I have been asked by a few people to keep you up to date.
First day at my rehab, we talked a little about why we were all there, a little about the illness and was taught how to do some exercises, which we then completed and have been asked to take a sheet home and do the exercises home over a certain amount of days, then watched part of a dvd on coping with copd which was made by people with the illness and health workers. I have found it on the BLF website and i have ordered it.
Yesterday, the second week of the course, we were asked how we got on with the exercises at home, went through the exercises and a few extra (at our own paces), then we talked at length about the medication we are all on, which certainly was an eye opener as the doctors never really explain in great depth what the medication is and the best way to use it and how many times you are able to use it. We also went into depth on the illness, what causes it, they effects of it in the body as well as the visble effects which we have, though others dont have. The whole time, anyone can ask questions that we havent been able to get to ask our doctors. We had our oxygen levels taken. We did start talking about how to recognise your own body for signs of whether you have an infection or not, i was asked if i had picked up an infection, i said that i wasnt sure, we will cover more of that next week, as we overran our time yesterday, 2 hours certainly goes fast.
I will post again after my next week's rehab for you all.
San x
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San15
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Great thank you seems to be very helpful, start of my 2nd week yesterday managed a bit more of the exercises going at my own pace my daughter was with me timing me with a stop watch ha ha. Everyone has different levels of exercise think I tried doing too much last Thursday! Never mind you learn by your mistakes Val
Well done San, and well done Val. PR is important and I know you will both benefit from it. : )
Thank you, yes val you need to do them at your own pace, as you said, everyone is doing it, i am in a small group and the place we are at isnt a gym, we are in a small room with lots of tables and chairs. i had to do everything slowly yesterday with how i was feeling, and rest plenty inbetween, you will get there val, we both will. I know that they are hoping to just do a little more each time if possible to get us to the place where we can be a little fitter and be able to do more physically. My daughters wouldnt come last week, they came the week before and kept telling me that i could do more, i have a problem with my leg and arm at the moment, doctors say that i have sciatica, but they are also stumped as i have it in my left arm as well as my leg, if i sit down too long, it starts hurting me, if i am up on my feet it starts, i cant find a balance in between yet.
Thank you auntymary, i know we will benefit from it, its a shame doctors never tell you about the medication the same as they tell you there.
Would probably benefit me learning more about the medication, I usually look it up though. We did a relaxation session not really my cup of tea but it's teaching you to think more about your breathing. Sorry about your sciatica let’s hope it settles soon, they had me walking up and down the gym yesterday pushing the wheelchair - placed a chair each end for me to rest there was Leanne with her stop watch ha ha. Keep posting it's great to hear how you are getting on Val x
i will do, hope yours goes ok and let me know how you are getting on too, i'd like to hear how you are doing too. What the doctor never tells you is that you can have up to about 6 puffs of your ventolin when needed and it takes about 20mins before it starts working, so for instance, if you are going to walk up a hill, take the ventolin at the bottom instead of when you get to the top and you are out of breathe. the siriva is a 24rh acting one, symbicort and others similar to that one are 12 hr acting ones and need to be taken 24 hrs apart. We were told to take a spacer with us everywhere we go, pack the small one in a pocket or bag and take with us to take the ventolin, to get it into us better. I asked the doctor last night if i can take the ventolin when i go to bed as when i lay down, i often start feeling a bit breathless and he said that was ok. Youl should cover it, but i hope that has helped you and will be of some help for everyone else who is on the medications and havent been told how to get the best out of them. Have you ordered the dvd off the BLF site val? didnt get to watch alot, but it is very interesting, tells how to pace yourself when you are out walking etc. Hopefully mine will arrive soon in the post.
I have the DVD yes very interesting gives you a lot of tips, thanks for the info I quite often get breathless when going to bed so will use the ventolin just before. Didn't realise it can take 20 mins to start working another thanks for that, I do not have a spacer to take out with me will look into that again many thanks Val x
i am glad that i could help, i never realised that it can take 20 mins to work either, i think bedtime is a time to get breathless, i try to prop myself up but that never works at all. Ask your doc to give you a small spacer, i was told to have a large spacer to keep in the house where i need it the most and the small spacer to have out with me. Ask the doc for them if you need them, i think that i threw away my big one because i got the small one, stupid thing to do now, i dont think we have the one from when my grandson needed inhalers either. If i remember anything else, i will add it, got a card for the nurse to fill in too, cant remember what that was, think i left my folder in the car. I was also told today, anyone who is on blue badge and having trouble getting benefits, ask the blue badge people for a copy of the assessment and send to the benefits place to help your case.
Great thank you keep us updated I am back at PR Thursday will get out for a walk today My walk is up to 120 meters still stopping several times, try a bit further each time Val
All you can do is the best you can, i'm not doing alot today how i am feeling and my grandson is being a pain in the bum, my youngest daughter and him wind each other up all the time, he wasnt too bad until she came downstairs, so i have sent them both to the shops for me, get a few mins peace and quiet lol.
Had my PR Assessment last Thursday and am starting this Thursday on the course. The staff were brilliant, I had written quite a lot of questions down which I wanted to ask & they were so helpful & informatve. Much more than doctors! Am really looking forward to it, atho todays a bad day, very breathless. Strange it's usualy worse first thing in a morning,sometimes takes an hour before I can do anything, easing as the day goes on. Never goes, but is better. Anyone else have the same problem & how do you cope with it? Would love to hear others experiences, especially as I am due to return to work in 4 wks time on a phased return, but am terrified even then I won't be fit enough on a morning! Look forward to hearing from anyone . Mary
Last week I was tired for a good few day's but ok now, PR gets you tired slept like a baby last night ha ha. Felt more confident yesterday don't know if it was because Leanne was there with me? Been out for my walk getting better all the time, I hope to be back to work beginning of Sept only do 20 hrs think it may be worth while doing a phased return.
You will enjoy PR it makes you more confident, learning to get only moderately breathless not severely.
We all have good days and bad hopefully the good days outnumber the bad Val
I can finally reply. I am tired all the time mary no matter what i do and never sleep too well. I do things when i feel up to doing them, sometimes i have to push myself to do things too, i think i overdid things yesterday with all the ironing that i did, i was hoping to get to bed and get to sleep early last night but that never happened, was trying to get my mum's sewing machine to work, i gave up in the end. You should feel alot better after your PR mary, they will teach you how to get the best out of your meds and pace yourself too etc, good luck with PR mary and Val. San x
Good luck Mary, you will be fine, it will help you, we have to think positive of our illnesses or we wont be able to cope with them and we would go downhill, which i must admit, come winter time when i am at my worst, i often feel like giving up, just sitting around, after seeing my mum and hearing my mum her last few months, just giving up with her illness, it has made me push myself out to keep going, i know that my mum would want that too, i am doing for her, my children, my grandson and my granddaughter who will be born in january and my elder 2 daughters who are due to marry sometime in the future, i want to see them get married. Let us know how you get on Mary, will be thinking of you.
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Val
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