Oxygen at home, is this possible?

[MuGGGhoulWump]

I'm really struggling with my asthma.
I'm on steroids since Wednesday, but seem to be getting worse.
I am about to call and request a visit from GP but I know the next step is hospital, and I'm terrified of it and I have no one at all to have DD, she'll have to go into care.
We packed bags last night incase of needing to call 999.
I'm ok just sitting, but can't manage much else.
Can they give me oxygen at home?

I'm feeling a bit better today and mu peak flow is up at 160, was 120 yesterday so going in the right direction.
Medication won't have kicked in yet so hopefully will feel even better when it does.
I'm struggling to eat though, which shouldn't be the case given the pred but is. I had a marmite rice cake and a banana yesterday

I'm wishing I hadn't told my boss now as she won't let me work this week I bet even if I feel OK!

YOu need the rest! Glad you are feeling a bit better - but call for help if things dip again. Don't be a hero

Thanks Pixie.
The doctor seemed rather concerned by it.

I am feeling ok, stable and managing.

My boss has been round and has reassured me, and DD that DD can go there at least short term so we both feel much better about it.
She is truly a lovely woman, I couldn't hope for a better boss or friend, even though she does nag me to death.

I'll ask the GP on Monday what the future holds. This is all so new to me, I didn't think it would happen again after last time but now he's diagnosed brittle asthma I have no idea.

I'm taking so many drugs I could run my own chemists and would rattle if I jumped up and down!

Good to see your boss could look after dd. - I remember your fears for dd last time- something I can fully identify with as dh is often away. Are you seeing an asthma/respiratory specialist yet Mugggle? ( sorry if I have missed this). It took a year from my discharge to get a clinic appointment (and I had to get gp to chase)but life is more predictable now. Perhaps you could discuss referral to an asthma specialist with your gp?
I asked about home O2 (because I wanted to get out of HDU to look after ds) but they said they would be very reluctant firstly because it took at least a week to set up home O2 and they could monitor far better in hospital.
Hope you are feeling better soon.

Thanks Magso.
I'm not due to see the specialist till next month, and I'm not a fan of his.
All he does is tell me I have a fat face, tell me to keep on with the medication, then laughs
Really. I don't get him at all.

Knowing DD doesn't have to go into care has taken a huge weight off my shoulders, and I've also made sure no one will call my family. I don't want them contacted.

I'm back at the GP on Monday morning, I'll be asking about my prognosis, and asking if I can have a script for steroids to keep at home.

Right now I'm improving, and managing.

Good you are feeling a bit better- always seems to take a few days for the pred to help. Good idea to keep a script at home.

Gah, I'm just back from GP again.

I'm getting worse and he's making noises about me being admitted, but I don't want to. I'm OK if I do nothing, and I'd rather do nothing than go to hospital.
He's calling at lunchtime tomorrow with some sort of plan as to find out what's wrong and what can be done about it.
I'll go in to be assessed, and I'll be admitted, but I'm not going now to sit there all night.

unfortunately i think the NHS will not supply nebulisers,(but they will supply the nebules)you have to buy your own. But if you need oxygen on a regular basis,surely your consultant could ask your gp to arrange it.

you need to find a local chemist that deals with oxygen and get a prescription with O2 cylinder and giving set(which is the mask and tubing)

I asked again today and he said no, it just won't happen.

I know he wants me to go to hospital, and I won't unless I really have to, so I'm basically confined to the house sitting doing nothing until Monday, when I will go in.

maybe you should go to hospital rather than suffering. have you not got a kind neighbour

Hospital will just give me oxygen, and I can manage without. After all I'll just be sitting in hospital too and I'd rather do that at home.

I do understand it's serious and I can be observed in hospital but I'm only an hour away (20 mins to get paramedics here), and when I was in there last it took almost that to get their attention!

They need to do X-Rays and tests to find out what's going to make it manageable, but they can't really get results until Monday so I'll sit there all weekend with no more drugs than I have at home, except for the bloody oxygen that I don't need if I sit still!.

