Hospitals are NOT prepared for xPAP...

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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JeffV
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Hospitals are NOT prepared for xPAP...

Post by JeffV » Sun Jan 25, 2015 6:05 pm

So about a week ago I had the delightful surprise of an emergency appendectomy. (Everything went fine and I go back to work tomorrow.) My fiance brought the whole machine in with her since I'd be staying the night post-op. We told everybody from the ER on up that I was on AutoPAP (which I had to explain to quite literally everyone except for the actual anesthesiologist in pre-op - they knew CPAP and BiPAP, but nothing else). The machine went with me down to surgery in case I needed it in recovery - I apparently didn't, because it came right back with me untouched. I dozed on and off for the rest of the day with no machine but on a little bit of oxygen. (Fortunately I don't desat too badly or my periodic pulseox checks would've been more interesting.) Finally when my fiance was starting to get ready to leave for the night, she really started pushing for getting the machine up and running for me. The nurse called maintenance to check it out (turned out to be a guy who had CPAP himself - he looked over the power cord and brick for about 5 seconds and signed off on it), then had to track down a supervisor to get me distilled water. I actually fell asleep for another hour or so before she got back with the water and got me hooked up for the night. And I found out the next day when she was talking to another nurse that she still didn't do it right somehow and bent the rules to get me on the thing, but knew I needed it so did it anyway.

All things considered it came out okay, it's just frustrating to see how much effort there was for me to get on a machine at all - let alone my own equipment - and that the nurse still fudged the rules to even get things that far. Plus it'll be interesting to see how much that $0.99 bottle of distilled water costs on the final bill.

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Re: Hospitals are NOT prepared for xPAP...

Post by Sleeprider » Sun Jan 25, 2015 6:15 pm

Kind of a generalized accusation. I was in the hospital for a week in 2013 with Lyme's meningitis, and used the APAP from day one. Like you, maintenance checked the electrical compatibility, but after that, it was just business as usual. The nurses were helpful. I don't recall what water I used in the humidifier, but probably tap. Sucks being in a hospital. It would be a lot worse without CPAP to enable sleep.

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Re: Hospitals are NOT prepared for xPAP...

Post by surf_rower » Sun Jan 25, 2015 6:31 pm

Well, let me add to the generalization. I was also not allowed to use my CPAP in the hospital. They said they would bring me one of theirs. I said, what, how can we be sure that will be set correctly? I had my husband bring my machine in and I used it. The nurse was cool about it, but said they weren't supposed to let patients bring in their own ANYTHING. I got in trouble for taking my own omeprazole in the morning!
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Sir NoddinOff
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Re: Hospitals are NOT prepared for xPAP...

Post by Sir NoddinOff » Sun Jan 25, 2015 6:33 pm

I have recently taken the precaution of informing all of my various doctors (including specialists) about my CPAP requirements. If I happen to go to the hospital during any given September when most of them are winetasting in Bordeaux, Provence or Amalfi, then hopefully at least one will still be around to order the hospital to provide CPAP, in writing if necessary - I mean they can't all be on a one month vacation for the Euro vendange in September and October, can they?

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Re: Hospitals are NOT prepared for xPAP...

Post by Wulfman... » Sun Jan 25, 2015 8:49 pm

My experience was positive with our local hospital about four years ago when I spent about five days/nights there with pneumonia. I went prepared......took my equipment, they had an RT on duty to check the output with the setting and everything was "good to go".

But, that stay didn't involve any surgery or recovery, so I have had no experience with that since beginning therapy in 2005. I did have an appendectomy in 1992, but that was about 13 years before I was diagnosed with OSA and I can't recall if they made any mention of me stopping breathing during the surgery.

I just know that our local hospital is very knowledgeable and accommodating about this therapy. I was pretty impressed after reading some of the stories told on these pages over the years.


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Thatgirl
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Re: Hospitals are NOT prepared for xPAP...

Post by Thatgirl » Sun Jan 25, 2015 8:58 pm

At the hospital I work at, nursing cannot set up parient's home medical devices at all- insulin pumps, oxygen tanks from home, xpap, home infusion pumps. Nothing. It's a liability to have people dealing with medical devices they're not familiar with. So either the patient or family member sets it up themselves, respiratory therapy brings up one of the big ventilator style bipap machines the hospital has, or nothing.

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cnaumann
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Re: Hospitals are NOT prepared for xPAP...

Post by cnaumann » Sun Jan 25, 2015 8:58 pm

I guess it depends on the Hospital. I had no trouble getting my dad's CPAP machine to him when he was in the hospital last year. The security guard at the ER knew what it was and did not give it a second look.

