This has been the year for new medical experiences for me. I am glad to say, nothing has been seriously amiss. I am sorry to say, oh boy do I have the bills now!
I developed a sinus infection this past winter that morphed into bronchitis and then into walking pneumonia. The cough has been with me every since, sometimes as a little dry cough, sometimes as a phlegm producing nasty choking oh my goodness I am gonna die coughing spell. It really got on my nerves! Sleeping was pretty difficult. I would get up and have to eat cough drops to get the spells to stop. I finally went to the doctor about the cough just a few weeks ago. Doc had his medical assistant do a peak flow test with me. Another chest x-ray later, I am scheduled for a pulmonary function test (PFT).
A Peak Flow test or spirometry is done to determine how strong a person breathes out. It is used to help manage asthma, and to evaluate lung function with patients who have emphysema or chronic bronchitis. A person breathes out forcibly into a device that measures the force of the exhalation. I hit 320, then 300, then 298. Doc said that was pretty bad. He hits 700 when he does this test. I pointed out that he was athletic and fit, and I am not. Non the less, he had me go for the PFT to do further evaluation on how I was breathing.
So, I went. The technician took me into a room with a transparent booth. I immediately felt like I was on the set for Get Smart.
Before a person takes the pulmonary function test, they are supposed to stop inhalers and certain medications (Spiriva, 24 hours before, and inhalers, Flovent, Symbicort, Asmanex, Pulmicort, Advair, 4 hours before) so the test provides accurate results. A regular small meal can be eaten before the test. Caffeine, smoking, and vigorous exercise are to be avoided before the test.
I was shown the mouth piece that I would be using and given a nose plug. The mouth piece was similar to a snorkel used for swimming but it also had a device to keep the tongue down and out of the way during the test. That was uncomfortable but not bad. The technician explained how I was to breathe and that she would be repeating the instructions to me during the test so I didn't have to worry about remembering all of it. That is a good thing. My memory is full.
At first the booth was left open for the testing. There was a lot of "breathe, breathe, breathe, DEEP breath, hold, BREATH OUT keep going keep going keep going keep going...good... breathe, breathe, breathe. Then the test got serious. The booth was closed and I had to do more of the same, but then the tech instructed me to pant but that the device would be closed so I would feel like I was panting against a wall! That was scary and I kept messing up because I COULDN'T BREATHE! The tech worked with me to help me relax and finally, I was able to do this part correctly.
I was then given a different device that had a mouth piece and an inhaler of albuterol was squirted in. I took three puffs of albuterol, and then did this same test again to measure the improvement given by this bronchodilator.
If a person has asthma or COPD or any kind of severe breathing problems, this test is really valuable in evaluating lung strength and effect of treatment. It is hard to imagine doing this test if a person has severe issues. It was hard enough for me, with a little breathing problem!
It was a good experience all in all, and both the xray and PFT came back good. Some things just take time to pass. Getting older means some things take MORE time to pass. Sigh.
On to the next thing.
I developed a sinus infection this past winter that morphed into bronchitis and then into walking pneumonia. The cough has been with me every since, sometimes as a little dry cough, sometimes as a phlegm producing nasty choking oh my goodness I am gonna die coughing spell. It really got on my nerves! Sleeping was pretty difficult. I would get up and have to eat cough drops to get the spells to stop. I finally went to the doctor about the cough just a few weeks ago. Doc had his medical assistant do a peak flow test with me. Another chest x-ray later, I am scheduled for a pulmonary function test (PFT).
A Peak Flow test or spirometry is done to determine how strong a person breathes out. It is used to help manage asthma, and to evaluate lung function with patients who have emphysema or chronic bronchitis. A person breathes out forcibly into a device that measures the force of the exhalation. I hit 320, then 300, then 298. Doc said that was pretty bad. He hits 700 when he does this test. I pointed out that he was athletic and fit, and I am not. Non the less, he had me go for the PFT to do further evaluation on how I was breathing.
So, I went. The technician took me into a room with a transparent booth. I immediately felt like I was on the set for Get Smart.
Before a person takes the pulmonary function test, they are supposed to stop inhalers and certain medications (Spiriva, 24 hours before, and inhalers, Flovent, Symbicort, Asmanex, Pulmicort, Advair, 4 hours before) so the test provides accurate results. A regular small meal can be eaten before the test. Caffeine, smoking, and vigorous exercise are to be avoided before the test.
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| This was my tech. I regret that I don't recall her name. She was very helpful and nice! |
I was shown the mouth piece that I would be using and given a nose plug. The mouth piece was similar to a snorkel used for swimming but it also had a device to keep the tongue down and out of the way during the test. That was uncomfortable but not bad. The technician explained how I was to breathe and that she would be repeating the instructions to me during the test so I didn't have to worry about remembering all of it. That is a good thing. My memory is full.
At first the booth was left open for the testing. There was a lot of "breathe, breathe, breathe, DEEP breath, hold, BREATH OUT keep going keep going keep going keep going...good... breathe, breathe, breathe. Then the test got serious. The booth was closed and I had to do more of the same, but then the tech instructed me to pant but that the device would be closed so I would feel like I was panting against a wall! That was scary and I kept messing up because I COULDN'T BREATHE! The tech worked with me to help me relax and finally, I was able to do this part correctly.
I was then given a different device that had a mouth piece and an inhaler of albuterol was squirted in. I took three puffs of albuterol, and then did this same test again to measure the improvement given by this bronchodilator.
If a person has asthma or COPD or any kind of severe breathing problems, this test is really valuable in evaluating lung strength and effect of treatment. It is hard to imagine doing this test if a person has severe issues. It was hard enough for me, with a little breathing problem!
It was a good experience all in all, and both the xray and PFT came back good. Some things just take time to pass. Getting older means some things take MORE time to pass. Sigh.
On to the next thing.
