Portable Oxygen Concentrators

[prairiewoman]

Hello everyone,

My oxygen sats drop too low and too often so the doc is adding oxygen to my cpap. that machine is huge and I travel -- a lot! My question is whether you use a portable oxygen concentrator with continuous flow, how it works for you and if insurance/medicare pays. thanks for any and all feedback.

[chunkyfrog]

Many oxygen patients use tanks rather than concentrators.
They are quieter, and able to produce higher volumes of oxygen if needed.
The portable tanks are more reliable, and are less expensive than concentrators.
It is good to have a back-up tank if you are in an isolated locale.
Insurance and Medicare cover this treatment as long as requirements are documented by the physician.

[Goofproof]

Many times if you need Oxygen you also have trouble moving about a portable Oxygen generator requires a built in battery set. They are also shorter in life span than house units, making them more costly in the long run.

If cost wasn't a factor, some home systems can refill tanks at home. Many portables use pulse O2, not suitable for XPAP. it comes down to your needs and your money. Jim

[prairiewoman]

Thanks for the responses. I only use at sleep and with so much travel am trying to figure out how to manage it. Thanks again. Welcome any other feedback.

Anyone use a portable??

[Goofproof]

I would do all night pulse ox montoring, to see how critical your needs are.

I use the concentrator with my XPAP, but do not have a serious problem not using it. For me not having it while traveling wouldn't be a problem, dragging it around would BE the problem. I don't use O2 in the day, unless I am distress. Jim

[ecedward]

asking,
are you interested in getting a portabale oxygen concentrator because there are many that you can use while you're sleeping, and some such as the Inogen One G2 have sensors that will detect while you are sleeping and taking shallower breaths

hope this helps!

[SleepWellCPAP]

Accomodating for traveling oxygen needs can be quite challenging indeed.

Unless you have your own Lear jet and concierge staff, it usually means either prearranging a concentrator at each of your destinations or taking a portable one with you. Keep in mind, only a concentrator that offers continous flow will work when bled into an xPAP circuit. If it were me, I would suggest the Eclipse by Sequal. That one is now in its third or fourth generation and seems to be pretty reliable.

Regarding tanks, I suppose you could have them delivered where you are going, however there again, unless you have a personal aircraft, you won't be able to fly with them. Another thing about tanks is that they would have to be refilled and most will only go 8 hours if set to a very low liter flow.

Jim has a good suggestion about the overnight oximetry to determine how much you actually desat. If your sat doesn't go too low, maybe your doctor would be okay with you leaving the oxy behind on trips.

Good luck! Whatever you decide, make sure to keep a current copy of your Rx in case you need to rent something.

[prairiewoman]

Thanks so much for your responses.

I just went through the overnight oxymeter testing and the doc called yesterday to say I drop to 84 oxygen sats 88 times and i must immediately add oxygen. They delivered it at 8:30 p last night. This morning, for the first time in my adult life that I can remember, I woke up and got right out of bed instead of forcing myself to get out of bed. With just one night of this, can't say for sure where it is going but sure felt good today.

I see the doc on Friday to discuss all this.

The equipment they brought is huge and I travel a lot. The nurse who brought it suggested I may need a portable concentrator. And she did note (thanks for the reminder) that it must be continuous flow.

I so appreciate your feedback and welcome it. Thanks.

[medicalrepairguy]

There is a couple portable concentrators made by Respironics. They are called SimplyGo and Evergo. One thing to keep in mind, if you travel by plane, you must have a FAA approved portable concentrator. The Sequal Eclipse is also a good one.

[jacob374]

I suppose you could have them delivered where you are going, however there again, unless you have a personal aircraft, you won't be able to fly with them. Another thing about tanks is that they would have to be refilled and most will only go 8 hours if set to a very low liter flow. Regarding tanks,

[Perez Turner]

This is good option for me to access Portable Oxygen Concentrators. Thanks for delivering to this unique information and guidelines to access this service.

[Ptastic]

I have no use for Oxygen Concentrators. But thank you for the information.

[PAPRRT]

I just went through the overnight oxymeter testing and the doc called yesterday to say I drop to 84 oxygen sats 88 times and i must immediately add oxygen. They delivered it at 8:30 p last night. This morning, for the first time in my adult life that I can remember, I woke up and got right out of bed instead of forcing myself to get out of bed. With just one night of this, can't say for sure where it is going but sure felt good today.

