FAQ About My Experience on the Porta Lung

1)    Do you use your Portalung all night?

Yes, for about 12-13 hours a night.

2) Do you experience any side effects from the Porta Lung?

No. What do you mean by side effects?

3) What is your breathing like when not on the Porta Lung? Do you ever skip using it?

My breathing is good but it gets labored as the day goes on. I lie on the floor most of the day because it gets hard to breathe after sitting up for a long time. No, I don’t skip using the Porta Lung. If I HAD to, I can breathe on my own for 24 hours but going without the Porta Lung for longer would kill me. The only time I skip using the Porta Lung is when the NEV-100 stops working.

4) Why do you need a Porta Lung? My whole body is paralyzed from contracting spinal meningitis, particularly my left side. Half of my left lung doesn’t work at all.

  

5) Why do you prefer the Porta Lung over BiPAP, BiLevel, or positive pressure ventilation?

I prefer the Porta Lung over BiPAP and positive pressure because the Porta Lung feels very natural to the human respiratory system. The rhythm of the Porta Lung is in conformity with the way we breathe. Positive pressure continually blows air into the lungs without stimulating the lungs to move on their own while the Porta Lung exercises the lungs (as it breathes) and gets the lungs to breathe on their own so you can be out of the Porta Lung.  

6) How has this changed your life?

It has given me the ability to breathe on my own and allows me to go about my day without needing breathing assistance. When I was little I was on positive pressure and I could not breathe on my own very long without the assistance of the positive pressure respirator. The Porta Lung allows me to breathe on my own and it allows me to talk while I’m inside it. Positive pressure doesn’t allow you to talk while you’re on it because you have to be intubated with a tube in your throat and it takes away your ability to talk.

7) What are your limitations?

I’m a quadriplegic with a trache and my breathing is comprised.

8) How did you obtain knowledge about this equipment?

Through a friend in Pittsburgh who helped us do some research and we found Porta Lung Inc. Then we found someone in Pittsburgh who didn’t need her Porta Lung and she let me have it for a little while until she discovered she needed it back. So I gave it back and ended up purchasing one of my own.

9) Who pays for your Porta Lung, and is it costly?

We bought my Porta Lung outright. It cost about $10,000 but now they run for $11,000.

10) How did you come up with your blog name?

When I was young, I used to be on the iron lung and it was yellow. So we called it “The Yellow Submarine” and I came up with my blog name based on that.

11)   Have you used other kinds of ventilators before?

Yes. I’ve used positive pressure, I’ve tried C-PAP, and I’ve used various cuirasses.

12) How long have you been using the Porta Lung?

20 years