I often get asked, on the first day of Rehab, “Can I ever get rid of this oxygen?”
The answer is: Possibly. I’ve gotten many people off oxygen over the years, but it takes a lot of strategic work. Shortness of breath, fatigue, and desaturation with walking can occur for two main reasons. One is, the damaged area of the lung keeps the oxygen in the lungs from transferring to the blood. Even if the patient is on supplemental oxygen, not much gets into the bloodstream. If the blood doesn’t have enough oxygen to supply the muscles, they will stop working, and the result is…. you stop. Another reason is, the muscles are using oxygen faster than the heart can supply it , and the result is the same: fatigue, short breathing, and desaturation. In this case, as long as oxygen is able to cross into the bloodstream, adding oxygen via nasal cannula or otherwise is very helpful. There are many other reasons for breathlessness and desaturation, but I will focus on this last scenario. If the heart is healthy (normal heart rate and blood pressure), and the blood is healthy (normal hemoglobin), the extra oxygen will fuel the muscles to allow for a longer period of exercise. This in turn builds strength, and in turn builds endurance, allowing you to get in shape quickly. Follow this cycle of conditioning for 6 weeks, and at the end, possibly you may have conditioned your muscles and heart to be able to exercise without added oxygen. It’s not too late to start!