Kanadian my friend, this may help or may not, but your post was a bit confusing,.

First I am on 1 1/2 of oxygen sitting here, or going to bed or watching tv., When I exert my self, my body needs more oxygen, like getting up and walk, doing exercises, housework, taking a shower, ect,ect, So I go to 2 lpm.
When you sleep, your body and organs relax and spread out, your heart slows down, breathing slows down, everything slows down and your natural oxygen level drops real low.
For us copd folks, this drop is to low and we wake up tired and cranky, sometimes SOB. THIS is why we need oxygen at night,
Soon you will need it when you exert yourself do exercise, sweepfloor whatever, If it goes down when this happems, you need oxygen then.
I have not ever heard of anyone getting overdoaded on 2 liters of oxygen. It may happen, I just never heart of it, Now iFf you went from 1 which is barely there to like 5 or 6or8 . yes you would have problems, serious problems. Folks do use those but they are real bad off
OXYGEN will start hurting your heart if the lungs do not absorb and circulate the blood, that makes the heart work harder and can enlarge,One side of my lungs does that, and the other lung does perfect. My heart is a slight enlarged, but it is not in danger.

IS it possible to go somewhere and get a second opinion without telling the new doctors what the others said? Or do tell them ans say you have heard this is not correct and you want a straight answer. See what they come up with. Let us Know
YES I was having an anxiety attack today laying on that table in the pain clinic. All I could do was purse lip breathing. It helped calm me down,
I feel you are going to be ok, they just have to get theit story strsight about that oxygen, doesn't sound right to me. But rven if you were on 1 leiter, you still need it at night. Please get another opinion/
Brenda

Kanadian,

I wondered where you were!!! I'm so glad you're ok!

Yes, be careful with your O2, and hope you are feeling better now, and on the mend!
Don't overdo it buddy!!

Hugs,

Boo

It would be interesting to see what your PFT shows. Did they say what your SPO2 was at 1 LPM and with no external O2? Did they say where the CO came from? We produce CO2 as a result of breathing , but not CO. CO will make your system think it is diffusing O2 because it fools it into thinking it is O2, thus providing a false high oximeter reading.
I'd be concerned as to where you are getting the carbon monoxide poisoning from. It is not a byproduct of breathing. Mayhaps talking to a different doc as Brenda says will provide a little enlightenment...

Hugs,
Dennis

Kanadian, I have a little bit different take on the od'ing on O2. I am on 2.5L 24/7, if I know I am going to be doing something particularly stressful, my doc recommends that I adjust my O2 to 3L. But warns not to leave it at the 3 level because the lungs start to get lazy for the lack of a better term and don't work as they should to draw Oxygen into the blood. If we allow the lungs to get lazy you kinda force yourself into a higher level. Of course I don't make any changes to the O2 without specific direction. Didn't mean to muddy the water, just a different take. Take care, Bill

okay guys!
????
all this talk of "too much" 02 is getting me wondering what is right to do.
after my pulm spec saw me last time & saw my HRCT he told me that i needed to wear my 02 @2L "all the time" (before i was told to only wear it when i'm up doing something & sleeping---and sometimes i need to go to 3L when shopping, excercising or doing more stuff)
but now i wonder----are my lungs getting "lazy" ??? just sitting on the computer wearing 2 L of 02? (my spo2 right now is reading 96-97% BUT if i take it off to go to bathroom i come back & am at 88%)
also, the lincare just came out & checked my home concentrator & he said that at 2L it is putting out 96% oxygen which is the best a machine can do.
should i go back to just wearing 02 if i'm up doing something???
also, i take it off to go to bathroom cuz now i'm scared to wear it in kitchen where i have pilot light of gas water heater right next to my bathroom door and all that "explosive stuff" scares the hell out of me.

in the meantime,
Kanadian= it's good to have you back with us!

oops---
anxiety vs panic attacks.
i have anxiety (GAD) that i worry about EVERYTHING. (so i take "anti-anxiety'' med for that)
BUT i have been having "panic attacks" this past year when i "overdo".
my PCP said that when i go out in heat, cold, shop too much etc that my lungs start "bronchiospams" which makes me go into a "panic attack" where my body is telling my mind that it needs to get somewhere "safe"
so, it's not like a panic attack than some get; it's the bronchiospasms telling my brain to get me somewhere safe (whare i can sit)
did that make sense???

Interestingly, I am one of the few people that has never been on oxygen at night. I don't know why- maybe because to my knowledge I sleep well, flat, and do not wake up short of breath at all. My SOB is totally related to any sort of exertion at all.

