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CPAP use for Coronavirus mitigation & severe pneumonia
RE: CPAP use for Coronavirus mitigation & severe pneumonia
I'm new to the forum and new to CPAP, so I won't give an opinion since I'm still in the learning curve, except to say, from a "joke" floating around that my OTHER life experience(s) say is on point. If y'all don't appreciate it, you can certainly, without prejudice, remove it.

The joke that expresses my opinion AND life experience with 3 different cancers and COPD from 50 years smoking that ended 13 years ago, is:

"If you believe this is going to be over in a couple weeks, a month at most, raise your hand."


"Now slap yourself and come back to reality."

My small county now has 99 (or more, I haven't checked today) confirmed "cases", real people infected and fighting for their lives or, at least 1 that, sadly, lost their fight by the time I'm typing this. I've been self isolating for more than 3 weeks because I believed I recognized where this was headed, and to try to be here for the birth of my newest granddaughter I HAD to be more intelligent than I've exhibited most of the rest of my prior time on this planet.

No matter where you live, please take care of yourself and wear some kind of dense face mask and nitrile or at least vinyl gloves any time you leave your own SANITIZED, and maintained so, home, and spray ANYTHING with some kind of sanitizing materials, at least 70% isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol or proven effective disinfectant spray BEFORE you allow it into your home. Packages, mail, food anything. Then wash the food thoroughly to remove the disinfectant and make it edible. We have NO idea if any of those things have been touched or sneezed on or coughed on by an infected individual so we HAVE to protect ourselves and all those around us to the BEST of our abilities, because until a PROVEN effective vaccine and treatment is developed, we ARE in it for the long haul. We all have the tendency to get complacent and go back to our old ways and actions, and when we do because this has slowed to the point it looks over, this will balloon all over again. Just read up on the Spanish Flu of 1918 and beyond.  No scare tactics here. Just almost 80 years experience asking for understanding of what is really happening around us in 2020.

Again, if this is inappropriate or just plain stupid, remove it as you wish.

All my best to you all,

OldHeart
RE: CPAP use for Coronavirus mitigation & severe pneumonia
Hi OldHeart,
Welcome to Apnea Board!

And thank you for your down to earth, common sense thoughts. Not inappropriate or stupid at all, and I agree with you.

I doubt this will be over in a few weeks. It may slow down a bit, and the government will manage to skew the numbers to have you believe that, but we have to be smarter and change the way we do things, or this virus will surely come back.

And your correct, this is no time for complacency. We will be forever changed by this, and maybe that's not a bad thing.

All I know is this... should I be unfortunate to come down this with this virus, I will do everything in my power not to be admitted to a hospital. Especially if your older, and the hospitals are overcrowded and overwhelmed, your not likely to be a priority. And if you do get put on a ventilator, well a good percentage of those folk (including younger ones) don't ever come off that. They simply die.

There is some discussion out there that the ventilator might not be the best option, but possibly just adding oxygen could be more helpful. For those that self treat at home, it might be prudent to talk to your doctor about adding oxygen to your cpap therapy.

Not my intent to scare anyone, but there isn't time for complacency. Try to adapt a plan to care for yourself and your family at home if the need arises.
OpalRose
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www.apneaboard.com

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INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE.  ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA.  INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
RE: CPAP use for Coronavirus mitigation & severe pneumonia
Thanks!!

Absotively and Posilutely, FAMILY FIRST, then, MAYBE, us.

The ONLY way I might come through this is by My LORD and SAVIOR'S Will and Favor. I really want to see and hold my Granddaughter, but I will be happy if My LORD allows me be with Him and my wife and daughter.

Praying His Blessings Shower You and ALL yours.

Smile Wink Big Grin
RE: CPAP use for Coronavirus mitigation & severe pneumonia
Hi,

I'm new to this forum, I find this thread particularly relevant in the current circumstances. Here is something I have generally learnt over the years;

- to improve PaO2 (saturation) - increase the EPAP on your machine

- to reduce CO2 buildup - increase the Pressure support (PS), where PS = IPAP minus EPAP

For example if you have a restrictive lung condition for which you are prescribed a EPAP=4 / IPAP=14, i.e. PS=10 and ,

a- you are saturating less than 88% awake and are also a CO2 retainer, then try gradually increasing the EPAP while keeping the same PS=10.

