to Jon, Joyce R, and et al.

[Guest guest]

Jon, I'm sorry you got difficult news from your biopsies.If it helps at all to know, one of my physical therapistshas sarcoidosis and has lived well with it for many years. I hope it will keep silent for you as well.Joyce R,I have to confirm the bird comments. I'm afraid anygood doctor would tell you that the birds have to go.Pursed lip breathing is something many of us learnedto do in pulm. rehab. Some people have the in-throughthe-nose, out-through-the-mouth part down, but many people are still breathing incorrectly. When youput your hand on your diaphragm, you should feel your stomach rise up when you breathe in, and compress when you breathe out. A lot of folks doit the other way around. If you can watch a babybreathing as she sleeps, you see that she instinctivelygets it right.Also, breathe out when lifting things or as you takethe next stair or exert yourself. Keep breathing anddon't hold your breath - a tendency many of us have.,I'm so sorry to hear about the clots. I know how I feltwhen mine showed up last summer. I partly blamedmine on the Colorado altitude, but that may have been purely coincidental. Guess I'll never really know.Hope those blood thinners do their magic on you ina hurry, and that you're doing well otherwise!Gang,All the hype about netti pots and sinus rinses is well-deserved. They really do help keep you more free ofsinus infections and breathing problems. Even withnasal blockage, I might try one just to see if it helpsbreak down the mucus. I started using one about 5 years ago, and as someone who used to be plagued by 2-3 bad sinus infections a year, I swearby it. I don't use a netti-pot but a NeilMed sinusrinse instead, which I can get at CVS here. It doesn't burn or give me a headache, as the nettipot does.Hugs and blessings,Gwynne  57 Single-lung transplant on 4-3-08  at UTHSC - San           Fort Worth, TX