[Paul Salvatore]

Hello to All,

I have read this thread with a great deal of interest. I have struggled with cough and phlegm off and on. This is what ultimately lead to my diagnosis in 2018. The ‘chronic’ allergies, winter cold, hacking, runny nose, stuffed sinuses in February that just would not quit just started to stretch longer and longer, along with shortness of breath. . .  For a time, I felt like I should have owned stock in Kleenex.

I’ve been on OFEV since the summer of 2021. In December 2021, I started doing breathing treatments (nebulizer) of Albuterol 3x/day and Hyposaline Solution (3%) 4x/day. I also raised the head of my bed 6 inches. I was instructed to have at least a 4 hour period of not eating before bed time, to insure there was no potential of any GERD situation due to stomach actions. [Basically treating everything else but IPF]. Short story – Cough and phlegm have almost gone to almost zero. A significant reduction. I take the generic equivalent of Alegra (180 mg) every day that really helps keep allergies at bay.

I used to require supplemental oxygen to walk around. Now I carry it with me, but rarely have to use it. I have a continuous O2 Sat monitor, that I use when I’m out and about to insure I’m not in trouble. So I know my experience is not just wishful thinking. I have also lost 70# in the last year – It all adds up.

Best to all.
Paul

[Paul Salvatore]

Jen & All,

I’ve been using Wellue’s CheckMe O2 Max for over a year now. It is a portable wrist based ring sensor that pretty much delivers hands free operation. To the positive, the unit is fairly accurate and it can capture up to (4) 10 hour monitoring sessions in memory. This make it ideal for wearing out and about or wearing at night. The data is retained in the app, but is also aggregated in Apple’s Health App. The unit can be set with low alerts & alarms for O2 Sat and high and low alerts for pulse.

Apple Watch tends to skew O2 Sat high by 1-2%. The limitation of AW is that it can only take reading when one is pretty much motionless. I suspect all wrist based monitors will have this same limitation.

The ring sensor seems flimsy, but in over a years use, with reasonable care, I have not broken mine. So it is tougher than it appears. The unit is available on Amazon for ~ $200. I haven’t seen anything else like it in the market place.

 

Best of luck.

Paul