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"Normal" O2
- Thread starter ladybug
- Start date
I am a nurse who has a husband with CF. Medically, anything below 92% for more than 2-4 minutes is time for 02. Reason being, the sp02 level is "the amount of oxygen saturation reaching the brain". If you are recieving less oxygen than 92%, your brain is being deprived of much needed oxygen, in extreme cases causing Brain Damage. Now, there is a downside because too much 02 for too long can cause problems as well such as dependency, withdrawl (when taken off) that can be sever, drying out of the nose (discomfort). I say, start SMALL and only keep it till the 02 comes back up to 94-95. Take it off and see if the body can maintain that level on it's own.
in regards to what is written above....
that may be the "standard" levels at which it is time for oxygen, but people with cf are a bit more flexible and difficult to catagorise! (as they are with everything!! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0">)
i have friends whos sats were down in the 60s before they started using O2 regularly. i am definitely not saying wait till then BUT pwcf can often cope with lower sats than normal people. signs for needing O2 in the day are lots of fatigue, headaches, breathlessness and low sats. however if your sats are above 90 i wouldnt say that you automatically need oxygen. its important to take the other signs into consideration <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
that may be the "standard" levels at which it is time for oxygen, but people with cf are a bit more flexible and difficult to catagorise! (as they are with everything!! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0">)
i have friends whos sats were down in the 60s before they started using O2 regularly. i am definitely not saying wait till then BUT pwcf can often cope with lower sats than normal people. signs for needing O2 in the day are lots of fatigue, headaches, breathlessness and low sats. however if your sats are above 90 i wouldnt say that you automatically need oxygen. its important to take the other signs into consideration <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
to the nurse whose husband has cf:
Can you point me in the direction to get more info on 02 dependency and withdrawal? From what I understand, that's just a myth... if you need 02 to keep your sats above 90, you need 02. The only drawback from any 02 that I'm aware of is the buildup of carbon dioxide in the blood. Thanks in advance, take care.
-Rich
Can you point me in the direction to get more info on 02 dependency and withdrawal? From what I understand, that's just a myth... if you need 02 to keep your sats above 90, you need 02. The only drawback from any 02 that I'm aware of is the buildup of carbon dioxide in the blood. Thanks in advance, take care.
-Rich
First I would suggest talking to a CF doctor about the oxygen dependency. Then, you can do your own research like webmd.com and put in things like "oxygen dependency" into a google or MSN search engine. Yes, people with CF can tolorate a plethora of different things that the "healthy" person, but by the time people reach 02 levels of 60%, that is a sign that the body is starting to shut down. You should NEVER wait that long.
Julie
Julie
Thanks for the suggestions Julie. I've asked my doc and was told that's a myth. I had already googled 'oxygen dependency' and variations there of- including everything with 'withdrawal' in it- and came up with nothing. I've heard this before, about 02 dependancy and withdrawal, and have never been able to find anything to substantiate this claim... except where a patient is a C02 retainer. Any other ideas? Thanks-
-Rich
-Rich
Thanks for the suggestions Julie. I've asked my doc and was told that's a myth. I had already googled 'oxygen dependency' and variations there of- including everything with 'withdrawal' in it- and came up with nothing. I've heard this before, about 02 dependancy and withdrawal, and have never been able to find anything to substantiate this claim... except where a patient is a C02 retainer. Any other ideas? Thanks-
-Rich
-Rich
I will talk to my husbands doctor at the hospital where I work and get back to you. I think its one of those things that might be left up to judgement as well, it's just that on my floor at the hospital we do ALL we can to keep patients off 02 as long as possible and once they do need it we recheck their sp02 leveles ever 1/2 hr. And we do have CF inpatients on my floor. once they have been above 92-94% for 1 hour, we take them off the 02 and keep a pulse ox (monitors 02) on them for 15-30 minutes to make sure their body maintains the oxygen level. There seems to be a lot of difference of opinion between doctors-funny how that goes. But think about sleep pills and stuff, some people and doctors think they are addictive and people who use them usually don't go back to being able to sleep without them. And then theres the opinion that they really truly help people and thats why once they are used people usually continue to use them. I don't think either answer is wrong, just seems to depend on the person. But it's always better to use the least amount of 02 for the shortest amount of time possible. And if you do need to do that, get the water that can hook up to the nasal cannual because the 02 can be drying and sometimes painful to the nose. But, I will talk to my husbands CF doc and see what he says concisely about the issue.
