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Oxygen Users?


rcy

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We are looking at the possibility of moving to the Chapala area in retirement (I just turned 65, the wife turns 65  in 6 months).

One concern however, and it may be a bit odd to post it...my wife uses an oxygen concentrator. Does anyone in the area also use a concentrator, and have they had any issue with the local altitude (5000 ft from my research)? She has been in a wheelchair for 42 years, so the oxygen issue is important. In some locations we have traveled, altitude has created issues. If anyone there has used concentrators, could you recommend the brand? We have several concentrators now, but brands are different, and some work better than others in flow rate, permissible altitudes, etc.

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28 minutes ago, rcy said:

Does anyone in the area also use a concentrator, and have they had any issue with the local altitude (5000 ft from my research)?

There is no problem with altitude if you use one of these, the kind they rent here: http://www.devilbisshealthcare.com/products/oxygen-therapy/stationary-oxygen/5-liter-compact-oxygen-concentrator

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Anyone using a truly "portable" unit you can carry around like a purse or backpack? Using a wheelchair, cannula tubing running around the floor can cause problems ( the wheelchair will roll it up around the wheels like nylon line on a fishing pole). The Inogen Gs (2-4) allow for them to meet their specs up to an altitude of 10,000 ft, providing approx 200-250 ml/min/setting (that would make it just over 1L/min at max setting). She currently uses setting 3.  I suspect since she uses an electric wheelchair, her muscles are being minimally used requiring less than "average" oxygen overall.

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...a quick history for those who are interested....my wife suffers from a family inherited genetic condition...alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency....symptoms are similar to COPD. 

Think of an air filter that hasn't been cleaned for 6 months. It's full of dust/etc. Your lungs would look the same, but they have a "built in" cleaning system. With Alpha-1, once you lungs have been cleaned, the system gets "over zealous" and starts cleaning out the lung tissue itself!

 

BTW, how is the air quality there?

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26 minutes ago, rcy said:

...a quick history for those who are interested....my wife suffers from a family inherited genetic condition...alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency....symptoms are similar to COPD. 

Think of an air filter that hasn't been cleaned for 6 months. It's full of dust/etc. Your lungs would look the same, but they have a "built in" cleaning system. With Alpha-1, once you lungs have been cleaned, the system gets "over zealous" and starts cleaning out the lung tissue itself!

 

BTW, how is the air quality there?

I sent you a P M

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I have had COPD since 2005.  I used a concentrator in Chapala until 2014, when we decided to move to a lower elevation in the USA, and to be able to use VA and Medicare. I have never used a portable unit, but I do use portable bottles provided by the VA here in Tucson.  They were expensive in Chapala, and the portable concentrators were not available in Mexico at an affordable price, if at all in Mexico at that time.

At the lower elevation of Tucson, and with the drier desert air, I no longer have to use the concentrator much at all, but do use bottles when out & having to walk.  So, elevation is a factor, just as activity level is a factor.

Mexico is not wheelchair friendly, and Ajijic is horrible. Chapala is better, but still a challenge.

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