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 POSTED A COUPLE DAYS AGO ABOUT FORGETTING TO TURN THE OXYGEN ON AND GOT A NUMBER OF RESPONSES ALL OF WHICH i HAVE DONE IE LISTEN. PUT IT TO MY LIPS ETC. i JUST PLAIN FORGET TO CHECK OFF AND ON. LAST NIGHT WE WENT TO THE CLUB AND ABOUT HALF WAY THROUGH THE EVENING i THOUGHT TO CHECK. iT WAS OFF. i DID NOT HAVE MY METER WITH SO i DON'T KNOW WHAT MY O2 WAS. i AM SURE THIS HAS HAPPENED ABOUT 10 OR 12 TIMES IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS FOR VARING LENGHTHS OF TIME. bY THE WAY, A NUMBER OF TIMES i HAVE FOUND MY TUBING WAS DISCONNECTED AT A JOINT. I HAVE SINCE PUT TAPE AT THE JOINT TO MAKE SURE IT STAYS TOGETHER. i STILL WOULD LIKE TO FIND OUT WHY PEOPLE ON O2 HAVE TROUBLE NOTICING THEY ARE NOT HOOKED UP. MAYBE i AM LOSING MY MEMORY NOW DAYS. i NOW HAVE A CHECKLIST ON THE DOOR WHEN i LEAVE BECAUSE OFTEN i FORGET TO TURN STUFF OFF.Or take my pills and other stuff when I go to my girlfriends place. Maybe putting the 02 on the checklist also might help.
I have been on oxygen 24/7/365 for four years. Looking at your post and thinking back, I can't remember the time I forgot to turn mine on, in fact when I leave my home I do not turn my concentrator off it runs 24/7/365. I have become so dependent on my oxygen that I even notice when the flow is reduced. In many ways I am envious of your ability to forget it, and especially to function without it for extended periods of time. But having said all that, I am one of those that says if the Doc tells you to, you do it. I am assuming your doctor has recommended you use your supplemental supply 24/7. I know my doctor tells me that I am having an impact on my heart if or when I try to go any extended period off my oxygen. And I don't need to compound my problems by adding heart issues. So if I were in your shoes I would do what I had to do to make sure I used it. If putting it on your checklist helps, by all means do that. If leaving a note by the steering wheel of your vehicle reminds you, do that. Take care -- Bill
So, why does yours NOT have an alarm if it is off? If mine is off, from the electricity, the battery kicks in, so it is never off-off where nothing comes out unless it is in the shop for some reason and then I have one of those big one's.
I have been on Oxygen 24/7 365 or about 3 years. I can remember a few times I have plugged it into an outlet that you have to turn on at the light switch, and I would forget to turn it on (the switch), and would not notice until my alarm would sound that my battery is about out! (Plugged in re-charges battery)
So, I am not understanding why your concentrater has no alarm at all, not for low power, or no power. That is one thing I would change.!! Ask your doctor or medical provider about this. You need an alarm on it.Or another one that has an alarm.
You need to see your doctor about being so forgetful. This doing without O2 may be doing horrible things to your heart and kidneys.
Yes, put your concentrater on your list, in the meantime, put a big note on it that you can not miss that says turn this on!!!
How about your girlfriend helping you out a bit by making sure it is turned on before you go out? Maybe she can call you every so often and tell you to check that it is on, especially bedtime.
But ultimately it is up to you to devise a plan to make sure. Mine is never off, so I do not know if you are on it 24/7 or what, but if you are, yours should never be off. Do you turn it off before you leave, to unplug it, then forget to turn it on?(But it should have a battery...)
You may need to change your tubing if it is becoming disconnected.
Your medical provider should send you nasal cannulas and longer tubing. I change mine about once a month, more on the nasal cannula if I have been really sneezing and it gets nasty looking.
I am sorry you are having all these problems, but you really need to talk with yout doctor, and girlfriend, and anyone else that is near to you, and let them know , and devise a plan to help you out.
Good luck and I hope you start remembering it better.
BJ
Tis possible you are having memory problems. I find that I have trouble with short term memory. This is directly related to low O2 levels.
I know of no supplemental (tank) O2 regulator or sensor that will alarm unless it is lready turned on, so the best you can do is keep trying ways to remind yourself. Mayhaps enlist the aid of your girlfriend and others to make sure your O2 is on when you are out and about...
Take care,
Dennis
If your doctor put youon oxygen, he did not mean just when you remembered to use it. You are not doing yourself a favor and in fact are exacerbating the damage to the organs because of the lack of oxygen.
Do you have plans made with your girlfriend that if you flake out, that she has all the instructions you would want the medical emergency people to know?
I swear Dogman, you can make a gal hyperventilate just thinking how reckless you are being.
Would you just please tell your doctor what is happening? There may be something that he can help you with.
Be safe or the next air you fill on your lips could be an intubation tube on the way down.
I have enjoyed your comments since 2008 and hate to start missing them now.
Anna
If you are going out to a club, I hope for Heaven's sake, it is your lady friend that is driving, who is both sober and alert after visiting the club. Lack of oxygen that you have expressed will cause mental and alertness problems . This can be even greater at night when it may be also more difficult to see.. If you are driving while low on oxygen this jeopardizes both you and others! Not good at all......