COPD & Emphysema Support Group
COPD is a progressive disease characterized by airflow obstruction or limitation. Emphysema is characterized by loss of elasticity of the lung tissue, destruction of structures supporting the alveoli and of capillaries feeding the alveoli. Both have symptoms that include shortness of breath, among other respiratory troubles. If you are a COPD or Emphysema sufferer, join...
i live at 6500feet. I regularly driver down to 5000ft. i do notice quite a bit of difference in my need for oxygen. i wonder if there is away of figuring out how much more oxygen one needs per 1,000 ft. I can get by on 3 when in the lower elevation, and need 4 for the most part at 6500 ft.
Ya know, after your last post about increasing your oxygen liters I got reading about it, and apparently not all are in agreement as to Co2 retention, and it is felt there is a myth and misinformation surrounding hypoxia and oxygen. Dr. Petty, one of the leading experts on COPD before his death, felt it was not harmful to increase your oxygen if it helped you. So, you may not be far off base in that regard.
It was a really interesting subject to explore and brought a lot of new awareness to me.
A calculator:
http://www.altitude.org/air_pressure.php
A oximetry vs. Altitude article:
http://www.flightstat.nonin.com/documents/Hypoxia,%20Oxygen%20and%20Pulse%20Oximetry.pdf
Enjoy...
I live up in the high desert in the Owens valley along the Sierras. At sea level along the coast it's like breathing soup. I'll stay here.
The trick to pushig your O2 levels is if you increase it and nothing happens to your O2 sat or SOB, see the doc - you got a problem...
I became very ill with exacerbation, each time I would visit my sister.
She lived at about 4900 ft. She has passed on now; so I do not travel that high up any longer.
On the other hand; I can breathe so well on the Oregon Coast. The air is fresh and clean (not bad air quality like the valley I live in). Again, the Pulmonary Doctor advises me not to move to the Oregon Coast. Yes, it is easier to breathe on a short vacation; but he said the mold everywhere would do me in. According to all the research I have done; their is no perfect place to live if you have COPD. My Dad "took the cure", moved to Arizona and died. It actually made his Emphysema worse. We are all individuals; with differing lung capacities; and types of COPD-----so it only makes sense that we could each react differently to changes in elevations and humidity.