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Posted by Gail on June 08, 2000 at 07:31:27:In Reply to: Re: Can one talk normally with a trach? posted by Page on June 07, 2000 at 11:57:36:
I have a pretty heavy case of OSA which was diagnosed in 1985, at age 47. I had UPPP and trach surgery in Jan. '86. The "hole in my throat" thing doesn't bother me. Yeah, I get stares (I can't tolerate scarves, high neck-lines, etc. to hide it so it just sits there for all to see,) but it no longer bothers me. I sound like I always did except on days the tube doesn't want to fit correctly and then I hiss a bit. My trach worked just fine for about eleven years and I have been having some infection, stopping up of the tube during the night, etc. since then. Finally went back to the sleep clinic to see about getting a CPAP or one of the other machines. The lingo has changed (I used to hear about how I drop to 25% oxygen 750 times a night without help...this time I heard about index numbers) but I still have really severe apnea. This last trip I was told that 5 or lower is an acceptable index but, without help, mine is 73-75 and with a CPAP I would only be able to hope for about a 16 (and then only by closing the trach), so I'm not closing the trach. I am also experiencing symptoms of narcolepsy on days when the trach stops up at night (I get up and work on it about five times per night on those nights.) I find the Montgomery to work best for me as the harder plastic ones tend to fly out of my neck when I laugh and seem to be magnetized by someone else's drink and hide there-in looking like a peculiar lump of ice. I have had to have scar tissue ("proud flesh") removed from my stoma twice over the years but it doesn't seem to be returning. The pulmonery testing of a couple of years ago showed a big drop in my ability to breath in which was thought to be caused by the flange end of the trach tube. It's a complicated situation, but, hey, I feel good most of the time, am active and best of all ALIVE! Good luck. Gail
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