Well, that's what it was supposed to be.
The technician said that she forgot to cancel my appointment because they were still moving in into their new area and everything was still packed up in boxes.
They couldn't find the order and the Dr wasn't in today so they had one of his interns find the order and resend it to the lab.
The "order" turned out to be "Just do the same as you did for your own patient" (from my EN&T to the head of the Pulmo Sleep Study Unit). This turned out to be taking one sample, letting me sleep for about 1½ hours & then taking another sample. Sounds easy, right?
They had to send for a "bed" (patient transport).
None of the "bedrooms" was vacant yet, so they put me in the PFT lab.
The lydocaine wasn't taking the proper effect for a numbed "stick" so they decided to do an art line after all.
They had to send for an arm board to immobilize it.
They DID have blankets (it was freezing in there!) I used 2, including one folded in 4 just to cover my legs& feet.
When they came to take the second sample the line was blocked and oozing around the insertion, then started spurting.. on the sheets, on the pillow (MY pillow! <LOL>), etc. It had formed a big blob that was unusable, so while one technician held pressure on it (OUCH!!), someone else took a sample from the other wrist. Now I have a compression bandage on my right wrist and cannot use it for lifting & have to ice it every 4 hours until late tomorrow.
But the good news is that while we were waiting for the numerous pieces of this procedure to arrive or happen, I was able to talk with a Respiratory Therapist who was "helping" the phlebotomist about underventilation in polio survivors and about the cautions against administering Oxygen or prescribing CPAP therapy for everyone who tests out with low Oxygen saturation levels. I think that this routine might be the reason so many patients give up on the CPAP, because their "coughing muscles" are too weak to breathe out against the pressure. The patients who give up might be undiagnosed polio survivors.
Could not wait to get home and take a nap with my BiPAP. Apparently neither could the cats. One slept on my feet, another near my head in the coil of the air hose. And right now the third cat is snuggled between my back and the back of this chair! Hehehehe.... It's so nice to be missed!
- JB
ABG Sleep Study
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Arterial Blood Gasses. Thats no runof the mill sleep study. I'll stick to the little finger pulse oximeter.
HERE IS A LINK: http://gbppa.org/krivickas1.htm
HERE IS A LINK: http://gbppa.org/krivickas1.htm
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ahujudybear
- Posts: 354
- Joined: Mon May 23, 2005 10:12 am
- Location: Franklin, WI
Sorry Chrisp,
The pulse oximeter doesn't give you a record of CO2.
- JB
EDIT:::
Oh! Forgot to say Why the test was being done.
I have a lot of "Alpha wave intrusions" showing up on my sleep studies and the Drs had thought that these might be caused by low O2 sat levels (which also showed up) and so they were going to start me on O2. But I explained to them that when the problem is mechanical (weak muscles), the cause is more likely CO2 build-up because we don't exhale strongly enough during the night when our breathing slows down (mine slows to a whisper interspersed with hypopneas.)
The big problems start when O2 therapy is tried. Our O2 levels go up, but so do the CO2 levels - which are not measured - causing morning headaches, restless sleep and eventually suffocation.
This is a relatively new test that is not commonly done, but really should be. Like one of my Drs said, it might just be possible to have acceptable O2 sat levels while still retaining CO2.
Unfortunately, I'm afraid that all the commotion with the art-line that got stopped up and started hemhoraging, requiring them to apply lots of pressure to it, and then the need to take the sample from my other wrist probably aroused me more than enough to get rid of the CO2. It doesn't take much, in fact I usually am not even aware of waking up and moving. The movement is just enough to get my body to take one or two deeper breaths.
- JB.... Typing with a sore wrist again today
The pulse oximeter doesn't give you a record of CO2.
- JB
EDIT:::
Oh! Forgot to say Why the test was being done.
I have a lot of "Alpha wave intrusions" showing up on my sleep studies and the Drs had thought that these might be caused by low O2 sat levels (which also showed up) and so they were going to start me on O2. But I explained to them that when the problem is mechanical (weak muscles), the cause is more likely CO2 build-up because we don't exhale strongly enough during the night when our breathing slows down (mine slows to a whisper interspersed with hypopneas.)
