This photo is of the Breathing Better event hosted by the Public Advisory Roundtable of the American Thoracic Society - the photo was taken by the show's official photographer.On Saturday, before the “guts” of the American Thoracic Society conference got underway, the ATS Public Advisory Roundtable held a special forum for patients. The theme of this year’s forum was pulmonary rehabilitation. It’s a topic that all people with lung diseases can benefit from – and it’s unfortunately a topic that many of us remain woefully uneducated about.
Donna Appell, the HPS Network President and Founder, is also currently the President of PAR for the ATS and thus was responsible for organizing this event. It had a wonderful turnout.
Karen and I were a bit late to the event because our flights didn’t get in until around noon. But, I learned a lot from the part I was able to attend.
I think the most important thing I learned was that being out of breath is really okay. I don’t mean the sort of out of breath that we all get when we have a good workout. I mean that sort of out of breath you get when you just can’t seem to recover or to catch a good breath. I am grateful to be able to say that this happens to me far less frequently than it did a few years ago, but it does still happen (today in fact.)
I have a tendency to not push myself as hard as maybe I should when I’m exercising because I’ve always assumed that getting to that point couldn’t be good for you. But, apparently, as long as you know that you’re oxygen levels are okay etc. this isn’t really doing anything to hurt you. It’s okay to push yourself a bit. It might even be good for you.
Many patients are never offered pulmonary rehabilitation or they’re only given the option when their lung capacity is already quite compromised. Unfortunately, in the United States, many insurance plans won’t cover pulmonary rehabilitation.
But, according to the experts that presented, patients can benefit greatly from a formal pulmonary rehabilitation program even when they still have quite a bit of lung function remaining. They learn skills to cope and to stay healthy as that lung function decreases.
And just in case I needed someone to hit me over the head yet again, there were a number of presentations illustrating how exercise really does improve quality of life and survival rates. I felt like standing up and shouting – okay, I get it already! I need to get off my fat (^(*^%(.
One of the respiratory therapists that spoke talked about the vicious cycle many lung patients find themselves in – they begin to get out of breath with day-to-day activities so they cut back. They gradually stop leaving home as often and remaining more sedentary because they can’t breath. That, in turn, causes muscles to become weak and the breathing problems to actually get worse. It’s a downward spiral. Unfortunately, for some of the lung diseases we face, that spiral, at least for now, might be inevitable. But that doesn’t mean you can’t fight it off as long as you can! And for those seeking transplants someday, time is a valuable weapon.
Donna Appell, the HPS Network President and Founder, is also currently the President of PAR for the ATS and thus was responsible for organizing this event. It had a wonderful turnout.
Karen and I were a bit late to the event because our flights didn’t get in until around noon. But, I learned a lot from the part I was able to attend.
I think the most important thing I learned was that being out of breath is really okay. I don’t mean the sort of out of breath that we all get when we have a good workout. I mean that sort of out of breath you get when you just can’t seem to recover or to catch a good breath. I am grateful to be able to say that this happens to me far less frequently than it did a few years ago, but it does still happen (today in fact.)
I have a tendency to not push myself as hard as maybe I should when I’m exercising because I’ve always assumed that getting to that point couldn’t be good for you. But, apparently, as long as you know that you’re oxygen levels are okay etc. this isn’t really doing anything to hurt you. It’s okay to push yourself a bit. It might even be good for you.
Many patients are never offered pulmonary rehabilitation or they’re only given the option when their lung capacity is already quite compromised. Unfortunately, in the United States, many insurance plans won’t cover pulmonary rehabilitation.
But, according to the experts that presented, patients can benefit greatly from a formal pulmonary rehabilitation program even when they still have quite a bit of lung function remaining. They learn skills to cope and to stay healthy as that lung function decreases.
And just in case I needed someone to hit me over the head yet again, there were a number of presentations illustrating how exercise really does improve quality of life and survival rates. I felt like standing up and shouting – okay, I get it already! I need to get off my fat (^(*^%(.
One of the respiratory therapists that spoke talked about the vicious cycle many lung patients find themselves in – they begin to get out of breath with day-to-day activities so they cut back. They gradually stop leaving home as often and remaining more sedentary because they can’t breath. That, in turn, causes muscles to become weak and the breathing problems to actually get worse. It’s a downward spiral. Unfortunately, for some of the lung diseases we face, that spiral, at least for now, might be inevitable. But that doesn’t mean you can’t fight it off as long as you can! And for those seeking transplants someday, time is a valuable weapon.
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