New to Oxygen Supplementation - Questions

Posted by yakkwak @yakkwak, Sep 8, 2023

Greetings!
I'm a fellow bronchiectasis survivor. Seemingly impossible, a prior dance with MAC was successfully treated with a PICC line cocktail that included rifampin & three other meds. Did ok for few years, then began to again decline. Just finished a 30 treatment of inhaled (BID) gentamicin (as BCBS declined tobramycin). Just finished a week ago; seems ok rt. now. My oxygen SAT varies daily from 94 down to 85 at lowest, so oxygen supplementation has been prescribed. Does anyone know if one might get away with using a portable oxygen concentrator day and night until a big home unit could be purchased? My prescription's written to be the same for day and night. My coverage is terrible and think buying may be better in the long run than the co-pays, but purchasing all in one-hit is a lot.
So sorry others also have this miserable, miserable disease. Positive energy to all!
Signed,
Sick but Fashionable 🙂

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@liz440

I just learned something. I am in hospital with rhinovirus (LOL) aka common cold and mild Stephococsus (sp?) Aureus pneumonia and at first had a bit of supp oxygen. The doctors told me that with any kind of COPD you should keep your oxygen level to around 88 to 95 because otherwise you could get some kind of acidosis which would show up in blood gases and in blood tests that show anion levels etc. I never knew this before so you have to be very careful when Doctors just willy nilly put you on oxygen in the ER etc. Always carry your own 02 monitor so you can double check yourself. You might want to google this topic to read more about it. Has anyone else heard this?

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Have you had blood gas testing? And how painful is it?

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blood gas was a piece of cake. sharp stick and that was it. didn't bother me at all. Blood gasses were ok but that was before the big o2 in the nose thing...just on regular air.

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@liz440

Right thanks that is a detail I did not add but mostly I was talking about overuse in the ER when you are lying there on a stretcher! I was not aware that you should likely not go above 95 on supplemental o2 too much and that 88 is not so bad if you have COPD because you could end up with too much of co2 or o2 or something if you go over the 95 . I am still not too clear on this. I thought 99 on 02 was good and that turns out to be wrong for copd people it seems. I am in hospital now and I monitor it myself with my pulse ox thing and haven't needed any 02 at all because always in the 91-94 range resting or moving and middle of night when nurse checks

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I'd ask your pulmonologist about this 95%

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@liz440

Right thanks that is a detail I did not add but mostly I was talking about overuse in the ER when you are lying there on a stretcher! I was not aware that you should likely not go above 95 on supplemental o2 too much and that 88 is not so bad if you have COPD because you could end up with too much of co2 or o2 or something if you go over the 95 . I am still not too clear on this. I thought 99 on 02 was good and that turns out to be wrong for copd people it seems. I am in hospital now and I monitor it myself with my pulse ox thing and haven't needed any 02 at all because always in the 91-94 range resting or moving and middle of night when nurse checks

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Inappropriate oxygen therapy in patients with COPD can possibly cause respiratory depression. If you have COPD and use oxygen be sure to speak with your pulmonologist if you have not already so you will understand correct usage for your situation.

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