Hello All,
My pulmonologist mentioned that I might need a Bipap for breathing problems caused by a neuromuscular disease I was wondering if anyone has any expierence with Bipaps in this application and tell me what you think about them or general info
Thanks
Newbie on Bipaps
8 posts
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DMEdaddy
Your question is so very broad, it would take a book to answer and I know of no such book. I suggest cpap.com Bipap product pages as a starting point. They also have Bipap information in their FAQ section.
I have worked with patients who were struggling to breath due to various neuromuscular problems. Bipap brings wonderful relief, as long as the disease is not too far advanced. You wear it whenever you need to day or night. If you must wear it for many hours a day, get a variety of masks types, traditional and nasal pillows as your face with get very uncomfortable and even damaged by the constant pressure of the sealing device.
In mild cases, straight cpap can be helpful. If the disease advances, a Bipap does a much better job of ventilation. In a degenerative situation, a Bipap with a rate (BiPAP-ST) allows a breath per minute to be dialed in. This mode is very helpful when the patient has very little breath drive. A Bipap-ST can also work as a CPAP or a straight bipap, just by changing the settings. Respironics has Bi-flex built in to make breathing easy and more comfortable than standard Bipap. They sell more Bipaps because they have the best technology. Settings are usually determined by patient comfort. If this is the path you must follow, find out how to adjust the settings yourself, and you will be able to greatly improve your treatment.
You may want to talk to your doctor about going directly to a Bipap-ST and skipping the straight Bipap. This is not needed unless your situation is degenerative.
May God strengthen you and provide for your every need. Post often. We care about you!
_________________
CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): respironics, bipap, cpap.com, CPAP, Nasal Pillows
I have worked with patients who were struggling to breath due to various neuromuscular problems. Bipap brings wonderful relief, as long as the disease is not too far advanced. You wear it whenever you need to day or night. If you must wear it for many hours a day, get a variety of masks types, traditional and nasal pillows as your face with get very uncomfortable and even damaged by the constant pressure of the sealing device.
In mild cases, straight cpap can be helpful. If the disease advances, a Bipap does a much better job of ventilation. In a degenerative situation, a Bipap with a rate (BiPAP-ST) allows a breath per minute to be dialed in. This mode is very helpful when the patient has very little breath drive. A Bipap-ST can also work as a CPAP or a straight bipap, just by changing the settings. Respironics has Bi-flex built in to make breathing easy and more comfortable than standard Bipap. They sell more Bipaps because they have the best technology. Settings are usually determined by patient comfort. If this is the path you must follow, find out how to adjust the settings yourself, and you will be able to greatly improve your treatment.
You may want to talk to your doctor about going directly to a Bipap-ST and skipping the straight Bipap. This is not needed unless your situation is degenerative.
May God strengthen you and provide for your every need. Post often. We care about you!
_________________
CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): respironics, bipap, cpap.com, CPAP, Nasal Pillows
What a bipap does is to make the effort of exhaling so much easier than with straight cpap.
Typically you can have the bipap (bilevel) set to 3-4 cms below your recommended titration setting and on completing the breathing in cycle (ipap) the machines senses you are about to breathe out and switches to the lower breath-out pressure (epep). When the machine senses you are done breathing out it switches back to the breathe in pressure (ipap).
Many folk here have tried the Bipap auto but I suspect that it may not be the ideal choice in your instance.
Does your doctor have any suggestions re type of bipap ?
Cheers
DSM
Typically you can have the bipap (bilevel) set to 3-4 cms below your recommended titration setting and on completing the breathing in cycle (ipap) the machines senses you are about to breathe out and switches to the lower breath-out pressure (epep). When the machine senses you are done breathing out it switches back to the breathe in pressure (ipap).
Many folk here have tried the Bipap auto but I suspect that it may not be the ideal choice in your instance.
Does your doctor have any suggestions re type of bipap ?
