Title: My first O2 experience at home
Post by dockwolk on May 22nd, 2010 at 9:20am
It's Monday morning at work. I'm a little shaky, tougher than normal to write or I miss a double click, but I know that's from the lithium and bp meds. It's OK.
I dial up my insurance company and have a live person in less than a minute. Wow. I need to know if an oxygen tank, NRB mask, and regulator are covered under my plan. He says, "sir, I need some kind of number, a code". I smile and pull out my Batch files......yes, the HCPCS code is E0424. A minute later and I learn I'm covered. That was to easy, is it really Monday?
I sneak out of work and 25 minutes later I'm at my doctors, unannounced. I leave with a prescription for O2, an NRB, and a regulator for 25lpm. But they didn't know of an oxygen supply company. That struck me as odd.
Back at work I find a supplier and fax the prescription. They don't carry 25lpm regulators, so I tell them I'll take a 15lpm. Nope, the prescription says 25. I work out the logistics, 1/2 a day. I call them up and talk to Stephanie and tell her I have an easier time buying dope than oxygen......she ask me how much it would cost her....let me talk to a tech. The tech gets on the line, Mr. Wolk you don't need a 25lpm, a 15 will work, you can't breath that fast, deep, you won't know the difference, we can't get them, blah, blah, blah. Wednesday the O2 was delivered(with a 15lpm).
It's Friday, I haven't had a headache in a week, but I took my last dexamethasone(after 14 days) on Wednesday and I know 2 days after I stop them IT will come back. I can't stop eating, my taste buds are just about nonexistent, and I'm holding the refill. Maybe my cycles over(I know it's not, I'm never 5 weeks).
I pass on the steroids, I'm still pissed off I was in the ER last week.
I get on the computer. Rhino regulator 0-25lpm from someone, $225.00. I check ebay, same one $100.00. That's good to know.
10:30 I fall asleep on the couch, 11:01 I wake up. The smallest of burning behind my eye, I'm a righty. I sit on the edge of the couch for 30 seconds and put my head belly button level and turn it slowly side to side. Still there. I go into the bedroom. It's pitch black. I open the O2 and double check the regulator is set at 15, all by feel. Mask on. I sit indian style next to the bed. Deep breath, lift mask and long exhale, hold mask on, cover holes, repeat. I'm no longer a rookie. The headache is getting stronger but way low on the pain chart. After 10 breathes I decide I need to pick up the pace and do everything faster. Another 20 and my headaches getting a little stonger. I decide to go to shorter, quicker breathes.
I'm wondering if this is going to work. I'm not nervous in the least. I'm thinking about Batch. Really.
I go back to long and deep, 3, 4, 5, 6......and then...it was like I walked through a door, and on the other side of the door there is no pain, no headache, no ghost. I stand up and reach for the regulator and turn it a couple of clicks and sit on the edge of the bed for a minute. I look at the clock. It's 11:11. Turn O2 off. Suck in that last bag and put mask back.
This steel cylinder, filled will oxygen, no r & d involved with this stuff, so primitive, basic, cheap, I wonder who the first person was that tried it. I am not giving myself high fives, I'm not smiling or laughing, I'm just sitting in the dark, content at the lowest level and relaxed, human........
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