The saturation can easily be established with pulse oximetry, however at home CO2 levels cannot be monitored while you try pressure setting changes. At least where we are at home transcutaneous CO2 monitoring (not ABG) is not a cheap option yet.

How does one monitor the PCO2 , when the respiration dynamics in acute infections change very quickly ?


IMPORTANT: Just a carer for a patient who uses a BiLevel machine while sleeping. I am not medically trained, whatever I write here is just information I have gathered over the years. Nothing written here by me should be considered as clinical advice.
RE: CPAP use for Coronavirus mitigation & severe pneumonia
GREAT RESPONSE!!! You put in words what many of us are thinking but some on this thread seem to be sniggering at. We are only talking about worst case, "ditch medicine" here. If I can I will take myself or a loved one to the hospital. If that's not possible then what is plan B, C,D etc. 

Thanks
RE: CPAP use for Coronavirus mitigation & severe pneumonia
How useful are CPAP machines during a ventilator shortage? 
- an analysis by PolitiFact, which is part of the 501©(3) nonprofit Poynter Institute on using a CPAP and BiPAP

https://www.politifact.com/article/2020/...lator-sho/

The most important step is to retrofit CPAPs so that they filter out viruses before they exit the machine. The necessary filters can cost as little as $3 or $4. "It’s not a big piece of equipment," Kryger (a professor of pulmonary medicine and a clinical professor of nursing at the Yale School of Medicine) said, but the fixes need to be done by a respiratory therapist or doctor. "Someone should not fool around with their CPAP," he said.

If a BIPAP machine is modified to filter out viruses, it can hold a patient who isn’t facing a severe case, at least for a couple of days — possibly enough for a ventilator to become available, if needed, James Finigan, a pulmonology and critical-care specialist at National Jewish Health in Denver, told Kaiser Health News.

Ultimately, for a patient with mild sleep apnea and coronavirus symptoms, Kryger said, it might be better not to be on the CPAP until they’ve recovered. "You will have trouble sleeping anyway, and the CPAP may not help," he said.
RE: CPAP use for Coronavirus mitigation & severe pneumonia
I find it odd that the CPAP would be less effective than BPAP. We are supposed to be talking last resort solutions I thought.

Suddenly the ability to have inhale and exhale pressures are a good thing from a doctor representing the "You have apnea of any kind. Here's a CPAP. It'll fix everything as long as you don't adjust it yourself. You are not even qualified to add a simple filter to it. Don't fool with it or you may blow out a lung." type of pulmonary doctor.

The same type of doctor that can almost never see Complex Apnea in a patient with 124 CA to 24 OA...here's a CPAP on 20. Make sure you bring your CPAP in for water and filter changes every 30 apneas.

No hard feelings JohnAP, no cynicism was meant to hit you. I was just indirectly launching stuff at
Ducktor Saylotsn Dolittle.

Coffee
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
RE: CPAP use for Coronavirus mitigation & severe pneumonia
My sleep specialist wouldn't know one end of a CPAP machine from the other and I seriously question the competency of the respiratory therapists at the two DMEs I have used.
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INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEB SITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.

RE: CPAP use for Coronavirus mitigation & severe pneumonia
like
INFORMATION ON APNEA BOARD FORUMS OR ON APNEABOARD.COM SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED MEDICAL ADVICE. ALWAYS SEEK THE ADVICE OF A PHYSICIAN BEFORE SEEKING TREATMENT FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING SLEEP APNEA. INFORMATION POSTED ON THE APNEA BOARD WEBSITE AND FORUMS ARE PERSONAL OPINION ONLY AND NOT NECESSARILY A STATEMENT OF FACT.
RE: CPAP use for Coronavirus mitigation & severe pneumonia
Survival rates for those unfortunate enough to be placed on a ventilator make grim reading and this might explain why. If correct, it might also contraindicate CPAP for treating C-19:

http://joannenova.com.au/2020/04/urgent-...nt-2309382


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