The big problems start when O2 therapy is tried. Our O2 levels go up, but so do the CO2 levels - which are not measured - causing morning headaches, restless sleep and eventually suffocation.
This is a relatively new test that is not commonly done, but really should be. Like one of my Drs said, it might just be possible to have acceptable O2 sat levels while still retaining CO2.
Unfortunately, I'm afraid that all the commotion with the art-line that got stopped up and started hemhoraging, requiring them to apply lots of pressure to it, and then the need to take the sample from my other wrist probably aroused me more than enough to get rid of the CO2. It doesn't take much, in fact I usually am not even aware of waking up and moving. The movement is just enough to get my body to take one or two deeper breaths.
- JB.... Typing with a sore wrist again today
I had the ABG back in January. My O2 was fine, but my CO2 was high. Now mind, back in June '03, my sleep doctor put me on straight cpap at a pressure of 16. I've said since that I have a hard time breathing out against that pressure. I have asthma, and a history of pneumonia, scars on my lungs, etc. Needless to say, my lung muscles aren't the best in the world. Even after the ABG showed a high CO2 level, I STILL couldn't get the doctor to prescribe a bipap or lower my cpap prescription, so I gave up on docs, and ordered the RemStar auto w/c-flex on my own. That runs between 10 and 12 most of the time, and the c-flex helps even more with breathing out. I think my CO2 levels might still be a bit high, but my legs don't feel like dead weight in the morning anymore, and it has definately improved. I've another ABG test set for 8/3. I'll see what my CO2 level is by then.
Debbie
Debbie
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ahujudybear
- Posts: 354
- Joined: Mon May 23, 2005 10:12 am
- Location: Franklin, WI
Debbie?
Do you think that maybe the high pressure might have CAUSED the high CO2 levels?
Boy! You have a double whammy there. I have been told that people with asthma should not be using a BiPAP, but it sounds like you really do need the EPAP relief.
If you don't mind my asking, what was your CO2 reading? (I'll be finding out what mine are next Monday.)
-JB
Do you think that maybe the high pressure might have CAUSED the high CO2 levels?
Boy! You have a double whammy there. I have been told that people with asthma should not be using a BiPAP, but it sounds like you really do need the EPAP relief.
If you don't mind my asking, what was your CO2 reading? (I'll be finding out what mine are next Monday.)
-JB
Yes, I do think the high pressure caused the high CO2. I don't have copies of the test, so I don't have the exact number. My test wasn't quite as bad as yours, but almost - one of the machines broke, but they forgot to call and cancel the appointment, so they did half the test and rescheduled the other half, but the machine still wasn't fixed, etc. And the tech couldn't get the needle in the artery the first time, so then she sent me to another tech....
My story isn't quite as bad as yours was, but by the time I saw half a dozen people, and rescheduled appointments, taking time off from work each time, I didn't feel like taking time again to go over and get copies. And they won't mail them, you have to pick them up in person. So I'll just get copies of both studies when I go for the second one in August.
Debbie
My story isn't quite as bad as yours was, but by the time I saw half a dozen people, and rescheduled appointments, taking time off from work each time, I didn't feel like taking time again to go over and get copies. And they won't mail them, you have to pick them up in person. So I'll just get copies of both studies when I go for the second one in August.
Debbie
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ahujudybear
- Posts: 354
- Joined: Mon May 23, 2005 10:12 am
- Location: Franklin, WI
One other gross misunderstanding...
The phlebotomist asked me if I could sleep in a recliner. I told her that I could, but for some reason I emphtically told her that I really needed to lie down to sleep properly.
it never consciously occurred to me until today that we use different muscles for breathing when we are lying down than we do while we are either standing or sitting. The test would have been totally invalid (as poorly as it was done) if both samples had been taken while I was sitting up.
Maybe i need to send them some more information.
Wonder if they'll pay any attention to it?
- JB
The phlebotomist asked me if I could sleep in a recliner. I told her that I could, but for some reason I emphtically told her that I really needed to lie down to sleep properly.
it never consciously occurred to me until today that we use different muscles for breathing when we are lying down than we do while we are either standing or sitting. The test would have been totally invalid (as poorly as it was done) if both samples had been taken while I was sitting up.
Maybe i need to send them some more information.
Wonder if they'll pay any attention to it?
- JB
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