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Supplements and a Diet to Breathe Easier

Asthma is considered to be an inflammatory disease, with many different triggers that can start the spiral of not being able to breathe. However, many of my recommendations for Asthma patients also hold true for my COPD and ILD patients. There are several teas out there, Yogi Tea’s Breathe Deep and Traditional Medicinals’ Breathe Easy…


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Micro-Analyzing the six minute walk

Current standards for performing the Six minute walk test (6mwt) include not walking with the patient, so that they will walk at their own pace rather than attempt to keep pace with the tester. While this may allow a better result, careful observation of  the patient before, during, and after the 6mwt, and handoff of…


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Can Vitamins and Herbs Help My Breathing ?

Walk into any store these days, and there are miles of aisles full of vitamins, supplements, teas, herbs, and more that claim to help with every breathing issue there is. I am wary of each and every one of them, largely due to possible interactions with other drugs you may be taking. For people with…


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Advance Directives… Worth Pondering

This past week, I gave my Advance Directives talk to my group. I try to give it on a Friday, so that my patients can think it over and bring questions on Monday. Over the years, I have had many patients call me and ask when I am giving that talk again so they can…


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Medical Marijuana from a Medical Standpoint

I have job security. Big-time. How can I be so sure of this? Because medical marijuana is legal in California, other states are soon to follow. As of this writing, 22 states have legalized marijuana, meaning one can have a certain amount on their person and grow a certain number of plants. All one has…


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I Got an Interview…. I Just Graduated….. What Do I Say?

I’ve interviewed a lot of RT candidates over the years, from new grads to greatly experienced. Here are some tips for getting approval… Well, mine, anyway. Confidence: It’s a fine line between being confident and arrogant. I’ve had many new grads say, ‘Yes, I know how to do this and that’, when what they really…


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How do I get SOMEONE… ANYone… to read my resume and grant me an interview ?

Once upon a time, in a hospital long ago, RT managers actually read resumes. But now, managers are bogged down with more important tasks, and have turned all hiring over to Human Resources (HR). Since HR people have no idea what an RT actually does, hospitals have turned to resume bots. These are nothing more…


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The Patient that is Used To It

One of the markers we use in Pulmonary Rehab is the Borg scale. We have patients rate their breathing from 0 to 10, and their exercise intensity from 0 to 10. It takes them a few weeks to get used to this, as most of them rate their breathing as either good or bad, and…


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You are on the Transplant list…. Now What?

Are you facing having to undergo a lung transplant? The “Good News” that you are on the transplant list may have been a long time coming… or, may have happened so quickly you were surprised. Either way, the events leading up to being on the list are grueling, and scary… so many tests, so many…


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When It’s a Different Doctor Every Time You Go to the Clinic

I get asked all the time… “Kelly, I have no insurance. So every time I go to the clinic, I get seen by a different doctor.  They have my chart, but I have to start all over every time I go. You say to ask my doctor about this and that, but I have no…


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