A DAY PACKED WITH PILLS AND PHYSIO
6.30am: woken to take prophylactic antibiotic … unable to eat for two hours before and one hour after to be effective.
7am: bubble PEP physio – 100 breaths with huffing to shift the mucus on her lungs.
7.30am: breakfast, plus two tablets of omeprazole (reflux medicine); one syringe with 2ml a day of DEKAS, a cystic fibrosis-specific multivitamin; and one sachet of Movicol to prevent constipation; plus pancreatic enzyme supplement Creon, measured by the amount of fat in the meal. Also the non-prescription supplements Sambucol and Allicin Max (garlic) are taken to boost immune system. 10am: high-calorie snacks with Creon, as people with CF burn more calories. 11.30am/12pm: lunch with Creon and extra salt added to replace salt lost due to CF.
1pm: extra snack with Creon. 2.45pm: percussion physio in the afternoon for 15 minutes.
3pm: prophylactic antibiotic taken, so no food now for two hours. 5pm: dinner with Creon and extra salt.
6.30pm: milk with Creon and additional omeprazole reflux medication and immune-boosting Sambucol.
6.45pm: Bed. Throughout the day, Charlotte must drink copious amounts of water, a minimum of two pints a day to prevent digestive issues along with Dioralyte rehydration salts.