Treatment Options

John — Oxygen at night helps me in the morning

A couple years ago I wasn't getting enough air at night. Read More  Read More  I didn't have apnea, but I just wasn't breathing deeply enough and I wasn't getting as much oxygen into the bloodstream, which made me tired in the morning. So I am currently on oxygen at night. And that helps a lot. It's much, much easier for me to get up and get going in the morning. Close  Close 

Ron — It's not as extreme as you think

When first diagnosed, I panicked. I was emotional. Read More  Read More  I had this vision of carrying an oxygen tank or pulling an oxygen tank everywhere I went. It's not necessarily that extreme.

I use my oxygen when I'm at the gym doing my aerobic exercise. I have an oximeter which will measure the percentage of my blood that is carrying oxygen. I sleep with what is called a concentrator which is more or less like an air compressor that just gives you more of a forced flow of air containing the oxygen. I put it in my dining room. I have a 25-foot air supply tube and then a 7-foot cannula tube and to tell you the truth now I'm more uncomfortable sleeping without it than I was when I first started sleeping with it. You get used to it. Close  Close 

Janet — If you can't breathe, nothing else matters

When you have COPD, it's scary sometimes when you're not getting enough oxygen. Read More  Read More  I take it at night and sometimes I crank it up if I'm extremely busy around the apartment cleaning and washing dishes and making the bed. My doctor gives me the autonomy to make that decision. I have purchased an oximeter so that I can check my own saturation levels and have become very familiar with all of my equipment. If something is wrong with the equipment, I know it right away.

I was slightly embarrassed the first few times I went out. People can be nice or they can be rude, and I've had people walk up to me and say, "Do you have to wear that all the time?" Yes. You know, it's just one of those things, but you do get used to it. When you have COPD, sometimes you can't breathe really well. And if you can't breathe, nothing else matters. It's a way of life.

The Pulmonary Support Group that I'm a member of has a travel agency. Every year, they have what they call the "oxygen cruise" and they borrow wheelchairs. They borrow nebulizers. They borrow concentrators, oxygen concentrators, and they store all this stuff in storage units for about a week. They hire a truck, haul it down to New York, to the docks. The stevedores load it onto the ship and off we go on the "oxygen cruise." Close  Close 

Corazetter — This is how I'm going to live

When I was first diagnosed and had to bring oxygen home, I said, no, I'm not going to do it. Read More  Read More  I was embarrassed to be seen out with it. A lot of times I would fill it up, take it with me, and leave it in the car. I wouldn't care, I wouldn't put it on. I told myself I didn't need it. But I did. Eventually, I would put it on, but still trying to be in the closet with it. After a point I would be around people and have it on, and they would look at me strangely. They would ask me, "What are you doing with that oxygen?" It's so funny. But I came to the realization that this is how I'm going to live. And so now I'm not ashamed of it, and no one else needs to be ashamed of me with it.

A therapist at the hospital told me early on, "It's best to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it." And she was right, because early on I didn't need it 24/7, but as it's progressed, I do need it 24/7. I can go maybe an hour without it on as long as I'm sitting still. But when I move about, I have to have it on. It's just become a part of me. I call it my other lung. This is my other lung.

Note: Store your oxygen according to instructions provided with the equipment. Close  Close