Oxygen usage for emphysema – risk, dependency, info source

Question:

If the blood testing done shows that the person doesn’t need supplemental oxygen, then it would more than likely be no benefit to have.  Feeling out of breath or short winded, doesn’t always mean the person has a low blood oxygen saturation.   Then again, if the test was only done while the person was resting, then perhaps other tests should be done with the person walking using an oximeter, or even a sleep study. Aside from that, oxygen can be purchased without a prescription for emergency use in the USA if the equipment meets the FDA guidelines for emergency use and the person has been trained in how to administer it, but I don’t believe that would be of any use for this person you speak of, unless they also have severe asthma attacks. J. Thompson, RRT

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I don’t know if this is the proper group for this post but I hope it > is. > I know someone who has emphysema. They can sit all day and feel pretty > good, but the slightest exersion such, as walking to the kitchen can > cuase complete exhaustion and temporary incapacitation while they > catch their breath. They use an inhaler and take pills that oxygenate > the blood. But the quality of life is very minimal. > I asked why they don’t go on oxygen and they said that the doctor did > a test and found that the oxygen level in the blood is sufficient that > they do not need to use axygen. They also said that they are afraid > that they will become dependent on the oxygen and will need to lug the > bottle around with them all the time. > I, in my completely unknowledgable opinion, believe that a person of > that condition should be able to do something to get the doctor to put > them on oxygen on a small dosage to at least let them function half > way normal. I don’t believe that using oxygen will automatically make > you a oxygen addict and I don’t think having the bottle with you at > all times (if it was nessessary at all times) would be half as bad as > not being able to function. > Forgive my improper use of terminology. correct my wrong conclusions > and please point me to a web sight that will give me all the answers I > may be looking for. Thanks…

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Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> These are my opinions and are not scientfic. > My mother has emphysema and after a bad cold was put on oxygen so I > understand where you are coming from.  She has slowly weaned herself off > it except for sleeping. > BTW, for someone who can barely breathe while going from room to room, > carrying a bottle of oxygen is a LOT of work.  It’s not heavy for you or > me but it is for them.   This is not the case in the house but it makes > going out of the house much harder. > IMHO, the (permanent) solution is not oxygen but exercise.  The less my > mother moved around and did stuff, the less she was able to do.  Oxygen > will help them keep their oxygen level up but the lungs still have to be > able to process it and get it into the bloodstream.  If people > w/emphysema move less and less, the lungs get worse and worse at pulling > the oxygen from the air. > I like to think about it this way.  If a couch potato starts to run, > he/she will be ’sucking’ wind because his body is not used to processing > the oxygen fast enough.  If he/she continues to exercise over a few > weeks/months, the body will slowly adapt and will allow you to run > faster and faster with the same lungs.  I can attest to this after I > started to train for a local 10K.  :)

It is true, of course, that exercise helps people with respiratory insufficiency, like emphysema, but not because it makes any change in lung function. A well-trained muscle needs less oxygen to perform a unit of work than a poorly trained one. Exercise does not cause the lungs to function differently, but trains the body to function better on what the lungs offer it.     Larry  

Response:

These are my opinions and are not scientfic. My mother has emphysema and after a bad cold was put on oxygen so I understand where you are coming from.  She has slowly weaned herself off it except for sleeping. BTW, for someone who can barely breathe while going from room to room, carrying a bottle of oxygen is a LOT of work.  It’s not heavy for you or me but it is for them.   This is not the case in the house but it makes going out of the house much harder. IMHO, the (permanent) solution is not oxygen but exercise.  The less my mother moved around and did stuff, the less she was able to do.  Oxygen will help them keep their oxygen level up but the lungs still have to be able to process it and get it into the bloodstream.  If people w/emphysema move less and less, the lungs get worse and worse at pulling the oxygen from the air. I like to think about it this way.  If a couch potato starts to run, he/she will be ’sucking’ wind because his body is not used to processing   the oxygen fast enough.  If he/she continues to exercise over a few weeks/months, the body will slowly adapt and will allow you to run faster and faster with the same lungs.  I can attest to this after I started to train for a local 10K.  :) The doctors always tell my mother to exercise and she doesn’t listen. When she first comes to visit, she has to stop two or three times going up the stairs to the second floor of my house.  After two or three weeks, she doesn’t have to stop at all.  That’s my proof. Here’s a great article from the WSJ of the effects of inactivity.  It showed how even two weeks in bed with no activity can seriously affect the VO2 max of healthy athletes By RON WINSLOW Title: Study Shows Even Moderate Exercise Can Reverse Aging’s Effects by Years It summarizes this report: http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/104/12/1350 If you can’t find the WSJ article, post back here and I’ll e-mail it to you. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I don’t know if this is the proper group for this post but I hope it > is. > I know someone who has emphysema. They can sit all day and feel pretty > good, but the slightest exersion such, as walking to the kitchen can > cuase complete exhaustion and temporary incapacitation while they > catch their breath. They use an inhaler and take pills that oxygenate > the blood. But the quality of life is very minimal. > I asked why they don’t go on oxygen and they said that the doctor did > a test and found that the oxygen level in the blood is sufficient that > they do not need to use axygen. They also said that they are afraid > that they will become dependent on the oxygen and will need to lug the > bottle around with them all the time. > I, in my completely unknowledgable opinion, believe that a person of > that condition should be able to do something to get the doctor to put > them on oxygen on a small dosage to at least let them function half > way normal. I don’t believe that using oxygen will automatically make > you a oxygen addict and I don’t think having the bottle with you at > all times (if it was nessessary at all times) would be half as bad as > not being able to function. > Forgive my improper use of terminology. correct my wrong conclusions > and please point me to a web sight that will give me all the answers I > may be looking for. Thanks…

Response:

I don’t know if this is the proper group for this post but I hope it is. I know someone who has emphysema. They can sit all day and feel pretty good, but the slightest exersion such, as walking to the kitchen can cuase complete exhaustion and temporary incapacitation while they catch their breath. They use an inhaler and take pills that oxygenate the blood. But the quality of life is very minimal. I asked why they don’t go on oxygen and they said that the doctor did a test and found that the oxygen level in the blood is sufficient that they do not need to use axygen. They also said that they are afraid that they will become dependent on the oxygen and will need to lug the bottle around with them all the time. I, in my completely unknowledgable opinion, believe that a person of that condition should be able to do something to get the doctor to put them on oxygen on a small dosage to at least let them function half way normal. I don’t believe that using oxygen will automatically make you a oxygen addict and I don’t think having the bottle with you at all times (if it was nessessary at all times) would be half as bad as not being able to function. Forgive my improper use of terminology. correct my wrong conclusions and please point me to a web sight that will give me all the answers I may be looking for. Thanks…

Response:

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