Now that I'm on supplemental O2, I see people with canisters and cannulas every time I leave the house. And quite often, people ask me about my POC, about my diagnosis, whether I was a smoker (I wasn't.) and generally whatever pops into their heads. That's ok with me. I'd rather have a conversation with someone than a sidelong stare. So that's why I decided to start this blog--to share my experience with trying to catch my second wind in the hope that it will help someone else who's struggling with an O2 prescription.
So my DH and I were at Walmart today and a lady stopped me to ask about my POC (portable oxygen concentrator). She'd just been prescribed O2 and was resisting the canisters and home fill paraphernalia. I knew exactly how she felt. When my oxygen provider wheeled in that big, loud, ugly monstrosity and expected me to refill those heavy O2 canisters, I wanted to cry. The machine made me feel old (I'm only 59) and tied to the end of that long green tube in my own home. My world suddenly seemed very small and I was so not ready for it to implode like that.
Then I started looking at portable oxygen concentrators. They pull air through a filtration system, toss out everything but the O2 and deliver a puff of the good stuff each time the user takes a breath. That sounded good to me, but I wondered if I'd be able to use a pulse system instead of a continuous flow. Fortunately, I was able to and then the only decision was which POC to buy. (Since my husband is retiring soon, like this week, it was important to me to own my system instead of having insurance pay for me to rent one.)
I'm done feeling sad about my need for extra O2. It's like any other maintenance medication, like insulin for a diabetic, or blood pressure meds to ward off a stroke, I need it to keep going.
And, please God, Herkimer and I will be going a long time.
Are you using O2 or have been prescribed it, but are resisting? Please share.
