Bipap is back

I'm so over this 

Alex had a sleep study Sunday night and half way through the study she was taken off her oxygen and put on bipap.  An arterial blood gas was drawn early the next morning with not much of an explanation except we should be hearing from the sleep lab soon.

Shortly after we got home we got a phone call explaining significant findings. The most concerning being Alex hypo-ventilating throughout the night which often leads to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the blood. This is especially dangerous when present in those with sleep apnea. A person will naturally adjust to the hypoventilation while awake, taking deeper and/or longer breaths as needed. During episodes of apnea though, where the body forcibly slows or shuts down breathing entirely in spurts, this can lead to dangerously high levels of carbon dioxide in the blood, and can be life threatening in the most serious cases.  Her carbon dioxide levels came down significantly after being on Bipap which works by providing air pressure to keep the airway open, and also assists inspiration (breathing in).  The machine contains an airflow sensor that determines when she is inhaling and exhaling. When she is inhaling, the machine increases the flow of air through the mask to make it easier for her to inhale.

These findings were shared on Monday and because Alex was scheduled to have surgery the following day,  the sleep team wanted to start her on the Bipap right after surgery. This kind of put a wrinkle in our plan of being in and out of the hospital by Wednesday.  It's also a little nerve racking starting both at the same time.  The bipap can potentially fill the stomach with air and cause the abdomen to be distended which can cause her stomach to be upset if we are also putting fluids through the g-tube. The plan for Alex is to start slowly on her fluids and be monitored closely for tolerance before we can go home.  So far she is recovering beautifully so we pray she continues to do well.