CPAP while in hospital for unrelated illness

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dh37
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CPAP while in hospital for unrelated illness

Post by dh37 » Fri Dec 03, 2021 7:56 am

I've been using CPAP for a few years now. I don't have a super serious case, but if I don't have it I don't feel well.

In a couple weeks it's very likely I'm going to have surgery for early-stage colon cancer. (Seems like my prognosis is very good.)

How do I use the CPAP in the hospital? I mean, sure I can hook it up and put it on, but I'll probably be out of it for awhile. (Initial recovery is apparently a few days in the hospital.) Do I need to say, "Uh, after I'm out of surgery, could you hook this up for me and start it up?" I have no idea what the protocol is here.

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Respirator99
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Re: CPAP while in hospital for unrelated illness

Post by Respirator99 » Fri Dec 03, 2021 8:50 am

Do I need to say, "Uh, after I'm out of surgery, could you hook this up for me and start it up?"
Yes, exactly so. The nurses will know what to do. Also, make sure your anaesthetist is aware you have apnea so they can monitor you for signs when you come out of the anaesthetic.

Good luck with the surgery.
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Re: CPAP while in hospital for unrelated illness

Post by D.H. » Fri Dec 03, 2021 10:07 am

Absolutely!

Do not depend on the hospital to have a machine in stock!

There is a shortage of machines now because of (1) the general issues in the supply chain, (2) many CPAP machines were repurposed to treat COVID-19 patients (thus not suitable for treating sleep Apnea), and (3) there was a major recall of CPAP machines.

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chunkyfrog
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Re: CPAP while in hospital for unrelated illness

Post by chunkyfrog » Fri Dec 03, 2021 11:38 am

If possible, have a friend or relative be there to ensure you get correctly hooked up,
and YOUR cpap does not "disappear".
I only have experience with one hospital "RT", and that person knew less
about the cpap than I--in a post-operative haze.

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Re: CPAP while in hospital for unrelated illness

Post by Bubba in NC » Sat Dec 04, 2021 2:23 am

Take your CPAP with you. I was admitted through the ER for a pulmonary embolism some time back and had my wife fetch my CPAP. They added a "Christmas tree" valve to allow the oxygen feed I was on to be integrated with my CPAP.
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Pugsy
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Re: CPAP while in hospital for unrelated illness

Post by Pugsy » Sat Dec 04, 2021 7:41 am

Don't assume that all nurses know how to hook up a cpap.
Most of the time what they do is call the RT department and don't assume they always know everything about all machines.
When Palerider was in the hospital he had to show the RT how to hook up the machine and finally ended up telling the guy to get out and he would do it himself.

Take your machine...set it up yourself and have it "ready to go" so that all you have to do is slap the mask on.
Make sure anyone who is with you (family or friend) also knows how to add water or slip the mask on you should you nod off.

While the hospital employees should know about the cpap machines....they know in theory but not always in actual real life experience.

Be prepared to DIY things.....just in case.

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Re: CPAP while in hospital for unrelated illness

Post by palerider » Sat Dec 04, 2021 8:04 am

Pugsy wrote:
Sat Dec 04, 2021 7:41 am
When Palerider was in the hospital he had to show the RT how to hook up the machine and finally ended up telling the guy to get out and he would do it himself.
It was worse than that, she came in and asked if I needed help to use my CPAP, I asked her to check the water level, she went over and looked at the S9, and asked "where does the water go?" to which I I just replied "get out".

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Re: CPAP while in hospital for unrelated illness

Post by Pugsy » Sat Dec 04, 2021 8:22 am

palerider wrote:
Sat Dec 04, 2021 8:04 am
Pugsy wrote:
Sat Dec 04, 2021 7:41 am
When Palerider was in the hospital he had to show the RT how to hook up the machine and finally ended up telling the guy to get out and he would do it himself.
It was worse than that, she came in and asked if I needed help to use my CPAP, I asked her to check the water level, she went over and looked at the S9, and asked "where does the water go?" to which I I just replied "get out".
:lol: :lol:
Pretty funny if it wasn't evidence of something really scary.

Often we as patients expect our medical care professionals to know things they simply don't know or weren't trained to do.
Are we expecting too much....I don't think so but it is what it is.

Goes back to the same old adage....no one really cares about your care more than you do and its best if we maintain control ourselves as much as possible.

Now it's not always possible to have someone with us and sometimes we just nod off without warning so we might not be able to slip the mask on....but post surgery most people will be wearing a pulse ox and it will scream bloody murder if the O2 levels drop...and either wake the person up or get a nurse in there...eventually.

