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My New Cough Assist Machine (Phillips Respironice T70)
During the 2018 Annual Cure SMA Conference, which was held in Dallas in June, I attended one of the classes that spoke about breathing. They discussed the advantages of using a cough assist machine if you had SMA. After listening to all of the advantages of using one of these machines, I decided that I was going to try to get one. After going to a pulmonologist and getting a prescription for one, I’ve been working with my insurance company for the past couple of months to get one. Today, they brought it out to my house, set it up, and trained me on how to use it.
I was a little nervous at first about using this machine. I guess you could call it the fear of the unknown. When the technician got everything hooked up, we went through one of my treatments just to see how everything went. I didn’t have anything in my lungs that needed to come up, or so I thought. After going through one of these treatments, I was shocked at the amount of congestion that actually came up. I’m going to be doing 2 treatments a day for the next week just so I can get comfortable with the feeling of having positive pressure filling my lungs and then the negative pressure pulling all of this air out of my lungs at such a quick pace. It is a little unnerving at first, but once I tried it a few times, it actually felt very good.
After I use this machine for a week or two, I’ll actually write a review on how well this machine actually works.
QUESTION: Are you using a cough assist machine, and if so, what kind are you using?
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9 Replies
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I have used a cough machine since I was like two years old. The one I have is a big blue box that’s not portable. I’ve been trying to acquire a smaller portable one, but you know, insurance. I use it when I choke or have a respiratory illness. I don’t use it on a regular basis, but I know many do.
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Ryan, I really like the cough assist that I got. It’s the same one that DeAnn has and it’s also the same one that a friend of mine has that lives relatively close to me. I’ve never used one before, so I was actually surprised at how much of a help this little machine will be.
I will say this though, that little machine will suck your toenails through your lungs if you’re not careful. I wasn’t expecting it to help me exhale as strong as it did. As a matter of fact, when I used it the first time, I didn’t feel anything in my lungs to begin with, but after using it for 2 cycles, I actually got quite a bit of stuff up. I’m going to use it for a couple of weeks and then I’ll write a review about it.
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Yeah I started using mine more regularly in the past few years. My pulmonologist had to bug me about it a while back, but I’m glad he did. Especially in conjunction with the vest, it helps tremendously with coughing up phlegm and staying healthy.
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Until you’ve tried it, you just never really know what it’s like. Glad you’re giving it a go. I think the name is fitting. It just gives your cough the extea oomph it needs to be productive.
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I have used the T70 for several years and it is hands down my favorite machine! I take it everywhere and use it several times a day. It takes getting used to, but I’m guessing you’ll really like it.
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Yeah, I’m finding that using this cough assist machine is definitely going to take some getting use to. I have an appointment with my pulmonologist next Tuesday and he and his respiratory therapist are going to work on it with me. When they brought it out to me, the orders that they had from the doctor was to set the inhalation to 45. I was quite surprised at how full my lungs got whenever I am took a breath, and it was almost painful. My pulmonologist’s respiratory therapist wants me to use it twice a day to fill my lungs and to open all of the bronchial tubes. They still have to get me the proper mouthpiece because I wanted to use that instead of the mask that goes around my face and nose. When I do the cough assist using it, I am very surprised at the force that it removes the air for my lungs. As a matter of fact, the first time that I used it, I didn’t think I had any buildup in my lungs to begin with. After using it, I actually got quite a bit of phlegm out of my lungs, so I know it’s going to work.
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I believe SMA protocol is +40/-40 if you think 45 is too strong maybe ask about backing it off a bit. When I got my machine it was set at +15/-15 and it was barely like breathing, so I gradually bumped it by 5 every day. Have you tried the oscillation feature? My settings aren’t right for that yet. I’m thinking it’ll be useful when I’m sick.
The mouthpiece from a nebulizer should fit the tubing for the cough assist if you’ve got one of those around.
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When they brought my cough assist to me, I told them that I wanted a mouthpiece along with the mask. The mouthpiece that they brought me was very small, but it does still work. They called me the other day and told me that they were sending me another mouthpiece that was bigger and they think that I will like it much better. When I go to my pulmonologist on Tuesday to see his respiratory nurse, I’m taking my cough assist with me so that she can verify all the settings. I haven’t tried the oscillating feature on it yet, but I’m going to talk to the respiratory nurse on Tuesday about this.
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It sounds like you have a good pulmonologist who’s willing to work with you, so that’s nice. I’m lacking in that department.
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