Based on this info i would question the physicians decision to add O2. Is this a Sleep Physician you saw? The number of desaturation events you had would suggest it is related to your sleep disordered breathing as opposed to some underlying lung disease you may have. You did not say if he downloaded your PAP machine or not. You probably would benefit by going back in for a retitration if the download is inconlusive. You may just need an increase in your pressure but a certain percentage of patients start having central apneas when they are placed on PAP which would cause desaturations similar to what your test showed (aka Complex Sleep Apnea). If thats the case you would need to be put on a different type of advanced PAP like device (ie:AutoSV, VPAP Adapt) that would treat this condition. O2 would not resolve the issue you are having.

That being said, if you legitamately do have a need for O2 to be bled into your PAP at night and want the freedom to travel your best option would be a Portable Oxygen Concentrator (POC) but your O2 liter flow would have to be 3 lpm or less. You would need a POC that has a continuous flow option. Pulse dose only POCs will not work for PAP. Respironics Simply Go is a POC that has a continuous flow option that goes up to 2lpm. The OxLife by O2 Concepts has a continuous flow option that goes up to 3lpm. Unfortunately these devices are quite expensive compared to a standard concentrator. Unfortunately you may be at the mercy of your O2 provider and might have to shop around. Medicare and most major insurances do not pay extra for POCs. They pay a monthly rate for O2 regardless of what system you are on (give or take a few bucks). Many (most) DME companies probably wont be willing to provide you with one of these devices so you may end up buying one on your own. FYI do not get a Sequal Eclipse. It is historically a POC with a terrible rate of malfunction and with serious battery life issues.

I would start with a trip to a Sleep Dr though.

[hueyville]

Off machine i desat into mid 80's. As we worked in lab and home my desats go into high 80's very occasionally but low 90's regular. My first indication of having apnea was from high altitude climbing partners. All stop sharing tent saying too worrysome sleep next to someone who stops breathing and when restarts snores like train going by. Finally got so bad unable sleep at all above 16,000 feet. I would either have stay awake at high camp or go low, take a nap, then come back up to meet team for rest of climb. It eventually stopped all peak attempts over 18,000 ft. Even though wife complained about my apnea symptoms for years even at sea level I never put two and two together. Finally approached a doctor that is also a climber with my sleep issues. He immediately diagnosed me and the lab trip was just a formality to confirm. Apnea so bad now that even untreated at home altitude of 1,250 feet wake up so tired hard to even go to work. In ignorance thought would be an easy work around.

Bought some really light and strong oxygen bottles from a Russian source that sells crom their military aviation ans space program. Figure tote a couple up the mountain for sleeping just at high camp. Did not work as apnea so bad just the oxygen not enough to overcome especially up high. Now I am relegated to only climbing up to 14,000 feet when camps are below 10,000 but still so hard on me I am now on the "injured reserve" list until a work around can be found. Getting enough batteries and oxygen, along with bipap machine up to altitude is basically a no go without significant outlay of resources. My 50th birthday (last February) was supposed to be on the summit of Everest. While most use oxygen climbing the upper part of the mountain my needs when calculated were unattainable. I would have to sleep on oxygen at base camp and everyone to the summitt. That is a months worth of the valuable commodity at nigbts as opposed to a few days for most climbers. My entire life (not counting God and wife) was planned on saving the money and being able to take the time to take 4 to 6 trips to Himalayas from age 50 to 56. Then one little 20 foot fall onto my hard head changed it all. My minor obstructive apnea had ignored for decades was complicated by massive numbers of central apnea events. Now I just have a very few years to try and develop a system then into the mountains or tbe past 33 years of climbing and training toward a very specific goal is a wash. I know that has to sound like a whole lot of whining and it is. I see folks at my spinal surgeon in wheelchairs, bedridden in the retirement home I do volunteer work.

So all the people with real problems and even me with a trashed back, neck and now real life threatening apnea and all I do many days is look at all my photos from the Rockies, Cascades, Alps, Andes along with many more crying in my milk over the ones that are getting away rather than treasure the ones in the log book. I work in the battery business and short of classified battery tech the military may have cannot find a solution to my unique travel requirements. It would take over a million dollars to hire most of the Himalayan sherpas just to get one mans equipment in place. That much effort even if I had the cash seems like it would be a logistics experiment instead of a limbing trip.