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Question: Yet another question. This one is about the vest. They ordered mine while I was pregnant. But now I'm not sure if the fit is right & if it's working as well because of that. It poofs up quite a bit even with the straps pulled as tight as possible. I personally don't feel as if it's doing too much good. Just wondering if it truly does make a difference.
Response: Yeah, it may be too big. But, I've found that I have to mess with it quite a bit for it to feel "just right". Be sure that you're sitting straight up and that nothing is putting pressure on the vest from any angle. Many people sit back in a chair or on the couch and that lessens the effectiveness. Mess with the shoulder straps, the clip straps, everything.
Be sure to mess with the pressure as well as the frequency. It should always be going up, or down, but never stay the same. You can find some good recommendations on CysticLife.org as far as exact settings go. And finally, actively do you're vest. Don't sit there mindlessly on the computer with a neb in your mouth taking shallow breaths repeatedly at the same rate (which I can be very guilty of). Breathe in deep, exhale fast. Breathe in slow, exhale slow. Huff cough. Take time to really cough your brains out.
There is certainly nothing magical about a vest. If we treat it as a piece of clothing that happens to shake, we'll get nothing out of it. We need to treat it as a workout that requires participation.
