Lung xplant!! LOL However before my transplant I found that if i kept coughing out all the phlegm regularily throughout the day and not just during treatments I did breathe easier. Also I kept my bedroom \"cool\" even in the winter as i find hot stuffy air make it harder to breathe and sleep. Good ventilation helps. I found the fitter i kept the better i breathed too. I know excersising is exhausting if your not used to it but i swear it prolonged my lungs as long as they lasted. Without it im sure i wouldnt have made it to transplant. Even strength training like lifting weights helps!

Hey there!
You cant get away that easy...we want more details on your transplant as Im sure others on the site do....what was it like getting the call? how was the recovery? How do the immunosuppressants make you feel? Great news for you and so glad to have you on the site
Dr O.

Hi there, I agree with the previous speaker that it has to do a great deal with airway clearance. Every few days I have a so called \"clearance\" day. That day I will focus on clearing my lungs extra then on other days. It doesn\'t mean I am doing more nebulzing as usual, but I force myself a number of times per day to clear my lungs by using breathing exercises, I also use the Quake (PEP device) and a tool that COPD patients use, called powerbreathe. That day I will force myself to cough up let\'s say 2 full cups of mucus. I feel so much better the next day. But it also quite heavy to do, takes a lot of energy and also uses a lot of time, so I will and cannot do that every day.

I also got a new inhaler called seretide from GSK which was developped for asthmatic patients. It is useful in approx 10% of CF-ers, this one did my FEV1 jump up quite much. It really gave me extra air.

Another thing which helped me breathe better and I know it is controversial is inhaling L-arginine. Think what you want about it, for me it increase my saturation rate by 1 or 2% and my heartbeat therefore is not so rapid (I was always above 100 in rest). Now I have an avarage of 80. Read the article in link below. I can send full articel if interested.
http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/174/2/208

Hi there!
For those of us in the US seretide (the previous writer mentioned) is ADVAIR...a mixture of fluticasone propionate (inhaled steroid) and salmeterol (beta agonist)
GREAT news that that helped you...keep us posted
Dr O.

try the brat diet for trhe runs
Bananas, rice,rice pudding, apples or applesauce, and toast good luck everybody

Thanks so very much. I intend on locating the cd you've so kindly shared with us. I am Brenda struggling daily with the loss of my loving husband Jim. Sadly his life ended by his own hand.
Affectionately, Brenda in AZ

i drink fennel tea to help with my ibs or green tea both have helped with the bloating

I use cammomile tea, it helps calm my stomach down and calm my anxiety at the same time.

defo calomine and fennl tea

Thanks everyone

thanks for the info

I've tried the Eater's Digest Tea from Traditional Medicinals. If you follow the directions, it can bring relief. But my body is probably used to it now.

My problem is mostly cramping as well as bloatedness and constipation i ned some relieve i am in tears over this whole thing.

teardrop - add me to your friends list babe xx

What is a kombucha culture/mushroom? Kombucha is a living immune health drink made by fermenting tea & sugar with the kombucha culture. The result of the taste being between apple cider & tart champagne, depending on what kind of tea you use, & length of time brewed.

"The kombucha scoby" The kombucha culture looks like a beige or white rubbery pancake. It's often called a "scoby" which stands for "symbiotic culture of bacteria & yeasts".The culture is placed in sweetened black or green tea & turns a jar of sweet tea into a jar of vitamins, minerals, enzymes & health-giving organic acids.

"Kombucha & your health" Many health claims are made about kombucha. It has been shown to have many antibiotic, antiviral & anti fungal properties in lab tests. There is a lot of experiential evidence from people who have been using kombucha over many years. Kombucha lovers & drinkers have claimed a massive list of ailments & sicknesses which have been helped or "cured" by drinking Kombucha tea on a regular basis.Many of the benefits reported include improvements in energy levels, metabolic disorders, allergies, cancer, digestive problems, Candida's, hypertension, HIV, chronic fatigue & arthritis. It s also used externally for skin problems, & as a hair rinse. (results vary)

"It isnt really a fungus, or a seaweed or a mushroom" The kombucha is not really a mushroom as it is sometimes called, but rather a symbiosis of yeast and bacteria, That need each other, that benefit from each other & that protect each other.

***The kombucha is a tough, smooth slippery, glassy mass which forms lamellae. These lamellae are composed of translucent, very tough tissue with a series of brown slime spots at the bottom & in the tea, These turn out to be a concentration of yeast cells.

This tea has been known for over 2500 years.

It costs almost nothing, if you make this beverage yourself.

Each batch you make grows a new culture/scoby (mushroom), sometimes separate, sometimes as another layer on the original one (Just peel them apart if desired). the baby will grow across the top of the tea to the size & shape of the jar, you then have two cultures & can brew two batches next time.