its taken nearly two years on and off trying to get my o2 supplied and delivered on the NHS (UK)  , anyway to cut a long story short after 2 months of the worst ch's of my 17 years with them, ive finally got my o2 delivered , but would you believe it instead of a big tank of 100% oxegeon , they have sent two concentrators and 2 emergency supply cylinders of oxegeon , i have the non rebreathable masks with the bags and today ive just got rid of my first ch using the emrgency bottle at 15lpm , problem is im not suppose to be using the bottled stuff , only in an emrgency when the power goes out , ive read on here the concentrators are no good so i havent yet tried them , the guy who deliverd the oxegeon set them up so both machines are hooked to the same mask and each machine goes upto 8lpm , so if i use it like that will i be getting 16lpm ? or does it still only count as 8 lpm ? do you guys think the two concentrators together will work , or am i wasting my time?if they dont work i suppose im going to have to go back to the doctors and get him to change the prescription (if he will agree ),its taken so long to get the prescription i just feel so disapointed they didnt send me the right thing , when i asked the guy who deliverd it he said my prescription says upto 12lpm and for 20 hours per day ,and if it was bottled o2 they would have to deliver me new tanks evertyday wich isnt possible  wtf, who uses o2 for 20 hours a day ? i would be using it for what , not even an hour a day and for hopefully 10 months of the year i hope i wont be using it at all .
damn trying to deal with these ch's and go to work and look after my daughter and deal with the nhs , its getting my down really bad .

It's not the ideal set up, but give it a shot. There are people who can abort at flow rates as low as 8 LPM. As Bob said, it would give you 16 LPM so give it a shot!

Joe

Generally, concentrators are rated at more than 90% oxygen WHEN MEASURED at their optimum flow rate. Generally, when you push the output volume to toward the upper end, oxygen concentration drops. I wouldn't be surprised to see 75% to 80%.

Different models have different characteristics, but they simply are not designed to provide pure O2 at high flow rates - because "nobody needs that." 

Marc

hey guys the two machines together at full whack are aborting my headaches , if i dont get any luck i can change to the back up cylinders .

I love these kind of posts... 

Hi Captain Cluster Head,

Maybe, there are some clues in this NHS patient report (PDF below) as to how O2 is sourced in the UK.

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I'm in OZ and not an O2 user. Circumstances with O2 are different in every country, so I'm unsure if this offers any options. Perhaps contact Craig from the "clusterheadacheuk.info" site there and ask him his UK O2 prescription arrangements. OUCH UK is usually the "go-to" place for all things CH in the UK from what I see, for how much longer, we don't know...

What I am fairly sure of, are the statements already made here specifically about O2 concentrators. Those units are usually for treatment of respiratory disease (We have one in the family, useless on CH for me anyway). Most literature and specialists will show that concentrators just don't cut it in CH aborts. Their true O2 concentration being significantly lower than the 99-100% O2 required and used in nearly every study of O2 showing successful CH attack aborts that I can locate.

From one patient to another - It's very good to hear that you experience relief, however you get it. Most will tell you that concentrators could not possibly work, but if you get relief, no-one could hold that against you, for sure.

Batch knows more about O2 than I am likely to ever learn, and is familiar with O2 prescription issues in most parts of the world, I think. Shoot him a PM, always the Gentleman,  I am sure Batch will oblige with a study or 3 that will get your PCP prescribing the right stuff, through the correct set up for you in no time.

Cheers.