Oxygen Therapy

I have a dual chamber pacemaker I received in Nov. 2008. I was diagnosed with complete heart block after a sleep study. Two weeks ago my family physician said that my sleep study showed that my oxygen level was dropping into the 60's when I slept. I asked to do another study because I was hoping that the pacemake had fixed this. I did a home test on Tuesday and my doctor has ordered oxygen for me to use while I sleep. I feel like my life is slipping away and I am unable to stop it. Does anyone else out there do the oxygen therapy? Do I have COPD. I have never even smoked! I am only 57.

7 Comments

O2 Therapy

by SMITTY - 2009-05-22 10:05:13

Hi Raggedy Kat, (I don't believe that)

I can't tell you whether you have COPD or not, but your doctor can. I can tell you that I have been there and done that with the low oxygen levels at night, especially. I did the sleep study and my O2 level did drop into the upper 70s and I was told anything below 88 is cause for concern. My low O2 level is caused by sleep apnea.

In case you are not familiar with sleep apnea, it is a sleep disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep. Each episode, lasts long enough so that one or more breaths are missed, and such episodes occur repeatedly throughout sleep. The standard definition of any apneic event includes a minimum 10 second interval between breaths.

To solve my low O2 problem I was put on a CPAP machine. For some reason they did not put me on O2 at night. I do have an O2 concentrator and O2 bottles for use as needed during the day time. With the CPAP you wear a mask and have a small air pump that forces air into your lungs at very low pressure and keeps you from skipping breaths. My O2 level went from the upper 70s to the mid 90s with the CPAP unit.

The really good thing is I feel like getting po when I wake up in the morning. Now I'll be truthful, that mask is not the most comfortable thing I ever used and I'll skip it some nights, but between my wife elbowing me during the night and saying "breath damnit" and not feeling as good in the mornings I know it is to my benefit to use the CPAP.

Now let me preach a little. I see you are 57. Well my heart disease was diagnosed when I was 53 (that was 27 years ago) when I had bypass surgery. Since then it has been 4 stents a pacemaker and CPAP. I just tell everyone it has been patch, patch, patch for 27 years. But, even all the patches are better than the alternative. All I can suggest is just try to accept the fact that some people are luckier than some of us. Of course there are many that live in parts of the world where all the health assist marvels we have are not available and they don't even make it to 53, or 57.

So chin up. I know it doesn't seem like it could be worse, but it really could when you think about it.

I wish you the best,

Smitty

control

by Tracey_E - 2009-05-22 11:05:41

Things are changing, they're not slipping away so please don't think it's hopeless or that an active, healthy life is out of reach. CHB just means you have a short circuit in your heart's electrical system. Your heart is still setting the pace and doing the beating, the pm just bridges the gap and ensures the ventricles get the message when the atria beat. It's the simplest thing to fix with a pm.

Sleep apnea is unrelated, though there have been some studies recently that show a correlation between heart patients and a tendency to sleep apnea, tho it's just a theory and there are no reasons why at this time. Again, it's something with a fix. Between the pm keeping your heart rate high enough to let you be active and the O2 making sure you sleep safely and well, I predict that in a few weeks you will be feeling better than ever.

As Smitty said, chin up! Feel free to vent and ask questions here as you need to. We're all in the same boat.

You probably do NOT have apnea

by mrag - 2009-05-23 07:05:45

Having just taken then "sleep test," my educated guess is you suffer from hypoxemia and NOT sleep apnea. With sleep apnea, you "stop" breathing and then restart. There is a lot written on that subject.

Typically, your body is getting 93% or more "oxygen" as measured on a finger cuff (oxymeter). This is the gizmo they measure you with at the hospital every half an hour WHILE YOU ARE AWAKE. When you sleep though the night though, this O2 number can drop below 88%. What is happening is you are breathing very shallow and not taking in enough oxygen. You should be above 90%. Instead you are dropping into the 60's.

The equipment (O concentrator) is much simpler to use than the apnea stuff. It's a hose with a nasal connection. Make sure you are clear with your doctor as to what you need.

oxygen

by thomast - 2009-05-23 12:05:53

I use an oxygen generator with the nose things at night. Thry measured mine and I was dropping to 81 at night. Below 87 you qualify for medicare paying 80% of the rent on the oxygen generator. I have small generator that I bought and use in the car if I am going to high altitudes. Otherwise I do not feel good above about 4000 ft. It is real cute with medicare, they pay $160 a month rental on the machine and I pay $40 You can buy a new machine with a 4 year warranty for $695. So why does medicare not just buy the machine. It you can figure out the government you are smarter than I am.

For Thomas

by SMITTY - 2009-05-24 10:05:08

Thomas,

I read what you are paying each month for your O2 concentrator. If you are interested in a purchase, go to E-Bay and look at the used units they have. You will notice that they include the statement "for hobby use only" or "not for medical use" or some such disclaimer.

Also, I think there is a simple reason you can't figure out the government. You use common sense and logic, words that do not exist in Washington.

I'm sure you know why they have the disclaimer, but I have one of the units that cost a rip roaring $125.00. It was given to me as the fellow that bought the thing had purchased it for hobby use but found out the volume of O2 it put out was not great enough for their torch. I also have a new one supplied by my insurance company and when they brought the new one to me I asked them to check out the freebie and it was putting out 98% O2, same as the new one. I have kept it and run it occasionally to be sure it is working just in case my ins. co, changes its rules, I'll not have to pay a monthly fee.

I know getting a used one is a gamble, but some of the units have built-in O2 monitors. With that feature a person could tell what level of O2 therapy is that they are getting.

Smitty

O2 improves my life

by jessie01 - 2009-05-27 06:05:09

I am 36. I have been on oxygen therapy for 2 years. Its really not as bad as it might seem. I wear my O2 24/7, but I still do normal everyday activities. I drive, go shopping, and even get in the pool. I just put my portable O2 in my back pack and go! I have a concentrator that I use while I am at home. With the O2, I don't get as winded and have more endurance. I don't want you to worry too much. I don't see having to use oxygen as a sign of impending doom.

Night time oxygen

by mytrose43 - 2009-06-02 08:06:00

Hi
My name is Valerie,I have had a pacemaker since 2005 i also have sleep apnea and use a cpap with oxygen at night actually the oxygen is vry good for you if you levels are dropping so low mine is also low like that,i do find that i feel better using the oxygen so just think happy thoughts a pacemaker is a godsend because without it things could be much worse ,i do know how you feel though but after many months of feeling sorry for myself i realized just how lucky i was to be alive,
Sincerly Valerie

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