different ones we can try, He put me on theophyllin and that has helped a lot,
Just keep in touch with your doctor

Hi Peter..
Are you able to get a sleep study done there or even an overnight sat check? One of the earliest things a lot of us develop is nocturnal hypoxemia and need O2 at night . If your Dr already thinks you need supplemental O2 during the day then you might get this checked out. And the sinus/allergy too.

PLB works great but I think many of us have times we revert to open mouth breathing when we're in distress. My pulm said that wasn't unusual and that to just try and exhale really hard and long, then take a fast inhale .. the whole thing behind PLB is for emphy patients we need to try to force a larger amount of air out during exhale since our problem is air trapping ..so mouth exhalation is a more rapid emptying of the lungs - especially if we act like we're trying to blow up a balloon or blow out a candle.
The inhale is not as important except when we inhale via the nose it warms, cleans and moistens the air making it less harsh in your lungs especially on very cold days.
If your that SOB and need your rescue then having to sit down is perfect! One of the first things they taught me was when SOB was to sit ( the body doesn't have to work so hard to circulate blood and O2) so though you find it frustrating its just your body saying "enough of this " and forcing you to rest and let it recover. I agree it is inconvenient but its just a fact of life for us.
Why not get one of those fancy dude canes that have the folding seat built into it.? Then you can be dapper and also rest in comfort when needed.

PS: per the roosters.. only thing I can think of is quality ear plugs or a stock pot...good luck!

I take MuscinexD about an hour before bed and it drains all the mucus out and I can breath thru my nose at night with no post nasal drip or couching. Maybe worth a try? Probably check w/your doc first. I also have a drop dead recipe for rooster stew.

Thanks alot guys for all the input. Will check out what to do with my nose problems. The rooster is a must have here...not 1 but as many as one can afford (Locals i mean) Cockfighting is the major sport here n to hurt a mans rooster could end you up dead. In my compound of 8 dwellings we have at least 20 of these pests so you can imagine them as well as all the others that live around here all crowing at the same time....
Anyway will post again sometime later...if i dont bore you.

Oh please believe me when I say you're NOT boring. And I take back what I said about the roosters. Now I love them.......