hypercapnia

@heart4wi I measured my husbands carbon dioxide levels by using an oxymeter which you can pick up at most drug stores; ie, CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid. You may even ask your pharmacist at a local supermarket. It really measures the oxygen in your blood so we all want 100% or as close as you can get to 100% oxygen in our blood. My husbands readings were in the low 50's - 70's and that's because he wasn't able to expell the carbon dioxide out of his body. He would get all loopy and tired, so exhausted to the point he wouldn't wake up and became unresponsive. Point being, if you see a reading as low a 50 - 70, call 911 STAT! Hope this helps. Good luck- betsc

Thanks. I am more concerned now about his sleeping all the time and not eating or drinking.

Actually it's not that simple - and a pulse oximeter cannot diagnose hypercapnia. It's not that your O2 is 70, so your co2 must be 30. Your O2 can appear high and you can still have hypercapnia, which is why the gold standard for diagnosing it is an arterial blood draw.

Thank you for the help. He has not had any attacks or hypcernia for a few weeks now. The problem now is that I think he may be dying. I don't know. He sleeps all the time, turns down food when I offer it to him and he is drinking almost next to nothing. I am having hospice coming in this week sometime to evaluate him. I hav never been around a person that is dying so I may be way off base, but his behavior is definitely different. When he is awake, he is very confused. I want to call an ambulance, but he has told me that he wants to die at home. What a scary time this is.

You did the right thing in contacting hospice. I think you need them as soon as possible to evaluate what is going on. Have you told them what is happening?
Hugs, sister. I am sorry this is happening...

My pulmonologist wants my O2 to be 88-92. I looked this up awhile ago, so I have forgotten some of the details, but staying within this range is safest... outside it can hasten death.

lower than 88 - yes but not higher than 92

I am so very sorry about your husband....This is something very hard to experience and watch.
Hospice groups generally are very helpful in helping you navigate through this trauma. My husband's wishes were to be at home, but I am a nurse and was able to care for him. In fact had to ask the Hospice nurse to please leave the house when she came. She wanted a family member to go pick up his pain medication as he was actively dying! Why one would do that I have no idea.....not a fan of Hospice services anyway for many reasons.

Why would someone picking up pain medication be wrong? I thought that meds were given right to the end by hospice for several reasons involving patient comfort.

It's not that picking up the medications is wrong. Most Hospice Services deliver directly to the house. But if you have a loved one who is actively dying........why would you as the Hospice nurse want a family member to leave his/her bedside and not be with him/her when they passed away. My husband passed away 45 minutes after the nurse arrived......being a nurse I knew that he had only a very short period of time that he would leave us.