Cheers
DSM
xPAP and Quattro std mask (plus a pad-a-cheek anti-leak strap)
Thanks for responding so quickly, I'm sorry I couldn't narrow it down some I'm supposed to have a sleep study done here in a month or so since the center is so backed up. I don't know about auto bipap or straight, but the all pulmo said was that I probably needed a bipap ,but didn't specify further. Thans again and I'll keep y'all posted as to how it's going.
Quick sleep studies
Just a thought about getting a quick sleep study if you need it. I have been to two different locations and they both told me that they get a lot of last minute cancellations. I bet if you told them you were willing to come at a moments notice, you might be surprised how quick you would get in. At least it worked for me.
Thanks for the tip, the trouble is that I live in Oklahoma and the pulmo that I'm seeing is in St. Louis.
Why not see a pulmo in Oklahoma? There is pulmonologists here, but none of them specialize in neuro-muscular disorders so getting in quick is near impossible. My situation is weird when my symptoms first appeared my neuro said it was psychological, but subsequent tests and psychiatrists have proved otherwise, but some doctors still say it's psychiatric so we stay with the one's that don't have their heads up their butts.
Why not see a pulmo in Oklahoma? There is pulmonologists here, but none of them specialize in neuro-muscular disorders so getting in quick is near impossible. My situation is weird when my symptoms first appeared my neuro said it was psychological, but subsequent tests and psychiatrists have proved otherwise, but some doctors still say it's psychiatric so we stay with the one's that don't have their heads up their butts.
Hi CSA,
I don't know anything about neuro-muscular disorders. But I wouldn't be surprised if they are thinking bipap if they anticipate any difficulty of you breathing against the pressure. I have a bipap and have weak lung muscles or something like that. All I know is that it is impossible for me to breath with exhale on any other machine but a bipap. Some straight cpap or auto cpaps have c-flex or something similar for relief with exhale, but they don't offer as much of a relief as a bipap. I had tried an auto cpap and I simply could not breath the exhale, it was laborious and it hurt. The pressure relief of exhale I get from a bipap really works, I can breath fine with that. It may be that they anticipate something similar.
And I say you are wise to stay from the doctors who insist it's all psychiatric. You know, just this evening I was watching a story on "60 Minutes" about a new treatment for certain depressions which do not respond to medication. All I could think of was "did they test for sleep apnea?"
Linda
I don't know anything about neuro-muscular disorders. But I wouldn't be surprised if they are thinking bipap if they anticipate any difficulty of you breathing against the pressure. I have a bipap and have weak lung muscles or something like that. All I know is that it is impossible for me to breath with exhale on any other machine but a bipap. Some straight cpap or auto cpaps have c-flex or something similar for relief with exhale, but they don't offer as much of a relief as a bipap. I had tried an auto cpap and I simply could not breath the exhale, it was laborious and it hurt. The pressure relief of exhale I get from a bipap really works, I can breath fine with that. It may be that they anticipate something similar.
And I say you are wise to stay from the doctors who insist it's all psychiatric. You know, just this evening I was watching a story on "60 Minutes" about a new treatment for certain depressions which do not respond to medication. All I could think of was "did they test for sleep apnea?"
Linda
I've been reading about cpap and the like for a month or so now trying to understand it and with myasthenia gravis it causes weakining of the muscles including the chest wall and lungs. Back in June I had to be intubated for 3 days because my lungs got so weak, which was no fun for a 15 year old. But Ive been using an oxygen concentrator for quite a while which does nothing at all.
Back on the subject Linda, I've just found the S/T by Respironics and it seems to me that it might be the best for my situation because I'm sure there will be times during the day that it will be extremely difficult for me so it looks to me to be the best. Thanks, Jesse.
Back on the subject Linda, I've just found the S/T by Respironics and it seems to me that it might be the best for my situation because I'm sure there will be times during the day that it will be extremely difficult for me so it looks to me to be the best. Thanks, Jesse.
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