Prayers For My Mom

[Angelika_23]

Hello All,

My mom was diagnosed with pneumonia (on top of her COPD Emphysema) last week. She refused hospitalization for a couple days until it was ridiculous, then the facility convinced her to go. She has gone downhill since hospitalization. Yesterday they started her on Bi-pap. (sp?) She called me today and it tears my heart out to hear her struggling to breathe. She couldn't stay on the phone long at all. I can't go to see her because two of my children are sick with respiratory issues right now.

Someone told me that Bi-pap is the last step before a ventilator. Is this true? I know that she has issues with CO2 retention. The doctor does not have her in ICU at this time, he said yesterday her PCO2 was 80% but it is down to 60% today. I have no clue what is normal.

Angela

[brownsea]

hi angelika

sorry i dont have any info.

hope your mum improves soon.

emma.xxxx

[delphicdragon]

Sending prayers and big hugs out to you.

I don't know much about Bi-pap and it's relationship to a ventilator, but I think it's a breathing machine like C-pap used for sleep apnea designed to get more air into the lungs.

pCO2 has normal values between 35 and 45. So, she's still retaining CO2, but not nearly as bad as yesterday. I would think the Bipap is helping.

Best wishes during this difficult time.

Sara

[firewatcher]

Sorry, no info here either, just support.

Hang in there, sweetie!

((((((((((((hug)))))))))))))))

Jennifer

[janiedelite]

Angelika, I'm sorry your mom is ill! I'm going to make an attempt to answer your questions about PaCO2 and BiPAP. Please remember that I haven't practiced nursing in several years, so it may not be totally correct. A normal PaCO2 level is 35-45. However, a person with COPD is not able to exhale all the air in their lungs properly on a regular basis. So their PaCO2 levels will be slightly higher, even when they feel "normal." CO2 is what is exhaled when we breathe. It is also our blood levels of PaCO2 that signal our brains to tell our lungs to take another breath. However, in people with COPD, they retain CO2 on a regular basis because they don't have as much alveolar surface area in their lungs (the alveoli are the little pockets in our lungs that exchange O2 and CO2). Their lungs have fewer alveoli and look more like a few large pockets instead of a bunch of little pockets or bubbles. It's harder for COPD patients to push all of the air out of those large air pockets. This is why your mom might have been taught to practice "pursed breathing."

So she might have been put on BiPAP in order to help reduce her PaCO2 levels. CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure. It constantly blows a stream of air into your airway, which sometimes makes it hard for even a normal person to exhale against. BiPAP provides intermittent airway pressure, and is signalled to blow a stream of air only when the patient takes a breath. That way, she won't have to exhale against the airflow. I didn't work much with COPD patients, but I would think that BiPAP would be optimal for them because it would allow them to exhale fully, without the air resistance that CPAP provides.

If her PaCO2 is decreasing on the BiPAP, that's a good sign. She would only be put on a ventilator if the doctors felt she didn't have enough of a respiratory effort to take breaths on her own. If a person's PaCO2 level gets too high, they can lapse into a coma-like state and not breathe properly. Sounds like your mom got help before that happened, however.

I hope she continues to make improvements. Keep us posted.

[firewatcher]

Angela,

Any improvement? How are you holding up?

Jennifer

[Angelika_23]

Thanks,

She is out of the hospital now and back in the extended care center. We are now running in circles trying to get her into assisted living while the facility isn't raising a finger to help us get the information we need.

I am getting over a virus of some sort that knocked me flat for about a week, but am feeling better now. Still tired, but improved. And, I did not have to go to the hospital! Yay!

Angela

[Maxine]

Angela, sorry I'm reading this late, and I'm replying late.

I hope things continue to improve for your mother, and her quality of life is better. It sound like a rough couple of weeks for you dealing with a virus on top of all that. Take care of yourself the best you can.

Sending you a HUG!

Maxine :0)

[Noreen]

Angela-

I am glad you are feeling better. Speaking from experience, though, now would be the time to overdo because we feel fine and we have things to do. Try to keep yourself in mind - remember oxygen first! (like on airplanes).

If you haven't had luck contacting a social worker at the place your mom is at currently, try calling the state health dept. Ohio State Health Dept Nursing Assisted Living Programs. They should be able to give you a few in your area and, if you are feeling grumpy, you can complain about the facility not helping you with discharge planning for your mother by providing you with a list.

Glad there is some good news and I hope you take care of yourself.

Noreen