Father with copd
Hi everyone just reaching out as my 81 year old father has COPD and is in stage 3. He has had a few hospitalisations and needed oxygen/antibiotics. He has just had another flare up due to a chest infection and the nurse/doctor has said that when sitting down his oxygen level is 89 but when walking it can go down to 86/87 and that he may now need supplementary oxygen at home. Is anyone at this stage with COPD? Not sure what advice I am looking for but just wanted to hear others stories. If so is there any things he can do to ‘slow’ things or is there nothing once you get to this stage.
Welcome! I can tell you I'm 70 with COPD, and my Dr. tells me it's not healthy for my 02 SATs to drop below 92 or 91, ever, as any time this happens, it is causing damage to internal organs. Over time, this will drastically shorten my lifespan due to that organ damage. So, I have a home oxygen concentrator and am on 3 liters per minute 24/7. This helps not only my heart and lungs but all my organs, even my eyes and brain. This is imperative! It's also standard here in the US, though I see apparently not in the UK. I don't know why the NHS has this policy, but I believe it is detrimental to patient health. Also, I'd guess your father is in Stage 4, not Stage 3, with stats like that. Your father needs to be able to have a constant resting SAT of 95-96% for best results, best organ health, and best comfort level. Period, and nothing less. 
Hi
welcome to our community! Your father is very lucky to have you in his corner! I am confident our other community members will chime in with their experience but in the meantime, I wanted to share a few articles that you might find helpful for your dad: https://copd.net/clinical/tips-staying-healthy-severe-stage, https://copd.net/clinical/home-oxygen-benefits, https://copd.net/living/coping-strategies. Also, we know being a caregiver for someone with COPD can be really hard so here are some resources for you: https://copd.net/caregiver/resources, https://copd.net/video/caregivers-stay-calm. All the best, Sam S. (team member). Thank you so much for the warm welcome and sharing links to those articles I will have a read now. Thank you
i appreciate your feedback and that is very good to know about the oxygen needed. I will definitely push for this now as you are not the only one who has mentioned this to me. In regards to your oxygen which machine do you have? And how do you find it when taking it outside? I am sorry to hear that you have been unable to get out and about due to waiting for portable oxygen. I have my fingers crossed that they will arrive soon so you wont feel so disrupted with your every day needs. Thank you again for being so kind to come back to me. It seems in the UK through our healthcare system you have had to have stopped smoking for a min of 6 months and unfortunately my father is only stopping. So we will have to wait or purchase on privately but I will still need a professional to let me know how much my father should have per day. I am investigating this at the moment to see how much the machines would cost. Wow - I did not know about that stopped-smoking rule. We don't have that here. What we do have is a rule where you have to be officially diagnosed with COPD and prescriptions written for equipment and submitted. Dang! Here the government cannot make a medical decision causing any delay or restricting treatment a doctor prescribes. They just get around it by claiming supply shortages, I guess, when they can. But I think it's safe to say there are some interesting differences in the laws, rules, and approaches/practices between here and there. I have learned some of them by watching Brit and Aussie ambulance and A & E TV shows, etc. There are a lot of small differences and a few big ones. Altogether it absolutely makes it critical to know the rules and how to deal with them to get the best results. Good luck and I hope it works out soonest.
Here a home oxygen concentrator coasts around or under $1,000 and a doctor's prescription is required to get one, along with either insurance or Medicare or Medicaid, etc. coverage. A nebulizer setup runs about $50 -also requires a prescription. I looked into buying another home concentrator (same model and I can, I just have to pay for it. If I can help with other questions, let me know. I will be glad to do so.
Hi Kindlelondon and, WELCOME ABOARD. You have certainly come to the right place as, here within our Community, we are all about all aspects of the pulmonary disease, COPD. I see my colleague,, and community member, , have already shared some ideas and links to helpful references.
I also have something to contribute. In your initial post, you mentioned the concept of slowing down the progression of COPD. There are in fact, adjustments that can be made to one's lifestyle that may help with that concept.
Please know you are always welcome here in our online community. If there is anything we can do to assist, please let me or any other moderator / team member know. We will always be happy to assist you in your dad's best interest.
Warm regards,
Leon (site moderator)
