Co2 Retention

[Valcopd]

Could some kind soul tell me the signs and symptoms of Carbon Dioxide retention.

I have COPD and am on Oxygen 15/24 at 3litres per minute. Many thanks. Val

[Damon1864 Volunteer]

Hi when I suffered with it I had headaches confusion, couldn't put a sentence together properly. If you think you are suffering from it please seek medical help straight away it can be very serious. Please let me know how you are. Love Bernadette 😳 xxx

[Valcopd in reply to Damon1864]

No headaches at all Bernadette, but I noticed my short term memory was deteriorating. That could be just my age 71yrs. Sadly some of the meds can also cause these symptoms. Val. XXXXXXX

[annienell]

Hi Val, some symptoms of CO2 retention are severe headaches, lethargy, drowsiness and confusion. All of these could be caused by other problems and CO2 retention can only be properly diagnosed by an ABG (arterial blood gas) test, which involves taking blood, usually from an artery in your wrist.

As Damon says, do speak to your doctor or consultant about this if you are concerned you might be suffering from it.

Annie

[Damon1864 Volunteer]

Please keep us up to date on how you are xxx

[Valcopd]

Many thanks for all your replies. I will check with Resp.Nurses.

I don't think I have this problem. Love to all. XXXXXX VAL.

[Linda8p]

Hi I had really bad headaches every morning sometimes lasting all day. I also slept alot. Very forgetful. Vpap was my salvation. Please ask to be tested if you suspect CD retention. I am also on oxygen 16 hours a day. I truly believe the vpap is a Life saver in my case as I had just about given up. But I now have a better quality of life and can do more things during the day than I have done in years. Even on 16 hours of oxygen my stats would drop when I was doing any activity. Having a shower or making breakfast or simply walking from one room to another. Keep well and ask your gp or consultant to test you for CD retention. ☺

[GAspEr9]

To put it very simply, the carbon dioxide in your Arteries should transfer to your lungs so that when you breathe out your lungs are empty and ready to absorb fresh Oxygen when you breathe in.If your lungs are damaged they they can't do this very well so you have CO2 'left' in your veins . the more damaged your lungs the more CO2 in your blood.If you are on pure O2 you don't breathe in Nitrogen and other not needed gasses so your lungs absorb a higher % of O2,which is good. As I said this is a very simplified explanation, but hope it helps.