In a desperate bid to help my mother recover from her last incarceration in ICU over Christmas and New Year, and avoid what could well be her last exacerbation, I purchased a low-cost oxygen concentrator.
In terms of immediate relief, the results, in terms of quality of life, have been nothing short of astounding:
The machine can bring her O2 levels up from the mid-50s to near-normal 95% inside 5 minutes and without resorting to Ventolin. There are days when she avoids Ventolin Shake altogether and the reduced usage has been commented upon by the chemist when only issuing two inhalers this month, not four.
Also, along with other measures we've not bothered telling the quacks about (even if they listen, they object if it doesn't involve more Moxicilyn, Prednisolone and Ventolin), we've managed to get her chest clear of congestion and infections. As a result, heart and blood pressure are down to reasonably safe levels, and her aorta is now only twice the size it ought to be.
So far, so good, and our immediate concerns are dealing with the side-effects of prednisolone (something I've had nearly 50 years of experience with).
My question is about the best way to use the concentrator in the long term.
Obviously, as an instant treatment for immediate concerns, it is hard to imagine something better.
But she is worrying that she might become addicted to its immediate comfort and is trying to limit use to a couple of fifteen-minute spells a day.
I, however, suspect this is a bit like a short shower in a drought. All it does is freshen the grass, to be burnt off by the sun an hour later, nothing sinks in for longer benefit. Therefore I am thinking a long session, an hour, or more, would be better in providing long term relief and give her body a chance to recover, even repair, before the next inevitable event.
I would be fascinated by any opinions and suggestions proferred?
Oxygen therapy is a prescribed medication and i am sorry nobody here is qualified to give you the advice you seek,consult with your GP and or respiratory department that looks after your mothers health needs.Be very careful with the application of oxygen as you may do more harm than good to your mother.
Hi Matlock , I am in the states and am on oxygen 24/7. Oxygen is a prescribed medication and I have to believe it would readily be prescribed your mother if her oxygen levels fall into the 50’s. Oxygen levels in the 50’s are almost unheard of and would be quite harmful. While normally you do not get ‘addicted’ to oxygen, I must stress your mother needs to be properly evaluated and prescribed by her Dr or respiratory specialist. Best Wishes to You and Your Mom, judg69
I really understand your reasoning wanting to help your mum by providing the concentrator. I am wondering why she hasn't already been prescribed this by her doctors? Has the subject ever been broached? And if so what was the advice given?
As Skis and Judg have said oxygen comes by prescription only. I myself had to stay in hospital when I first was put on oxygen so that they could test how much I would need as accurately as possible. They also had to ascertain if I was retaining co2. It turns out although I needed more than just two litres of oxygen they could not up that figure, because they knew I'd start to retain if I was on any more than 2 litres. There are people with very low sats who cannot be prescribed oxygen because they are co2 retainers. Patients with more severe hypoxemia are at higher risk of co2 retention from uncontrolled O2 administration. So as you can see although the numbers you quote i.e . 95% etc. look wonderful, you do not know if she is in fact retaining.
I urge you to get your mum properly assessed. It would be negligent of any of us here to advise you when it comes to oxygen therapy . You need the professionals for this one. I would be extremely cautious.
Your mother could be a retainer. Without blood gas results what you are doing could be dangerous. You could actually be causing your mother's low oxygen concentrations. I will not go I to the complexity of gas exchanges of those with damaged lungs but you need to seek urgent medical advice.
Hi MatlockNBath, you should contact your mums respiratory nurse or doctor immediately, if her SATS are as low as hers in the 50s are very dangerously low, but oxygen is a prescribed medication.
I was diagnosed with Type II Respiratory Failure in April 2017 and put on oxygen 24/7 at 1 litre per minute at rest and 2 litres per minute ambulatory, I couldn’t go over 2 litres, because I retained CO2 and was told I would probably be on BiPAP and oxygen for the rest of my life, unfortunately I couldn’t get the BiPAP sorted before I was discharged from hospital, even though whilst I was in hospital I used BiPAP most nights and it had a positive effect on my condition.
So I was sent home just on oxygen 24/7 1 litre per minute and 2 litres ambulatory, that worked for a few months, but just before Christmas my condition became critical again and I was admitted to hospital again suffering from Type II Respiratory Failure, I was stabilised and sent home the day before Christmas Eve, I was OK over Christmas, but on New Years Day l had be admitted to HDU for 3 days I was then admitted to the respiratory ward and finally given my BiPAP machine to use at home, since then, I only use ambulatory oxygen between 2 and 5 litres and BiPAP and 1 litre oxygen at bedtime.
