Need input about oxygen with CPAP

[LarryD]

My PCP is considering putting me on supplemental oxygen therapy with my cpap. This is new to me. I'd like to hear from others using oxygen with CPAP about their experiences. I'm not sure I want to do this. I hate dealing with DMEs.

[knightlite]

My friend loves his oxygen to his mask . He says it puts him in a very restful quick sleep . He's been on it for 5 months. He put the oxygen machine in another room and he has a long hose to get away from the heat and noise. He has a finger oxygen tester during the day to see if he needs it then . If you truly need it don't be hesitant . Lack of o2 is a very bad thing.

[TangledHose]

My PCP is considering putting me on supplemental oxygen therapy with my cpap. This is new to me. I'd like to hear from others using oxygen with CPAP about their experiences. I'm not sure I want to do this. I hate dealing with DMEs.

Larry:

The O2 is not a huge deal although there are some logistical hurdles - - probably the biggest obstacle is that the O2 generator machines tend to be noisy - when I got my first one from the DME I had to put it in an adjacent room and run a long O2 tubing to my room because the damn thing was so loud. Recently I purchased a Resperonics EverFlo Q and it is much less noisy than the old "Beater" machine that the DME had me using. I have found over time that wearing foam ear plugs makes a huge difference in my sleep and I have gotten used to the ear plugs very quickly -- so if you go the foam ear plug route the extra noise is not an issue.

The other thing to work out is where you bleed your supplemental O2 into the system.......at first I had the "Coupler" between the exit of the CPAP Humidifier and the hose, which some folks on here have said is not as effective in terms of getting the O2 into your breathing stream, but I tend to disagree with that as I can't see what the difference would be where the O2 bleeds in....it's still getting to your mask either way. Recently I have been using a ResMed S9 Autoset and due to the climateline tubing I can't bleed the O2 in the same way, so I now have the O2 coupler installed between my hose and my mask which works just fine.........I used some Self-Adherent Medical Wrap (non-adhesive bandage wrap that is rubbery and sticks to itself without adhesive) 1 inch wide roll that I get at Wallgreens and simply wrap the O2 tubbing every foot or so right to the CPAP hose so they are as one unit so the tubbing and hose are together. The coupler that works the best is available from CPAP dot com: https://www.cpap.com/productpage/oxygen ... pter+.html - - I like this one because of the rotating 90 degree O2 attachment......makes it very easy to keep tubbing in-line with CPAP hose.



So the O2 can be a little bit of a hassle, but once you work out the details it becomes a non-issue and I do feel that the supplemental O2 has helped me. I feel more clear-headed when I wake up in the morning --- it has raised my overnight O2 saturation levels from the 70s and 80s back up into the 90s as tested with an overnight oximeter - - so in the long run I think it's worth the hassle.

[archangle]

There are some fire risks if you do it wrong, so follow instructions and don't do too much tinkering with the oxygen. Keep cigarettes, candles, etc. away from the oxygen.

[LarryD]

I want to thank you all for your input. Everything helped. I'll be posting a new string asking more specific questions.

[Stormynights]

They put a one way valve on mine to keep the oxygen out of the machine.

[Slinky]

Goshes, other than those w/those ClimateLine hoses I've never understood the problems w/CPAP and supplemental 02 therapy. Maybe because I was on 02 overnight before I was started on CPAP.

Due to heat and nose we put the concentrator in an adjacent bedroom, drilled a small hole just above the baseboard and passed the 02 tubing thru the hole. We also sat the concentrator on a small carpeting mat.

The 02 tubing was accomodated w/an adapter between the humidifier hose attachment and the hose to the mask. Voila! Supplemental 2L 02 w/CPAP at 8 cms originally.

[Madalot]

I've had oxygen with my machines over three years now. I've gotten used to the noise from the concentrator, but I know a lot of people do put them in another room to make it a little easier.

I tried sleeping without the oxygen one night and used my pulse ox monitor. I found my levels dropped by about 4% without the oxygen.

The other night we had no power and while the Trilogy runs on its own backup batteries, we didn't look up oxygen tanks. I had more difficult breathing with just the Trilogy. I found my sleep disturbed and more unsettled as well.

If your doctor believes you need it, it will be worth doing.

[pikov22]

The O2 is not a huge deal although there are some logistical hurdles - - probably the biggest obstacle is that the O2 generator machines tend to be noisy - when I got my first one from the DME I had to put it in an adjacent room and run a long O2 tubing to my room because the damn thing was so loud. Recently I purchased a Resperonics EverFlo Q and it is much less noisy than the old "Beater" machine that the DME had me using. I have found over time that wearing foam ear plugs makes a huge difference in my sleep and I have gotten used to the ear plugs very quickly -- so if you go the foam ear plug route the extra noise is not an issue.

The other thing to work out is where you bleed your supplemental O2 into the system.......I used some Self-Adherent Medical Wrap (non-adhesive bandage wrap that is rubbery and sticks to itself without adhesive) 1 inch wide roll that I get at Wallgreens and simply wrap the O2 tubbing every foot or so right to the CPAP hose so they are as one unit so the tubbing and hose are together. The coupler that works the best is available from CPAP dot com: https://www.cpap.com/productpage/oxygen ... pter+.html - - I like this one because of the rotating 90 degree O2 attachment......makes it very easy to keep tubbing in-line with CPAP hose.

Do you use oxygen during the day? If so, can you tell us about your experience?

[SleepWellCPAP]

Hello LarryD,

Depending on where your nocturnal oxygen saturation is now, you may very well feel quite a bit of benefit from adding oxygen to your circuit. Most patients that I work with who have supplemental oxygen think it is worth the trouble.

I did see a post regarding the bleed in at the mask end of the climate line. Just an FYI, they do make a climate line with an oxygen bleed in port at the machine end.

http://www.resmed.com/us/products/s9_se ... nc=dealers

It is larger in diameter though.

Jim

[TangledHose]

Do you use oxygen during the day? If so, can you tell us about your experience?

No, I only use the oxygen at night in conjunction with CPAP - 1.5 LPM bled into system between hose and mask.

[pikov22]

Do you use oxygen during the day? If so, can you tell us about your experience?

No, I only use the oxygen at night in conjunction with CPAP - 1.5 LPM bled into system between hose and mask.

Thanks.