Just a quick question I was diagnosed with ILD beginning of 2019 had scans ect my lungs are heavily scared through the building trade I recently had a video appointment and my consultant heard my budgie cheeping in the back ground he suggested that this would not help my condition and I should get rid of it .I don't see the connection and can't see the harm a budgie can make to me after 42yrs breathing in asbestos cement plaster dust ect gas anyone else been told this or any advice ..
Also while I'm here does anyone suffer with headaches to the left hand side had scans nothing shows up thank God ..
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I expect your consultant would like you to get rid of it, but from a personal viewpoint (not medical professional who understands fully your lung damage)....
A 42 year old budgy! wow, the bird has done really well. I would say one bird is not going to be a problem so long as its cage is kept clean and the bird is healthy and you love it.
Bird fanciers lung was caused in main I think by keeping pigeons and possibly an avery of birds.
I only seem to get headaches these day with atmospheric pressure, with excessive heat like it is now, cold or wind, dehydration (keep drinking the water) and when I am unwell as with flu.
Try to drink about 2 litres of water a day, especially in this weather.
Thanks my wife says I should drink more water too I will make sure I do two ltrs is a fair bit of water Yes I was wondering if it was atmospheric pressure with the headaches. Trouble is when I've so many things going wrong I tend to not bother Drs as there enough on especially now .
lol budgie not 42,yrs been in building trade 42 yr lol
That's what I thought about birds fanciers lungs don't see how one budgie is going to kill me ....
Yes me too sassy budgie staying and when he asksI will tell him it's gone as he writes down in his notes I keep budgies I've told him constantly I don't" keep "budgies I have one pet budgie ...
As you probably know I have an African Grey Parrot (used to have a pair), much larger and dustier than a little budgie. I use a water spray system, operated from the bathroom next to it's room before I enter. I get her dripping wet with a spray bottle before taking her out the cage to interact with her, repeating the spraying if she dries out.
The link above might prove useful. Obviously, spray over the cage to hold down any dust prior to cleaning out. If the bird is not a 'flapper' problems will be minimal with any dander (dust) being blown about.
Yes I was aware of your African Grey, I had 2 Kakarikis and 2ringnecks which I had just purchased prior to being diagnosed last year I moved them on because he said they could make my condition be worse as I hadn't become attached to them ,but I've had my budgie a few years now and she's not going nowhere luckily she's tame and goes for a bath daily under the tap She has netting on her cage and my wife cleans her out everyday her cage is spotless plus I couldn't bare to part with her
I had read that birds can affect your lungs. I used to have budgies when I was young so I know you are reluctant to give it away. If the consultant thinks it is a danger to your health maybe have a think about it. Take care. x
I know they can effect my health but I've only got one it hasn't caused my ILD that was the building trade it's cleaned every day spotless by my wife (she's like Mrs Bucket ) so I'm going to tell him it's gone to save all the hassle.
Yes some birds can affect your lungs, when I was first diagnosed with ILD all the consultant asked if I had birds, I have never had birds, I’m a bit of a wimp with birds, they scare me silly.
I do think it’s like giving away a child when medical people say get rid of your pets, i would rather give away my child! Well not really.
When I was pregnant I was told to get rid of my cats, they are dangerous to babies, that wasn’t going to happen! Tho one of them insisted on getting in the carry cot always used to curl up by his feet. Son is now over 6ft happy and healthy
It’s your choice but as sassy59 says sack the consultant and keep the bird.
I feel exactly the same the budgie hasn't caused my lung damage it doesn't seem to effect me and I have no intention of giving her away I treat her better than anyone else would she's tame and I definitely prefer my budgie to my kids lol...
Yes that's what I'm going to do next time I told him I wish my only problem was my tiny budgie but he didn't find it funny ...,I'm telling him it's gone as it doesn't make me ill
I saw him face 2face ,he said lungs not detioriated,he didn’t explain increasing shortness of breath.or increasing pain over lungs.i might ring the helpline for advice.
I have headaches,but they are on the right hand side.
I haven’t mentioned it to them ,because I can’t face any any more investigations,which all come back negative.
I mentioned pain my chest to mine he just said he can't see any reason why I'm getting pain and he left it at that I still get the pain but same as you I'm sick of being messed a bout with and still get no answers I've had an heart scan nothing wrong there . .they get us to a stage where we think sod it take care hope you get some answers .I just feel because of this virus we are being shoved to one side
all I hear from my consultants , his team , my Drs ( now my Doctor's at my local practice know even less than me and theve admitted that to me ) they know very little about ILD which doesn't exactly fill me with any kind of confidence at all. So basically I go along with the tests scans blood breathing ect and feel I'm pacifying them to make them feel needed lol
I am lucky enough to be under the care of Wythenshawe hospital ILD unit.also rheumatology.
They were hoping that the Myclophenate would help my lungs,but it hasn’t so far,but it is relieving some of my other symptoms.
So we carry on.
It’s difficult to cope with sometimes,we tend to think there’s a cure for everything.