Sorry for essay, but the point I’m making is, whilst your mums SATS have improved to near normal at 95, she could be retaining oxygen and believe me this is extremely dangerous, I used to wake up in the morning and be falling asleep, and at night I would suffer violent tremors because of CO2 retention.
When I was first diagnosed with Type II Respiratory Failure, my respiratory nurse told if I ever became ill at home, and my SATS dropped below 88 I should go to A and E, obviously because of Covid-19 situation now, I would advise you to contact your mums respiratory nurse or doctor or as last resort your mums GP, her normal readings in the 50s are dangerously low for her vital organs.
Best wishes to you, your mum and family, Stay Safe.
All of the previous responses are totally accurate in the advice which they offer. It is imperative that you do not administer oxygen to your mother except upon the direction of a healthcare professional, such as a hospital specialist respiratory nurse.
Thank you to all. I consider myself a little better informed.
In a small petition for the defence, I would point out our little Amazon toy can only generate about 1l of oxygen, though it can deliver faster (reduced enrichment). They can be bought over the counter from some sports shops. Nor do we ram the offending chemical down my mother's gullet on the end of a canular, we use a boom that sits clear of the nose, so net enrichment is much lower and she still has to concentrate on breathing while using it. Nor, might I add, do we use the device for extended periods, two or three sessions, totalling about less than an hour a day, just enough for her to gain control of her breathing when needed and that is all we were looking at extending slightly.
My mother is due to be assessed for needs by Community Health, but they will not do the assessment until they have the report from the hospital, with whom she had nearly a dozen appointments booked over the next two months. For obvious reasons, none of those are going to happen now. Even if the relevant departments are still open for business, some e.g. cardiology and pulmonary outpatients are not (they cancelled), in current conditions, hers and theirs, hospital is a good place to avoid. Besides, they have bigger things to worry about than one 80 year-old lady who can't breathe.
Where the GP sits in this I've given up working out. While the hospital put my mother on a nebuliser to take antibiotics, carbocisteine etc, which she found much easier to use and therefore more effective than spacers, the doctor has refused to continue because 'Nebulisers don't work!'.
They also know she cannot safely take any more ventolin. They called the ambulance out last time she went because she collapsed after taking it. Then they put her outside to wait because the surgery was closing. Yes, it baffled the paramedics as well.
I'd change her doctor, except the other one is, by repute, worse.
The weekly test results we have for February and beginning of March (before everything else went belly up) suggest her spiro has improved. A lot of that is undoubtedly because of natural recovery after hospitalisation. But it could also be because for the first time in years, we've cleared her chest of thick mucous and infections, and as I observed, her distended aorta is now only critical, not 'Would you like us to call a priest?'
In consideration of all your recommendations, it is clear that my mother is in need of a major review of her needs and probably more than the little trickle of enriched air wafted infront of her nose that our little Amazon toy provides.
I will try stirring up the quack again. Perhaps a warm and friendly shake of the throat will work?
Until then, the NHS opens for normal business, the ultimate cure, or Hell freezes over, which ever comes soonest, we will limit use to keeping her alive until the ambulance arrives.
Oxygen is a drug that's why that dont just give it out and they also have toneafch not just the oxygen you read through pulse hut the oxygen in the blood touch oxygen could hold the carbon oxcide in your mums blood where they cant get rid of that could make her worse my family was the same with me also asking if oxygen would help at home as it was always better jn hospital while I was on it. Now I'm at home on it because I was really ill over Christmas and need it hopefully only temp at home now. They will prescribe it if its need to maintain her oxygen levels
Postscript
Almost awash with medical opinion for my mother this week.
To the GP our concentrator is the Spawn of the Devil.
But:
My mother was called in to see the cardiologist at the GWH for assessment this week for her aorta, and she broached the concentrator with him. His opinion was that anything that keeps her heart rate and BP under 160 and stops her heart exploding is good, which it does.
We also had an assessment by Community Health. Our assessor was a Sports Physiotherapist, but is moonlighting as the Community Health Care Nurse during the crisis. Her opinion is that the NHS Approved stamp is not the only reason why Innogen's and Philips' cost thousands. Our little £200 unit can't deliver enough oxygen for long enough to boost a burning fire, let alone damage anything. But they are effective for bringing relief and she has one for her day job, when she had one.
Her official opinion is that my mother should be given an emergency oxygen supply for relief purposes. But warned/observed that CHC do not have any units available, and as what we have is both safer and more usable than cylinders, we should continue. We'll be reviewed in six months
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