Rest in Peace

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
Zoopshine
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Rest in Peace

Post by Zoopshine » Sun Nov 22, 2015 3:39 am

Still relatively new to the boards, but one of my first posts was about a patient of mine. She was struggling with using her bipap, and I'd tried everything I could think of to help her. Asked here for ideas, got a few, but unfortunately, wasn't able to get much in the way of results. I kept trying, including having new masks sent to try to fit her better, directing her to this site, getting anti-anxiety meds to help her claustrophobia, having her wear her mask for a bit during the day, and just talking to her about the problems she was having with her therapy. I could get her to use her bipap for, at most, an hour or two maybe 3 times a week. But that was it.

A couple of days ago, she developed pnemonia and respiratory distress. She died yesterday in the hospital. She was 56 years old.

This lady had a lot of health problems, but her breathing problems were what really did her in. She wore oxygen 24/7 and needed a motorized wheelchair to get around. I spoke with her doctor and asked her directly, would she have live longer if she'd only complied with her bipap therapy? The answer was, we will never know. But she spent a great deal of time snoozing in her bed, and she wasn't expanding her lungs, which led to the pnemonia. So yes, it's highly possible she might have lived longer had she only used her machine, especially since treating her sleep apnea could have helped with several of her other problems, including hypertension (high blood pressure) and the constant sleepiness that kept her in bed.

I post this here not to scare anyone, but as an example of how much your life can change with this one small change in your life. Even when you're having trouble with leaky masks and such, you can do so much good if you only comply with your therapy!

To my patient, rest in peace. And may we all rest well.

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49er
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Re: Rest in Peace

Post by 49er » Sun Nov 22, 2015 4:37 am

Zoopshine wrote:Still relatively new to the boards, but one of my first posts was about a patient of mine. She was struggling with using her bipap, and I'd tried everything I could think of to help her. Asked here for ideas, got a few, but unfortunately, wasn't able to get much in the way of results. I kept trying, including having new masks sent to try to fit her better, directing her to this site, getting anti-anxiety meds to help her claustrophobia, having her wear her mask for a bit during the day, and just talking to her about the problems she was having with her therapy. I could get her to use her bipap for, at most, an hour or two maybe 3 times a week. But that was it.

A couple of days ago, she developed pnemonia and respiratory distress. She died yesterday in the hospital. She was 56 years old.

This lady had a lot of health problems, but her breathing problems were what really did her in. She wore oxygen 24/7 and needed a motorized wheelchair to get around. I spoke with her doctor and asked her directly, would she have live longer if she'd only complied with her bipap therapy? The answer was, we will never know. But she spent a great deal of time snoozing in her bed, and she wasn't expanding her lungs, which led to the pnemonia. So yes, it's highly possible she might have lived longer had she only used her machine, especially since treating her sleep apnea could have helped with several of her other problems, including hypertension (high blood pressure) and the constant sleepiness that kept her in bed.

I post this here not to scare anyone, but as an example of how much your life can change with this one small change in your life. Even when you're having trouble with leaky masks and such, you can do so much good if you only comply with your therapy!

To my patient, rest in peace. And may we all rest well.
Hi Zooshine,

I am probably expressing a minority opinion but with all your patient's health problems, I don't think you can say that not using the bipap machine did her in. And even if she had used it, you can't assume it would have improved her quality of life. Many "healthy" patients are 100% compliant and don't feel any better and continue to have problems like excess sleepingness. So with this patient's other health problems, I don't think you can assume things would have been different although of course, it would have been nice to find out.

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Sir NoddinOff
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Re: Rest in Peace

Post by Sir NoddinOff » Sun Nov 22, 2015 10:45 am

Thanks for sharing your story, Zooshine... you certainly tried to do what you could. It's difficult to judge what will eventually 'do a person in', however I think that because gold-standard CPAP is so non-invasive, relatively inexpensive and very widespread that it's a good 'gamble' to take for someone's general health.

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BlackSpinner
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Re: Rest in Peace

Post by BlackSpinner » Sun Nov 22, 2015 10:56 am

49er wrote:
Hi Zooshine,

I am probably expressing a minority opinion but with all your patient's health problems, I don't think you can say that not using the bipap machine did her in. And even if she had used it, you can't assume it would have improved her quality of life. Many "healthy" patients are 100% compliant and don't feel any better and continue to have problems like excess sleepingness. So with this patient's other health problems, I don't think you can assume things would have been different although of course, it would have been nice to find out.

49er
It sure makes a difference. I had pneumonia once before getting cpap therapy and once after. The difference was over the top amazing. The other health problems would have been helped with proper sleep. ALL my health problems were much less of a problem once I started cpap therapy, everything from dry skin to allergies to not catching every bug around. Added to that was a decrease in anxiety, and the mental ability to understand a lot more.

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SleepyEyes21
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Re: Rest in Peace

Post by SleepyEyes21 » Sun Nov 22, 2015 3:45 pm

Zoopshine wrote:Still relatively new to the boards, but one of my first posts was about a patient of mine. She was struggling with using her bipap, and I'd tried everything I could think of to help her. Asked here for ideas, got a few, but unfortunately, wasn't able to get much in the way of results. I kept trying, including having new masks sent to try to fit her better, directing her to this site, getting anti-anxiety meds to help her claustrophobia, having her wear her mask for a bit during the day, and just talking to her about the problems she was having with her therapy. I could get her to use her bipap for, at most, an hour or two maybe 3 times a week. But that was it.