But as others have said,we need to enjoy life as much has possible ,albeit at a much slower pace.have struggled with the heat today, I hope you are ok.
Hi Oshgosh, my doctor wanted me to take Myclophenate for my lung desease Allergic Alveolitis / hypersensitive pneumonitis. Do you experience many sideeffects of the medicine? or is it OK? The medicine should be especially good for stabilising ILD lungs etc. Take care
This is the problem with these drugs they effect our body's in different ways sometimes I think we're used as guinea pigs the longer I can keep going without them the better Ive now learnt when he rings or videos the less I moan and just say I'm ok the longer I will go without them it is easier for me to say as I'm not as bad as a lot of folk...
Hi Oshgosh, sorry to hear that your breathing is getting worse. I experienced a period of 3-4 weeks in may-june where my breathing got worse but by some sort of miracle it disappeared again. I think it may have been caused by the fact that my medicine pred was reduced in that period and then the grass pollen was very high in that period. But I do not know..The doctor wanted me to change medicine from prednisolone to Myclopenate, but when I read about all the side effects I decided not to start on the medicine. As long as my illness is stable - and I feel fine - I will stay on prednisolone as long as possible. Both Myclopenate and Azatropine are among the immunosuppressive medications that are used for lung deseases etc and they all have a lot of side effects..unfortunately. Hopefully your breathing gets better soon and you do not have to worry about your liver etc. Best wishes S
The heat is horendous gasping for breathe when I out with dogs I look like goldfish out of the bowl but then again I moan when it's cold and have to put the heating on lol...I feel I'm so lucky as I've no medication for lLD to take .Also the fact I can't get to see my consultant in a way is helping as sometimes I feel they shove us on drugs too early he mentioned going on some type of steroids but Im fat to start with without adding to it I said I'll manage for now thank you ....
Look after your self keep breathing 😜
Hi Kakariki, I have two budgies which I love and wouldn't get shut of even though I too have a lung condition. My partner and I live apart, he has aviary birds (including Kakariki's) and a barn owl. I don't enter the aviary's but I do tickle Boo the barn owl's nose. My budgies are in my living room with me, I suppose they don't help but like you I am keeping them. My GP has never mentioned my birds and he must hear them over the phone.
I get left sided headaches when I've been snoring in my sleep and my blood oxygen levels fall. It doesn't happen enough for the GP to treat sleep apnoea. Sometimes the headaches trip over into a full migraine, which is a real pain. If I wake up with one in the middle of the night, I do deep breathing to get the oxygen levels in the blood back up again. That stops the headache being too bad next day.
Cheers for your reply my consultant sent me to the sleep clinic after the trial nothing was found but just read up on blood oxygen levels through the night and it could be the cause of my headaches too and blurred vision
They sais I was borderline for cpap,.i didn’t want it as the-cat sleeps under the bed and knocks everything off the Ed side table. off the bedside table,so I couldn’t stand the hassle.
Also was concerned about disentangling it when I wanted a drink or the loo.
I've found my Fitbit Charge 3 very useful in discovering this. I've set it to track my sleep each night, and the app shows the general blood oxygen variations during sleep. So last night was fine, the night before I had one high variation, another night recently I had three. They usually coincide with deep sleep while sleeping on my back, so I'm trying to sleep on my side more now.
I have hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP- form of farmers lung) not caused by birds. Cheeky Consultant-you can be checked for an allergy to a whole host of things-budgies included. This is routine for people with HP. Don't part with yr beloved bird and ask for an allergy test! I hv out door hens/geese/ducks and hv been tested for these and my horse n dogs. Still don't know what has caused my HP -but it's not getting worse- tho I do have other lungs issues that aren't stable- perhap's what the Consultant is concerned about. If things get bad-perhaps u could have an outdoor Avery or separate bird-room. Best of luck. Meredith
Thanks Meredith I think he was over the top but yes if it did effect me in time then I would have to reconsider.... my one budgie hasn't caused my scared lungs it's the building trade . I don't cough or sneeze or have any discomfort from her being in the room, she's not going anywhere wife cleans her out everyday and she's like Mrs Bucket for cleanliness we also have a large air purifier and she's always hovering and wiping cage bit over the top I think ... Thanks for your reply really appreciate you taking the time
My pleasure. If the Consultant gets over concerned again emphasis the mental positives of you having a pet! I did finally manage to convince my Consultants that my issues were probably environmental- neighbours burning muck piles/crop spraying and the like. Totally out of my control-apart from letters to MPs etc! Best Wishes. Meredith
I have ILD caused by an autoimmune illness. I read about bird fanciers lung and also 'feather duvet lung' so I got rid of my feather pillows 'just in case'. I think I would keep a budgie though - unless you sleep snuggled into it.
Hi thanks yes I'm telling my consultant she's gone to save hassle but that is a good idea about the duvet and pillows my pillows have down in them and I think I'm going to replace them today many thanks for pointing that out ...I would cuddle up to her but wife would get jealous. lol
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