I know it's an odd situation, and I'm sure I'd feel differently if I had a partner, but I don't. No one spoke for me in hospital last time so I'm scared of it, and though my boss will have DD, I hate relying on people who are not responsible for her.

I am prepared to go in on Monday, but not to sit twiddling my thumbs in there for days whilst they do nothing.

I know you want to manage this yourself and you are doing fine so far BUT if things get worse you MUST go in before Monday. Dd will be ok with that.

Well unless I get dramatically better over the weekend, I'm being admitted on Monday.
I don't want to be, but know it's necessary.
It's a different hospital from last time too so hopefully better, and i've made arrangements with friends to have DD and to visit me with edible food/trashy magazines.

The Doctor isn't happy that I'm refusing to go now, but I don't want to until I know they are going to do something.
Also I want to watch X-Factor tomorrow[hgrin]

I'm under strict instructions to dial 999 if I get any worse which I will do.

Please please please go to the hospital, i know how serious this is.I lost my sister because of this awful asthma so please go as soon as you need to .dont put it off

Sorry about your sister MQoPFaG

There really isn't anything they will do in hospital now other than give me oxygen.
I'm taking all the drugs I can.

Unless I actually need the oxygen, or to be ventilated I am OK at home.

I do want them to get to the bottom of this, and it's for that reason I'll go in on Monday and stay as long as I need, what I don't want is to go in for them to do what can be done at home, and I have made this clear to my GP.

Do be careful,obviously you know your own body.I hope you improve over the weekend and have no need to go into hospital.

I found this,so if it is up to date it is possible to have oxygen at home,I know my mil had it,it was delivered in a taxi from the local branch of Boots but that was 15 years ago so things may have changed,

Hope you feel better soon and get some answers next week.

Thanks Bubbles, that's helpful.
What the GP said the other day is that the respiratory specialist would have to agree to it, and he is the one who wouldn't agree to me having a nebuliser, so I can't see him agreeing to home oxygen.
I will fight for it if I need to.
Right now I'm just concentrating on being at home until Monday, then I'll see what happens when I get out of hospital.
It looks like I'm going to lose my job so I need to look into finances too once I'm home again.

Just popping in to see how you are ?

I'm home!

I went in on Monday and was transferred to a respiratory ward at another hospital on Tuesday.
X-Rays showed one of my lungs collapsing at the top and a CT scan showed the other one is at the bottom.
I needed some oxygen, though not too much and have had my anti b's changed and inhalers fiddled with.

I'm borderline atm but they agreed to let me home as I was desperate not to spend the weekend there. I'm still under strict orders to call 999 if I worsen but I'm managing.

I'm to go in for a bronchoscopy on Wednesday. They think it's the sputum on my lungs that is causing the problems and there may be an issue with my vocal chords too.
They will be dealing with me from now on as my specialist has done nothing over the last 6 months.
I've had physio which has helped, and they were fantastic, I can't fault the treatment this time at all.

I've lost 5lbs as I have horrific thrush in my mouth but no doubt that'll go back on soon enough!

I'm feeling upbeat, glad something is being done and happy to be home.

Still Seretide, just less puffs of a stronger dose (so the same!) and flixotide which is new to me.

They took me off the nebs except for saline, as they wanted to be sure I could cope without them if I was coming home, though I have them here if I need.

They really did listen to me this time that it's the mucus that causes me the most problems, so really are investigating it.

I was also allergy tested for all sorts of things, including a fungus which is present in my lungs, but I'm not allergic to anything.
DD is pleased that she gets to keep her rats.
They've also said there is no reason for me to give up my job at this point which I'm really pleased about.

Oh, and they had TV's[hgrin]

The worst case scenario with oxygen at home is that if there's a fire, the oxygen will explode and the fire will become exponentially worse. This happened to my back to back neighbours when their granny had cancer and lived with them. They all got out but by the skin of their teeth. Your fire insurance may not cover fire and explosion damage if you have tanks in the house.

Very glad you are now under the care of better doctors.

Have they any idea how you got the thrush? That can indicate a nutritional imbalance, especially as you have fungus in your lungs too.

Am glad your home and getting sorted out, was lurking last week and kept thinking of you this week. Get lots if rest and look after yourself :)