Home oxygen

Hi, @pml I'm Scott and my wife was on home oxygen for several years of her war with brain cancer. She used an oxygen concentrator in our home. We found it reliable and easy to use. The model we had (I'm sorry, I no longer recall the name) was also nice and quiet and the background sound of it quickly faded into not being noticed. We also found a couple of things:

It tended to warm the room it was in so I placed it in the hall outside her room during the nights.

We still regularly checked her O2 levels with one of those nifty fingertip oxygen sensors.

We also kept a regular tank of O2 in our home in case of an emergency with the concentrator and/or a power outage, etc. We never needed to use it, but it was a constant source of comfort for my wife knowing that backup was there.

Let me know if you have additional questions on this,

Strength, Courage, & Peace

@pml - I think the medical equipment store will go over any safety and usage questions with you when you get the equipment for your husband but I thought you might find this article from the American Lung Association helpful in the meantime.

-- Oxygen Home Use Guidelines:
https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-procedures-and-tests/oxygen-therapy/using-oxygen-at-home
My wife's twin sisters husband was on oxygen for many years and always took it with on vacation. My biggest fear was stepping on the tubing that came from the oxygen concentrator. Praying that the oxygen will be a blessing for your husband as it was for my brother-in-law.

@pml, I added your question to the Lung Cancer and Lung Health support groups as well. I think @batessa21 @vic83 @alamogal635 may have experiences with lung cancer or conditions and home oxygen to help answer your questions.

Thank you so much!
PML

Hi Scott!
I'm so sorry to hear of your wife's brain cancer! Was the oxygen she used the kind that made it's own oxygen from the air? That is what we are looking at. Also did you rent it or buy it? We are considering buying the oxygen because it's cheaper. Even then, it's $3000!

Thank you for the information!
PML

Hi John!
Thank you for the article. I look forward to reading it. Was your sister's husband using an oxygen machine that made it's own oxygen from the air? That's what we are looking at. Did he rent the machine or buy it?
Thank you for your prayers!
PML

@pml
I bought two poc’s (portable oxygen concentrators that are battery powered and can be taken anywhere for my cousin.
He also had a concentrator that could fill tanks and another concentrator at my house.
I got him the Inogen One G3 and when his oxygen need increased I got him the Inogen One G4.
I’d suggest using a double battery. A double battery cost $500 if not on sale. The portable concentrators are worth the investment but purchase an extra battery or two.
Take care,
Jake

Hi, @pml Yes, she used the kind that makes its own from the air. In our case, she didn’t need O2 until she was in hospice and they provided it as part of her hospice overall ‘package’.

I have had an InogenOne G3 compressor for 5 years and yes, it cost $3000 when I bought it but if you are on medicare I think they cover it now....

I am not having to use it every night which is good for my husband because no way around it but it is noisy! Perhaps the newer ones are quieter now.....

Hi @pml, My brother-in-law had a portable oxygen concentrator but also used the small bottles that he could take when going out for the evening or day trips. I think he bought the machine but I'm not sure because I know he had some sort of a maintenance and emergency service plan with the oxygen concentrator as they had to send him a replacement unit when he was in Texas for the winter months. I thought you might find this recent buy guide from the National Council on Aging helpful if you are looking to buy.

-- The 5 Best Portable Oxygen Concentrators of 2022:
https://www.ncoa.org/adviser/portable-oxygen-concentrators/best-portable-oxygen-concentrators/
I think Jake has a really good suggestion about ones that are battery powered in todays environment.