....on this Sunday morn....
I've been indulging in a kind of 'self' experiment trying to understand why oxygen (which I don't use much of) makes me feel sluggish and outright BAD when I try to use it anything like according to doc's instructions.
As mentioned, I don't use it much especially when I'm just sitting around streaming movies and otherwise being sedentary; when I do, after a few days, I begin feeling very sluggish, tired, my 'ennui' bubbles over and my breathing becomes worse and worse. However, when I stop using it except when I'm out running errands and otherwise moving around and practicing PLB and/or diaphragmatic breathing I start bouncing back and my breathing, while still that of an 'emphysemiac' is not nearly so pronounced.
After doing a bit of research, I found the explanation: Hypercapnia is condition resulting from the accumulation of too much carbon dioxide in the blood system:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effec...
Causes
"....Many people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have a low partial pressure of oxygen in the blood. Treatment with supplemental oxygen may improve their well-being; alternatively, in some this can lead to the adverse effect of elevating the carbon dioxide content in the blood (hypercapnia) to levels that may become toxic..."
Mechanism
"...In individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who receive supplemental oxygen, carbon dioxide accumulation may occur through three main mechanisms:[5]
Ventilation/perfusion matching: under-ventilated lung usually has a low oxygen content which leads to localised vasoconstriction limiting blood flow to that lung tissue. Supplemental oxygen abolishes this constriction, leading to poor ventilation/perfusion matching. This redistribution of blood to areas of the lung with poor ventilation reduces the amount of carbon dioxide eliminated from the system.
The Haldane effect: most carbon dioxide is carried by the blood as bicarbonate, and deoxygenated hemoglobin promotes the production of bicarbonate. Increasing the amount of oxygen in the blood by administering supplemental oxygen reduces the amount of deoxygenated hemoglobin, and thus reduces the capacity of blood to carry carbon dioxide.
Respiratory homeostasis: in healthy individuals, a rise in carbon dioxide causes an increase in the drive to breathe. However, in some patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, this response has been blunted, leaving low oxygen levels as the main stimulus of respiration (hypoxic drive). Hence, giving supplemental oxygen reduces their stimulus to breathe, causing respiration to slow (hypoventilation), and allowing carbon dioxide to accumulate in the body..."
So..., there you have it; everytime, without fail, whenever I try to adhere to docs' instructions to use oxygen 24/7 on settings of 2 or 3 or even 4, depending on my exertion level, I begin manifesting the effects of hypercapnia; and when I stop using it in the main, I begin feeling better and breathing easier.
--------------------------------------------------
In a completely different direction, some medications and even the aging process itself brings on bouts of constipation and I have suffered this most 'damning' malady more times than I care to recount until a couple of weeks ago, when I was totally fed up and again did an exhaustive search on the net for natural solutions and discovered....., OLIVE OIL !!!
A good slurp first thing in the morning before eating anything and perhaps a couple more during the day, clears the whole thing up and you'll find yourself "slipping and sliding" your way to intestinal comfort straightaway.
CHEERS !!!