A couple of days ago, she developed pnemonia and respiratory distress. She died yesterday in the hospital. She was 56 years old.

This lady had a lot of health problems, but her breathing problems were what really did her in. She wore oxygen 24/7 and needed a motorized wheelchair to get around. I spoke with her doctor and asked her directly, would she have live longer if she'd only complied with her bipap therapy? The answer was, we will never know. But she spent a great deal of time snoozing in her bed, and she wasn't expanding her lungs, which led to the pnemonia. So yes, it's highly possible she might have lived longer had she only used her machine, especially since treating her sleep apnea could have helped with several of her other problems, including hypertension (high blood pressure) and the constant sleepiness that kept her in bed.

I post this here not to scare anyone, but as an example of how much your life can change with this one small change in your life. Even when you're having trouble with leaky masks and such, you can do so much good if you only comply with your therapy!

To my patient, rest in peace. And may we all rest well.
Hi Zoopshine- I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your patient. I remember your patient's story from your first post, and it was obvious that you cared for her well and with great empathy.

I do agree with you that our cpap therapy can significantly improve our lives once all parts are tweaked and functioning well; as 49er pointed out, some people never feel well after starting cpap treatment.

You touched this person's spirit in so many positive and life-affirming ways- those are incredible gifts you were able to give to her. Allow yourself peace of mind going forward, knowing you did all you could for this special lady.

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Lucyhere
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Re: Rest in Peace

Post by Lucyhere » Sun Nov 22, 2015 3:58 pm

SleepyEyes21 wrote:You touched this person's spirit in so many positive and life-affirming ways- those are incredible gifts you were able to give to her. Allow yourself peace of mind going forward, knowing you did all you could for this special lady.
Beautifully said, SleepyEyes21.
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Gasper62
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Re: Rest in Peace

Post by Gasper62 » Sun Nov 22, 2015 4:18 pm

Sorry for your loss. My sister (RN) strongly suggested that I receive a Prevnar13 pneumonia injection due to my propensity to contract pneumonia even though I was already vaccinated for pneumonia and have had a "booster" since the initial vaccination. Now, I'm seeing a Pneumovax 23 that supposedly covers an even bigger range of dangers. Pretty sure I'll be getting one or the other in a day or two. Might be something for you to consider if you're also prone to pneumonia . Or not. (I'm not sure if either of those cover pertussis/whooping cough but, that's an important vaccination to get also, IMO )

R1200ST
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Re: Rest in Peace

Post by R1200ST » Sun Nov 22, 2015 4:19 pm

As a health provider, I am sure this hits you hard and I for one sympathize with you. You did your best and so you can rest easy. She has moved on to a better place and hopefully you have learned new and better ways to move patients to use their equipment, and using her story as an example of what can happen if you don't, I am sure will save someone's life.

It still has not hit me, after two months, that I NEED to use my equipment or I will die. Simple as that right? Use it or die. I have asthma, a destroyed nose, deviated septum, allergies, etc. I SNORE at night like no ones business, and still it took me years to finally make the move to get checked out. In the past years I have struggled with weight gain, depression, ED, sleepiness, irritability, high cholesterol, and I lost my gall bladder to chronic inflammation. My biological father died from a heart attack, while asleep in bed at the age of 67. Of these conditions if I had been on my machine, could I have saved my gall bladder? Would my ED have been gone, would I have never had an issue with cholesterol. Who knows, but there it is, I didn't take the steps to eliminate the ONE COMMON FACTOR.

So what I am saying is, you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make them drink. You now have more ammunition to get some guy like me, to freaking pay attention about the REAL life impact that sleep apnea has on one's physiology . That includes up to and including death.

Sobering.

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chunkyfrog
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Re: Rest in Peace

Post by chunkyfrog » Sun Nov 22, 2015 7:17 pm

I have never had to visualize the grim reaper as motivation to use my cpap.
Luckily, my primary complaints were relieved almost immediately.
Frequent traumatic awakenings, nightmares, and morning headaches were relieved quickly and easily.
Having the right mask and the correct machine with access to efficacy data helped to keep me going.
Comfort is EVERYTHING. Denying any patient that is withholding treatment.
Kudos to any provider who goes the extra mile.

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archangle
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Re: Rest in Peace

Post by archangle » Tue Nov 24, 2015 11:30 pm

I like the analogy that CPAP is like a bulletproof vest.

You can still get killed by a headshot, but it improves the odds.

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Goofproof
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Re: Rest in Peace

Post by Goofproof » Tue Nov 24, 2015 11:43 pm

Just using XPAP, isn't enough, it must be used correctly. For that you need to monitor the data and adjust the treatment accordingly, was that done, was her setup optomized to her needs. Many patients are given the machine, but the treatment isn't monitored for more than compliance, even then they are given machines set to ineffective pressures or nasal masks, when the patient is a mouthbreather. Jim
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