So...the moral of this story...be prepared to DIY it just in case the medical care team don't know what they are doing.
DIYing it...includes maybe educating the nurse but given the slow response time of an actual nurse...I wouldn't be holding my breath.

All this pertains to once someone is back in their own room and out of the recovery room. In the recovery room they are likely to be all over a person.

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Re: CPAP while in hospital for unrelated illness

Post by chunkyfrog » Sat Dec 04, 2021 9:04 am

And note: our hospitals are under more and more stress these days.
My brother says the hospital where my sister in law works is packed--
A "perfect storm" with the poor management they have worked around for decades.

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Re: CPAP while in hospital for unrelated illness

Post by Stilltired01 » Sat Dec 04, 2021 11:04 am

I have been hospitalized quite a few times and brought my own xpap machine. However last July the RT asked me did I bring my own oxygen tubing!! I said no. But I was thing I use the 25' tubing. Why would I bring something so long and also why would they ask for that. They do have their own tubing.

Otherwise I set up my own machine although they do require the RTs to be present.

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Re: CPAP while in hospital for unrelated illness

Post by zonker » Sat Dec 04, 2021 11:50 am

as my mother used to tell me "if you want a good and faithful servant, serve yourself.".
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but that's enough about them.
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Re: CPAP while in hospital for unrelated illness

Post by dataq1 » Sat Dec 04, 2021 12:22 pm

I've wondered how patients in extended care facilities, nursing homes, dementia/Alzheimer's (mentally impaired) facilities make out with administration of PAP therapy. Does anyone have experience with their elderly loved ones in those settings?
What are the challenges for the patient and family?
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Re: CPAP while in hospital for unrelated illness

Post by PST » Sat Dec 04, 2021 1:04 pm

Best of luck with the surgery. You're right, the prognosis for early stage colon cancer is excellent, and for many patients surgery is definitive treatment with no need for chemotherapy. It's been almost 20 years since I had my colon cancer. My surgeon told me I would never miss that foot of sigmoid colon and I never have.

I spent more than thirty years as a medical malpractice lawyer, and during that time I had occasion to review thousands of case files and talked a dozen or more times a year with hospital risk managers about developments. One big change over those years was a greater focus on the dangers of sleep apnea in anesthetized or sedated patients. By the time I called it quits, the only cases I saw involving death or injury were when sleep apnea had never been diagnosed and the potential went unrecognized, something healthcare organizations were intent on solving with better pre-surgical screening. You will be repeatedly asked if you use CPAP. I don't know exactly what protocols your hospital will follow, but I can guarantee that the staff will regard CPAP as a routine patient need and will have ways of dealing with it. My own personal experience over the years (all in the same facility) was a transition from requiring me to use a hospital loaner (which was crap), to suspiciously allowing me to use my own after delay for inspection, to quick and easy recognition of my common machine.

Like Pugsy says, you can expect a major difference between what is done in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) and in your own room later. A colon resection is big surgery and it really knocks a person for a loop. This is especially true for open procedures, but laparoscopic surgery is pretty big as well. Don't expect to use your own machine in the PACU, let alone have much influence over anything. You will be groggy and drifting in and out of consciousness anyway. But you will be surrounded by staff, everything about you will be monitored electronically, including oxygen saturation and breathing rate, and nothing will go unnoticed.

If your experience is anything like mine, with this particular surgery you won't be up to the task of setting up your machine when you are finally given a room. So it will be very helpful to have someone with you to bring the CPAP machine (assuming you are not required to use hospital equipment) and to see that everything is within reach. They will still be monitoring oxygen saturation, and there will still be many tubes going in and coming out. It can be a long hospital stay, compared to most surgery, because they don't want to let you leave till you have demonstrated that there is a clear, usable path all the way through your body. Before long you will be up and walking around, pushing your IV pole and trying not to trip over the Foley tube.

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Re: CPAP while in hospital for unrelated illness

Post by chunkyfrog » Sat Dec 04, 2021 1:22 pm

As always, the best time to catch cancer is EARLY.
Your job is not over, but you took care of the really important part.
Keep on keepin' on!

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dh37
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Re: CPAP while in hospital for unrelated illness

Post by dh37 » Sat Dec 04, 2021 7:36 pm

Thank you all for the kind, informative replies!

I only pop back into this community occasionally. I have to say, the people here are among the most intelligent and kind folks I've ever encountered on the web.

Again, thanks.

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