Friday 31st May - My Oxygenated Life

 A month, nearly, has passed since my last post in this series.

Where to begin?

I had a rather bruising assessment for the pulmonary rehab course back in the middle of the month where I was told in no uncertain terms Not to use any oxygen support that had not been specifically prescribed, and not to use any oxygen equipment not specifically supplied by the NHS.So, that left me in quite  quandary, as the portable concentrators we had bought were with the knowledge and approval of the medical specialists I see regularly every six months. Their advice regarding using oxygen suppot had been far more relaxed and nonspecific. Along the lines of 'you may find it helpful when you are out and about' etc.

Anyway, I thought I'd have to follow the instructions of the rehab team, and I can discuss this all when I see/zoom the specialists in June. I've also had a CT scan so that they (the specialists) can see if there are any changes to my lungs since December 2022.

Well, I was passed fit enough to do the rehab course, and suddenly 7 cylinders of oxygen were delivered, and I was told to bring one, and the carrying backpack to the first session. I've had several sessions now of an hour of exercises followed by a session on various aspects of living with COPD or PF (pulmonary fibrosis). There about 10 of us in the session, all working at our own pace. 

About seven people have COPD and three, including me, have PF  and I'm the only one using oxygen.  I've already learned that the management of the two conditions, and optimal breathing patterns, have a number of important differences which is most helpful to know.

I'm already seeing the benefits of the exercises, and a combination of these sessions plus  recovery from whatever laid me low in March, and better weather, is helping me improve.

I've followed the instructions to use only the night-time oxygen (prescribed way back in 2013) the cylinders for activity and exercise. I'm supposed to be getting about 92% for resting O2 levels on the oximeter according to three different specialists. At the moment it takes a serious effort to reach, let alone maintain this figure, but that's still better than before. I'll feel more relaxed when this figure becomes more easily achievable!