Symptoms

[Melissa87]

Hya guys! My dad has been home from hospital about a month, he still using the

Bipap machine for a minimum of 6 hours. But 9/10 he wakes with a headache he hasn't had a hospital appointment this week to check his carbon dioxide levels but there isn't any obvious signs that it's to high for his body to cope. Could this be down to the mask itself or just something he has to get used to. He seems to of lost a bit of his appetite. Also he's just finished a 5 day 8 tablets course of steroids. The respiratory nurse wasn't happy he had another course of them.

Any thoughts?

[Toci]

Hi, sorry I know nothing about bi-pap machines. You can always ring the BLF nurses and ask them about it. They are available during office hours on 03000 030 555.

[Jessy11]

Sorry I can't help you but thinking about you & hope you get the help you need. Maybe you could phone your Dad's doctor & see if your questions can be answered. Good luck & all the best to you both x

[Mandy6513]

I use a nippy and im a c02 retainer.........waking with a headache is a sign his c02 is raised,,,he will get terrible headaches, feel tired he could need to reduce his oxygen levels or spend more time on the machine

i would ring your niv nurse he really needs his bloods done asap

[jabber]

Hi Melissa, sorry I haven't replied before - we are on holiday and I can't get online regularly. I'm sorry to hear your dad is still getting the headaches. I agree with Mandy that they could be a symptom of raised CO2 but you say there are no other obvious signs, so do you mean he's not feeling tired during the day? Is your dad still using the bipap for a couple of hours in the day? Perhaps getting his usage up to 8 hours would help bring down the CO2 and hopefully stop the headaches. (I wish they could come up with an easy way for us to check our own CO2 levels as we can our oxygen. It would be so much simpler if we knew the CO2 was up or down!)

Steroids tend to increase the appetite, so it could be that coming off them is the cause of not wanting to eat.

Getting in touch with his respiratory nurse is a good idea. She should be able to reassure you, or perhaps organise another appointment to get your dad's bloods checked.

Best of luck to you and your dad. Hope he feels much better soon. Jan