[1940]

I am 85, on OFEV for 2.5 years. My current formula is no coffee, peppers, onion. Try to stay low fat. <font face=”inherit”>Have a good protein breakfast. Protein with the pill is a MUST. With 150 dose at breakfast I eat one hard boiled egg, plus cereal and fruit with decaf tea. Some use a protein drink. Lactose </font>free milk<font face=”inherit”> is a good idea with cereal.</font>

Lunch is a simple sandwich or soup.

<font face=”inherit”>Dinner always needs protein (with the 150 pill). </font>Chicken,<font face=”inherit”> fish, pork, with cooked veggies and a starch.</font>

<font face=”inherit”>I have </font>hummus on a cracker before dinner as an appetizer and a cookie and pretzels for desert.

Prepare to have some of the worst smelling gastric gas. A side effect of OFEV they don’t publicize.

Everyone is different, so experiment and read the directions you get when starting OFEV.

<font face=”inherit”>Good luck with it. The fact that you are reaching out for </font>information<font face=”inherit”> is a good sign that you </font>will<font face=”inherit”> succeed.</font>

[1940]

I was also nervous the first time but it is a piece of cake. First the Inogen 5, plus a spare battery is perfect for your short trip. The 5 lasts 10 hours at a 1 setting so it will probably last for 5 hours at 3. Plus, with the spare battery you can double the time.

Going through security is a breeze. They see you are on O2 so you get special attention. Sometimes they electronically “sniff the concentrator” for chemicals and sometimes they don’t. As someone said , the TSA sees this equipment all the time so don’t worry. If you are still concerned about battery life you can recharge while waiting for the flight at the electrical outlets in the seating area of the airport where you are boarding.

Have a nice flight. It sounds like you deserve a nice trip.

[1940]

Sporting Clays along with Skeet and Trap are good outdoor hobbies that require little exertion. You can take a cart at most sporting clays places.

Bocce is always a limited exertion game. It is not easy to excel but we have a frail 94 year old who is a champion and very accurate with a bocce ball.

[1940]

When they say take OFEV with protein, they mean it. I take 150 mg twice a day and was a on the verge of discontinuing it. Then I tried a plant based protein drink at breakfast (along with my Cheerios and OFEV). I eliminated coffee and caffeinated tea and onions and peppers in my salads and made sure that my dinner included a lot of protein. It seems that protein buffers the irritating effect of OFEV on your intestines. Cereal does not.

What a difference! I can now tolerate OFEV.

However I began to have real problems with flatulence. Then, I tried having lactose free milk with my breakfast and the flatulence went away. Never had a lactose intolerance before but it is easy to deal with.

[1940]

I am not on M/M and will investigate for my possible use. However the current standard if care is OFEV if you can tolerate it. OFEV has a bad reputation for intestinal distress so that some people will not take it.

Part of the problem is that most Pulmonary Doctors are not dietitians (nor am I). OFEV is a real irritant to your system. I have found that taking a plant based protein supplement of 20 grams and OFEV (150 mg) before breakfast (cereal and fruit) along with taking the nightly 150 mg OFEV dose with a good amount of protein in the meal (fish, chicken, beef, pork) staves off the upset stomach and diarrhea. It seems that the protein buffers the OFEV and you can lead a normal life with it. But, no coffee or caffeine, nor raw peppers and onions, easy on the fats and sweets. Except the coffee, which I miss terribly, it is a pretty normal diet.

I an 85 years old, have been on OFEV since March of 2023, diagnosed on October 2022. I use 2 liters of O2 at night and 2 liters only during exercise or manual work during the day. Otherwise I am off O2. I tire easily but at 85 I am ahead of most of my peers in energy.