Usually I can't feel these. It's called a blood gas and measures the amount of CO2 that I am either retaining or expelling. To an able bodied person with full sensation, this would be almost unbearable. And up until now, I have not been able to feel how unpleasant it is. So in a way, it's a positive pain… promise I'm not a masochist.
My CO2 is at 22 and it's supposed to be at 35.
This means I am breathing off too much of it, resulting in acidosis which can negatively affect my kidneys if I don't start retaining more CO2. The only way to do this is to begin"" putting up my cuff"" at night. It's basically a balloon around my neck, the white string that hangs down and gets in the way of all my pictures😉 when this is inflated with water from a syringe, it closes off my tracheostomy. Of course not being able to talk at night would be a safety issue, so we are only inflating it halfway. Das THUS my ability to speak is not compromised and hopefully we will see an improvement in my CO2 levels.
Terry Mays
2023-08-27 04:56:32 +0000 UTCElle Rose
2023-08-06 04:08:38 +0000 UTCbarraboy494
2023-08-05 23:03:47 +0000 UTC