[Kim Fredrickson]

Hi Charlene,

So glad you are getting a little better. Have a wonderful trip!!!

Kim

[Kim Fredrickson]

Hi Gil,

Thanks so much for sharing my column with your friend. I hope it is a help. The reason I often have PF in the title is that I’m hired to write a column for pulmonary fibrosis news about issues patients deal with. I’m so glad they are a help to others as well. I can add a tag, “incurable disease” to future columns, that might cause my column to come up on an internet search for incurable diseases. Thanks so much for the great idea!

Kim

[Kim Fredrickson]

Hi Charlene,

Thanks for your response to Gil and myself.  Good luck! I drink Atkins premade shakes. I especially like “Milk Chocolate.” It is 160 calories, 5 carbs and 15 protein. The cheapest place I’ve found is on Target online. I have them shipped to me. They don’t sell the powder, just premade. Hope this helps!

Kim

[Kim Fredrickson]

Thanks Gil and Charlene! So glad my column was helpful. Charlene, good question about getting hungry. I was surprised how much you can eat for 1000 calories if you watch your food choices. I have a protein shake in the morning with a banana, and a big salad with low cal dressing for lunch, usually including chicken. For dinner I usually have some kind of protein and vegetables. I snack on vegetables dipped in low cal dressing, or hummus. I record and measure everything I eat, which really seems to help.

You’ll need to play around with it to see what works for you!

Blessings,

Kim

[Kim Fredrickson]

Thanks so much for sharing Charlene. What an unusual situation…I can see why you brought it up. I’m a patient, not a physician and this is just my opinion. I agree with you. It sounds like she needs a small amount for both physical and anxiety-related issues. Some doctors either minimize of misunderstand how anxiety producing it is when you feel like you can’t catch your breath.

I think the idea of giving her a new cannula and access to a tank if she has an episode is fine, as long as she is monitoring her O2 with an oximeter. She needs to not take in too much (not go over 98%). I say 98% because oximeters are not always correct, so this leaves a margin of error to not get to 100%. If it reads 100%, it may actually be above that level. I would also encourage her to keep a log listing her levels, what amount she used, and how she felt before and after.

If she’s not happy with her doctor’s response in a few weeks, I would urge her to get a second opinion.

You are a very kind friend to help her with this very difficult situation.

Kim