Julie
Julie
I will talk to my husbands doctor at the hospital where I work and get back to you. I think its one of those things that might be left up to judgement as well, it's just that on my floor at the hospital we do ALL we can to keep patients off 02 as long as possible and once they do need it we recheck their sp02 leveles ever 1/2 hr. And we do have CF inpatients on my floor. once they have been above 92-94% for 1 hour, we take them off the 02 and keep a pulse ox (monitors 02) on them for 15-30 minutes to make sure their body maintains the oxygen level. There seems to be a lot of difference of opinion between doctors-funny how that goes. But think about sleep pills and stuff, some people and doctors think they are addictive and people who use them usually don't go back to being able to sleep without them. And then theres the opinion that they really truly help people and thats why once they are used people usually continue to use them. I don't think either answer is wrong, just seems to depend on the person. But it's always better to use the least amount of 02 for the shortest amount of time possible. And if you do need to do that, get the water that can hook up to the nasal cannual because the 02 can be drying and sometimes painful to the nose. But, I will talk to my husbands CF doc and see what he says concisely about the issue.
Julie
Julie
I read about a little girl that had got a lung transplant (tx) and initially, she had quite a bit of anxiety about NOT being on 02, but got over it, but this makes me think that it could be a psychological dependency. Is this the type of dependency you were referring to (psychological)?
I read about a little girl that had got a lung transplant (tx) and initially, she had quite a bit of anxiety about NOT being on 02, but got over it, but this makes me think that it could be a psychological dependency. Is this the type of dependency you were referring to (psychological)?
Sometimes that is the case, and that is really hard to diagnose. Wether it is medically necessary or psychologically necessary. Kind of like how I listed above. People get it in their minds that they can't sleep without the sleeping pills. Who can really determine if that is a medical or Psych. need? It's a tough one, but ultimately the less 02 you can give for the levels to stay up, and for the least amount of time is going to be more beficial from both aspects.
Julie
Julie
Sometimes that is the case, and that is really hard to diagnose. Wether it is medically necessary or psychologically necessary. Kind of like how I listed above. People get it in their minds that they can't sleep without the sleeping pills. Who can really determine if that is a medical or Psych. need? It's a tough one, but ultimately the less 02 you can give for the levels to stay up, and for the least amount of time is going to be more beficial from both aspects.
Julie
Julie
the less is better, but sometimes the person just needs it to feel better (all the time) i'd rather have to be on O2 and feel good, than feel like crap all the time
my normal pulse ox is around 97-98 w/out O2, my brothers was at 78 when he went into the hospital (he wont be home till the begining of November <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0"> ) and now he's at 92 with O2 and feels/looks so much better!! (he's also on 3 liters, which they are trying to lower each day)...
just wanted to put my $.02 in...
my normal pulse ox is around 97-98 w/out O2, my brothers was at 78 when he went into the hospital (he wont be home till the begining of November <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0"> ) and now he's at 92 with O2 and feels/looks so much better!! (he's also on 3 liters, which they are trying to lower each day)...
just wanted to put my $.02 in...
the less is better, but sometimes the person just needs it to feel better (all the time) i'd rather have to be on O2 and feel good, than feel like crap all the time
my normal pulse ox is around 97-98 w/out O2, my brothers was at 78 when he went into the hospital (he wont be home till the begining of November <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0"> ) and now he's at 92 with O2 and feels/looks so much better!! (he's also on 3 liters, which they are trying to lower each day)...
just wanted to put my $.02 in...
my normal pulse ox is around 97-98 w/out O2, my brothers was at 78 when he went into the hospital (he wont be home till the begining of November <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif" border="0"> ) and now he's at 92 with O2 and feels/looks so much better!! (he's also on 3 liters, which they are trying to lower each day)...
just wanted to put my $.02 in...