Hello - first post. I’m the primary caregiver for my 78-year-old mother who got double whammy diagnoses of CHF and COPD in early December after having worsening shortness of breath and weakness during the fall.
After the hospital she went to rehab where Covid-19 returned and she was one of numerous people who got it.
Then she was discharged to my home again, and they said she was maintaining good levels on room air at rest, and just needed O2 on exertion.
Turns out she needed more, and for a short time after, she needed 6L and was re-hospitalized for that. Things improved and she was discharged now at 4-5 L but her saturation still drops on exertion. The doctor said at this point to go by symptoms - as long as she is not in distress, it’s not ideal but it’s OK. HOWEVER the game changer was to be The Hill Rom Life 2000 non-invasive ventilator.
Well it’s here in my house but not yet usable. The respiratory therapist first said we’d need to take the base unit/compressor, the ventilator AND a tank with us on going out. I KNEW that couldn’t be - I’d already looked at the product literature, etc.
THEN he said it was fine that while Mom was on it that she was only at 72% saturation. While sitting! Usually while sitting she is in the high 80s to low 90s, or even mid-90s on a good day. The doctor was clear - 88% to 93% is the target range.
We ended the session then as we didn’t feel safe continuing and doing a test on the stairs.
1. Is anyone successfully using this device? With COPD and de-saturation upon exerting yourself while standing?
2. Has anyone with COPD contracted COVID-19 and seen improvement in lung function after some time (even if months)?
3. HOW do you set this up? It appears that if you want to use it indoors, you have to either stay close to the ventilator while it’s attached to the compressor, or detach the ventilator and move around but know you only have a few hours before you have to put it back. The noise from this and the concentrator together make it difficult to place anywhere but my foyer! So, not sure how my mom could benefit from 24/7 use, although not really necessary at this time.
Any other comments or suggestions are welcome. I’m quite capable and my mom has her faculties but it’s been a rough few months and we are tired and don’t know what we don’t know. On Monday I’m told to expect a call from the doctor who will advise again on oxygen levels and I suppose the supplier will be in touch again to find out what we want to do. my mom wants to use this device but she wants to feel confident and safe while doing so. Thank you for reading