When we took my mother in law to the ER a couple of years ago we were told to bring her meds in the original containers because the pharmacy was 'closed'. We brough them, the nurse gave them to her, and then sent them home with us the next day. I don't think the pharmacy actually closed, but it was late and there was probably not time to contact all the doctors that had prescribed the various meds.

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Re: Hospitals are NOT prepared for xPAP...

Post by Krelvin » Sun Jan 25, 2015 9:21 pm

I've never had problems bringing my cpap in for use over the past 8 years. They even provide distilled water. My last stay in June for a week,, they provided a machine (large) with o2 feed from the wall and humidifier and FFM. A tech set it up and it followed me from room to room. Normal room, ICU and back.
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Re: Hospitals are NOT prepared for xPAP...

Post by TangledHose » Sun Jan 25, 2015 9:40 pm

I was in for heart surgery in 2010 and my wife set my own machine up for me with the help of the anesthesiologist right in ICU recovery. I still had chest tube in for first few days and no problems using my own equipment, the nursing staff helped me when I couldn't put water in the humidifier by myself. It was one of the major hospitals in the Denver area and they had no issues. Guess it just depends on the individual hospital and their own procedures.

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Bill44133
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Re: Hospitals are NOT prepared for xPAP...

Post by Bill44133 » Sun Jan 25, 2015 9:56 pm

WOW! What hospital did you go to? When I was admitted to Fairview Hospital(Cleveland Clinic Hospital) in Oct 2013 they had everything setup with in 1 hour of being in my room.
I didn't have to ask for anything.... I was amazed it was same machine I had at home, and the settings were set at 23/19. I guess it was good that I kept my Doctor up to date on
my settings.

Glad to read it all turned out well for you.


I wish you well...

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Re: Hospitals are NOT prepared for xPAP...

Post by Elle » Sun Jan 25, 2015 10:59 pm

My experience has been that an RT comes to check that the pressure is right but they usually assume the patient would have the machine set properly so it is just a formality. I have also been overnight unexpectedly a couple of times and RT brought a machine and asked me what pressure to set it at.

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Re: Hospitals are NOT prepared for xPAP...

Post by JQLewis » Mon Jan 26, 2015 2:24 am

I was not permitted to bring my own machine during a recent stay. The machine they provided was a Respironics BiPAP Vision, set to CPAP mode, which they didn't know how to set-up. They left the hose dangling on the bed (an incredibly heavy hose compared to my home machine). I had to insist a RT set up the support arm. The RT then proceeded to strap the mask on for me, so tight that it cut the bridge of my nose. The machine has an alarm which cannot be shut off. It took a while to get the mask adjusted properly, all the while it beeped, keeping my poor roommate up.

They also insisted on waking me up regularly to check my O2 levels, which were consistently 98-99%. Nice to know, but I would have preferred the uninterrupted sleep.

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49er
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Re: Hospitals are NOT prepared for xPAP...

Post by 49er » Mon Jan 26, 2015 2:34 am

When I almost had a septoplasty/turbinate reduction last year and would have had a 23 hour admit, I was told to bring my own machine before I mentioned that the surgeon had said I would not be able to use it for a week. I just don't understand hospitals that don't allow patients to bring their own machines as it would seem that would cause inferior care, particularly if the person was going to be admitted for several days. Yeah, I know about sanitation issues and bringing in outside equipment but it just seems they would be able work around that problem.

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Re: Hospitals are NOT prepared for xPAP...

Post by funky-rat » Mon Jan 26, 2015 2:41 pm

49er wrote:When I almost had a septoplasty/turbinate reduction last year and would have had a 23 hour admit, I was told to bring my own machine before I mentioned that the surgeon had said I would not be able to use it for a week. I just don't understand hospitals that don't allow patients to bring their own machines as it would seem that would cause inferior care, particularly if the person was going to be admitted for several days. Yeah, I know about sanitation issues and bringing in outside equipment but it just seems they would be able work around that problem.

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That stinks. I had turbinate reduction with severe scar tissue resection in July. I got to go home the same day, but had splints in for an agonizing 8 weeks. I was told to be on CPAP with humidity that evening and even during the day if I felt drowsy. I was (and still am) forbidden from using nasal pillows, but otherwise, was fine. My DME ended up giving me a total face mask that someone had returned because I couldn't stand anything anywhere near my nose until those splints came out.

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Re: Hospitals are NOT prepared for xPAP...

Post by LSAT » Mon Jan 26, 2015 3:40 pm

I have never had a problem with our hospital...they encourage bringing your own equipment and have RT come and check it out. The one time I was unexpectedly kept overnight, they brought and auto and the RT set it at my pressure range. The mask they provided was terrible however.

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