Happy New Year to all,
I have a question about oxygen, I saw physiotherapist from the respiratory team and she said I shouldn't use oxygen often because of carbon monoxide poisoning. I have been using it regularly as I am very breathless often especially after a bout of cough, I thought about people on oxygen 24/7, has anybody got any explanation? Any advice would be appreciated.
Best regards
Margot
Margot,LTOT long term oxygen therapy is normal prescribed for a minimum of 16 hrs in 24 hr period at the lpm subscribed,anything less is considered not fit for purpose,i think maybe your respiratory nurse was perhaps alluding to those people who retain carbon dioxide and have to constantly measure their stats and ensure they don't exceed the levels prescribed?perhaps you could ask her to explain the issue more thoroughly with regard to your own consumption.
Best wishes Ski's and Scruff's x
P.s for those using it solely for ambulatory reason and exertion then the regime to follow should be clearly stated in your care plan.
Thanks Skischool,
I'm on 2 litre and I was not given a care plan, she was not very nice either apparently I should have been seen after a year of the first appointment and I was referred to them after six months, On the first appointment I was given a self fill concentrator and told to use the oxygen when I am breathless, which is often maybe people with IPF are treated differently.
It's such a pain being ill🤔🙄
Margot i think you my need to contact your consultant for advice,even though my wife had IPF she was bedridden and only used it as and when required,may i suggest you do similarly in the absence of a care plan but with the proviso that if you start to get frequent headaches you may be retaining carbon dioxide and may need to cut down on its use but you most certainly do need to have a thorough care plan for the future and are quite within your rights to demand one.
Ski's x
If you retain carbon dioxide using oxygen can harm you instead of helping. x
Thanks for the reply, only thing is, I have never been tested to see if I retain carbon dioxide, when I have a blood test I am told what they are looking for and carbon dioxide never crossed their lips so how would they know, On the other I am not very knowledgeable in these matters.
Margot when you were first prescribed oxygen they would probably have checked that amongst other things as one of the procedures to confirm the need for oxygen is normally a measurement of your capillary gases normally observed from a sample taken from your earlobe though the gold standard is arterial blood taken from a vein,in either case retention of co2 would have been observed so it is probably likely that you don't retain or it would have been noted.
Hello Margot. 😊
It is true that there are people who retain CO2. But the only way to find out is to have an arterial blood gas test. That is blood taken from the arteries which is different from your regular blood test. When I was on oxygen this was done at intervals just to check I wasn't retaining. They usually do it when prescribing oxygen. In my case my doctor did it every few months because as I deteriorated, they feared I would start retaining as I could not get all the air out of my lungs. I think you should ask the doctor if this is a concern or not for you. And if so your levels need to be checked. Take care.
Cas xx 🙋💕
I am using oxygen for 24/7 hours and have done for some time now without ever retaining carbon monoxide. I think as long as you only use the amount told, in my case the 2lpm you should be fine. Never any harm in asking questions of our doctors though if we are unsure of anything.
Hi Margot,
You need to be monitored.
My mother was given too much oxygen within a hospital setting and ended up with respiratory failure 2.
The arterial blood tests are the best, but I am unsure if they can do these effectively, unless you are in hospital.
Too much oxygen can be bad as it creates an imbalance between oxygen and carbon dioxide.
I don't know that much but do take care of yourself.
Margot13
Hi, I too have the same mixed message from respiratory nurse. A 10 minute burst on the oxygen after an activity often sets me up as it means I'm "resting". Probably the wrong war round but if it works so what.
I've had a nebuliser even in hospital were it is somehow mixed with oxygen works OK.
I would suggest tom do what suits you best.
IKeith
Thank you for all the replies, it's appreciated. I had blood taken from ear love seven years ago, I will discuss this with my consultant next time I see him, somehow I think the medical system is not taking me seriously, I only got oxygen because the consultant in the Brompton said I should be on oxygen and after a year I got a call from Dolby telling me a prescription had been issued for oxygen cylinders to be delivered, so that's why I got oxygen. I have a very nice local consultant who I will see in March I will put all these questions to him.
Wishing you all a nice weekend, it's not going to rain.
Margot
I was tested for the retention of carbon monoxide (a product of breathing) by their taking blood from my earlobe. This may very well be when you were tested for co2 retention. As to your CO2 retention, hypercapnia, or hypercarbia, is when you have too much carbon dioxide (CO2) in your bloodstream. It usually happens as a result of hypoventilation, or not being able to breathe properly and get oxygen into your lungs, as in the case of COPD. Your body can then resume normal breathing and get more oxygen into the blood.
One way to help clear your lungs of CO2 is to breathe in and then breath out very slowly. Breath in to the count of 2, breathe out to the count of 10. This will help clear your lungs of
Thanks Mogs302, will try that.
Breathe out until you absolutely cannot breathe anymore. This will help clear some of the CO2.
I have just gone on oxygen two hours a day ,but found when i come off it as made my breathing worse.anybody else
OXYGEN 
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