Good evening everyone. For those who remembered about my six year wait for PR i had my assessment Friday. I was asked to show how i use my inhaler my oxygen was taken and i was asked to walk from one side of the room to the other with an oxygen tag thing on my finger and as it speeded up (which was very slow anyway) my oxygen was fine ! In fact i was asked if i was out of breath and i wasn't. She checked my lungs with stethoscope and said chest was clear and asked if i did exercise. I explained i had just purchased an oscalating plate and do exercise on this for 20 minutes a day .
The lady told me i don't need PR and that the only thing to watch was my diet . She gave me some fact sheets on breathing and eating and said good luck!
Well - i was pleased that my copd isn't that advanced yet but was surprised that i wasn't needing this? I told the lady about the fact that sometimes i can't cough up anything and feel like the mucus is stuck and when i exercise i really want to have a good cough but i end up
Making growling noises because nothing comes up. She said that i could get a script from GP for Carbocisteine which actually thins out the mucus making it easier to bring up. So anyone else used these tablets? My GP was quite reluctant to give them and in the end i said i wanted to try them so i got them in the end.
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pepparuby1
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I am so shocked by that , i have done PR twice and have never seen anyone get assessed to see if they can be on the group ,,,,all our assessments are just for them to take down details like weight and strength etc so they can look at them again at the end of the course and see if there is any change
Whoever referred you thought you needed to go so perhaps let them know how it went ????
Ps i have never had anyone check my chest with a stethoscope either when i have done PR
Well i think its a real shame she stopped you having the chance to do it......Its really informative but the biggest thing i saw people getting out of it was that its a huge confidence builder
The first group i did one woman lied about where she lived just so she could get on the course thats how good it is........ but as long as your happy with the outcome thats all that matters x
I was assessed for PR . I am also on these tablets and I personally find them helpful. I am really pleased for you,that you don't need PR well done 😊 x
That is a pity the second best thing a person can do with COPD the first is giving up smoking. The information you get from a pr course is fantastic and enable's you to help and understand your condition
I have been on Carbocistene tablets for a few years. I take 2 capsules three times a day. I find them very helpful as they thins out the mucus and so makes it easier to bring up.
I also use an Acapella Flutter Valve, prescribed by my Respiratory Nurse, which is a handheld device that helps you keep your lungs clear of mucus so you can breathe more easily.
Inside the flutter valve is a small steel ball in a cone shaped valve. As you exhale, the ball moves up and down, doing two things; a) vibrating your airways and b) making you exhale against resistance.
The vibration opens up your airways, facilitating the movement of mucus. Exhaling against resistance creates back pressure or positive pressure which allows mucus to move from the peripheral airways to the larger central airways so it can be coughed out.
To be perfectly honest - I do not know. I have been on them for a few years and I cannot remember not being without them. This loss of memory might be as a result of the Carbocistene tablets or old age; I think the latter is the correct answer!
I am also on these ArcherPaul and they are my lifesaver. Since starting these in March this year and just having had my annual spirometry test my lungs have IMPROVED 10% since last year, can only be the fact that I can expel the rubbish in my chest.
Pete uses them pepparuby but not as many as prescribed because the mucus flows too much. His nose runs and he is continuously coughing up stuff. They do help though so hope you find them good for you.
Take care xxxxx
Hi I am surprised at this because I was mild when I went to PR. Surely the whole purpose of it is to help stop it getting much worse? x
I have taken carbocistine for several years and it does help, 1 tablet 3 times a day. To be honest, drinking plenty of water and inhaled saline solution works better. Banksy70
Is the saline solution prescribed a cheaper option than the carbocistein syrup do you know? Its like getting blood out of stone these days with the docs.
I tried carbocisteine but did not get on with them - they seemed to have the opposite effect on me and I had two breathing - or not breathing - scares which my doctor put down to mucus plugs which I had never had before so came off them but seem to work for other people xx
sorry pepparuby did not mean to scare you and should have stressed that I have no definitive proof that the carbocisteine caused the mucus plugs only that my taking them coincided with these two incidents (which I had never had before and have not had since) but still could be only coincidence and even if they did cause them for me may not for you as different drugs affect different people in various ways so could work perfectly for you as they seem to have for other people so see what your doctor advises - take care xx
No that's fine. It's just that having to take more pills to sort my chest out is annoying and actually i should really use the good old fashioned steam inhalation
I'm only taking one tablet three times a day so will give it a go
What are mucus plugs? I started the tablets Monday this week and today i feel unwell with a banging headache in the front of my head and i feel stuffed up?
I was told I'd get nothing from the exercise element of the PR as I was already fit. But I was shown diaphragm breathing, pursed lips & huff cough... and probably more but don't remember.
Seemed fair enough to me, avoiding taking a limited space for someone who did really need it.
Carbos don't work for everyone, although they work for me.
So i saw my clinical trials lady today highly recommended vitamin D which i have lots of people on here take it so will buy some she also recommended that i do start the second lot of steroids and antibiotics because it clearly didn't work the first time and she said GP should have taken blood sample to test for a copd patient as the listening to the chest is not a very reliable method - I'm relieved now because I'm sure the British heart and lung clinic in London where i do my trials know absolutely best!
My GP service is as good as the waiting 6 years for PR 🤔🤔🤔
Hi pepper ruby I take 6 carbasistine a day I know what you mean about phlegm being stuck it was happening to me but my carbasistine are brilliant and help me bring it up a lot easier good luck
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