At the Hospital

[cpaptex]

While in the Hospital last week I didn't have a APAP machine the first night and everytime a nurse walked in I would wake up when the knocked on the door. I wouldn't just wake up, I was essentially, wide awake. I think that they thought that I wasn't sleeeping at all. The next night, the setup a Bi-Pap and I out for the count I never woke up when the checked on me and they had to touch me to wake me up.

Amazing what a xPAP machine can do.

[nanwilson]

I keep my spare machine in a plastic tub with BIG note on the side that reads "take this box in case of emergency". When the emts took me by ambulance, they automatically took the box to the hospital with me, when I've had to go on my own, I just take it with me.
Hope you are doing better and will be home from the hospital soon.

[Gerryk]

I agree, take your own machine with you. Let your doctor know you will be bringing it and bring your script along. Also let them know when you check in that you have a cpap. When I was in the hospital, they had to check my cpap to make sure it was properly grounded before I was allowed to use it.

Also make sure you know how your machine works, how your mask works, how to disassemble and put your mask back together. Also know if your mask accepts supplemental oxygen and how to hook it up for that. Most people who work in respiratory in a hospital know nothing about a cpap or the mask and will not know how to hook oxygen up to it.

When respiratory hooked oxygen up to my mask it looked like they tried to build a jungle gym on it. My Dr laughed, took it all off hooked the mask up correctly then showed respiratory how to do it.