Which brings up my anxiety state. I had troubles with stress and anxiety anyway, but when I would even think about how much work and how terrible I was going to feel n trying to get dressed, and get everything together, and go out the door or take a shower or do the dishes or whatever, I could pretty much feel my chest start to tighten up just thinking about it. At that point I was prescribed Ativan to take about a half hour before I got started doing anything. It has made a world of difference. Obviously it's not getting me able to run a marathon, but it has made a big difference in that portion of just getting those things taken care of.

And for what it's worth, I keep my oxygen concentrator on at all times, obviously with a long cord, but once I'm planed at my desk, the hose is just draped here and ready for when I get up to go to the bathroom, the bedroom, the kitchen, etc. And my stove is gas and I have had no problems with cooking on it. My O2 supplier did suggest the concentrator as being safer than a tank, but as long as it was tightly on my face and not drooping too close to the flame, there should be no problem.

Hope this helps with yet another perspective.

I am also paranoid about fire and oxygen. When i have mine on the only cooking I do is make a bowl of cereal or microwave something. Mark an Heather do the cooking but occasionally I have to stir something or check in the oven, so I take my canula offa nd do it. That stuff is dangerous around fire , flames, heat, it may not explode as much as it would immediately catch on fire and it accellerated and woosh your face and hair is gone, and if the tank or cannula fall into the fire, it will explode.

I think this is one of those times where you have to consider perfect world versus reality. If you've got someone living there or can afford to have someone come in to do all the cooking so you don't have to use the stove, electric or gas, terrific. But for those that don't have that, there are steps to make it as safe as possible. And that involves running the oxygen tubing up the inside of the shirt to keep it from dangling close to the face, not dipping your face down into the pan to smell it, etc.

In the case of the original post, I don't think walking through the same room as a pilot light is going blow up her house or burn her face unless her cannula is actually dragged along the pilot flame. As has been pointed out, if she is in doubt ask her oxygen delivery service. But sometimes, pragmatic approaches have to be taken because we don't live in a perfectly accommodative world.

ty for the reply---good idea about running the 02 line inside your shirt!
i have a plumber friend that put in my water heater & i called him & he "reminded" me how he had to take not only the front of my water heater off to get to pilot, but also a "glass door" that surrounds the pilot.
---interesting still that yesterday & today i've taken my 02 off while just sitting at the computer & i stay around 95% + or - a %---i go to PCP tomorrow for checkup to ask him about this --- might as well let him earn his money answering my questions LOL
(i WISH i was rich & could afford one of those TV chefs to cook for me --- all of their food looks soooooo good!)

You bethcha jarca - I got an appointment with my pulm in 10 days and I'm gonna work him out too. I'm on Level 5 continuous flow 24/7. Should I really be there? They've done some minor tests but I haven't had a real PFT in 7 or 8 years. They walk me up and down the hallway and watch my o2 levels fall then start adding o2 levels until I stay above at least 90. Should I be on that level when sitting still??? My levels will fall at times for no apparent reason - maybe the weather outside. I have to be careful - I've found myself at 72 but I'm learning to see the symptoms before I pass out - LOL. Gonna ask me some questions in 10 days!!

As for the anxiety/panic thing, I've suffered from this disorder since 1991. I can absolutely tell when I'm getting stressed no matter the reason - rushing to go somewhere, paying my dozens of co-ppay medical bills, trying to get too much done around the house and the endless things that most of us can handle without a problem but not I. I can feel my chest tighten and I can't get my breath but just like you it's not necessarily an o2 thing. At times I will just pop 1/2 a xanax and in 30 minutes I've calmed down. I've been on this drug since 1991 and I know some doctors don't like it but it has worked for me long before I had the respiratory problem. Had a couple of early attacks that put me in the hospital - as possible heart attacks but they were just my mind overwhelming my body.

Isn't it just so much fun dealing with these multiple things. I can remember when the only thing I wanted to do was work and ride my horses. It is what it is. HUGE HUGS for all of you out there who feed me new pieces of information almost daily.

I have read many of your messages and think you each need to follow the recommendations of your pulm docs instead of experimenting with what others say. You are all different people and what works for you may not work for any other. I personally run on 2L day and night. When I exert myself I use whatever keeps me at 91% or higher. This is what was done in pulmonary rehab and it works for me.
Sunny

Makes sense to me, Jarca. It's the old "fight or flight" response
From my first panic attack I had to get home to be safe. After all these decades still can't travel comfortably.