Hooked up my O2ptimask kit exactly according to the diagram seen on this site.

Turned on the o2, waited for bag to fill, placed mask over face, inhaled deeply, exhaled while keeping mask flush against face, so far so good....but then when I went to take a 2nd breath, the bag was not filled, so it restricted air flow resulting in feeling of suffocation.

Using an E tank with a regulator that only goes to 8LPM.  Could this be the issue that the minimal 8LPM is not distributing enough o2 to fill the bag fast enough? 

I'm well aware that I need a high flow regulator, but this is all i have for now, so trying to make the best of a bad situation. 

Anybody experienced with this specific situation, please offer advice.

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LasVegas,

It sounds as though you are inhaling all Oxygen within the bag and are not allowing enough time for the reservoir bag to refill.

Not an optimal situation, but try holding the inhale longer with a slower exhale, to allow the reservoir bag to fully inflate, a higher flow regulator will fill the reservoir bag faster and would help greatly.

It's been awhile since I've used this type mask, as I now use a demand valve exclusively and only use this set up when I don't have access to my demand set up. I have a regulator that goes up to 15 lpm and it works well with the type of mask you have.

Forgot to mention: You can check to make sure the valve is functioning , with your mouth, draw air out of the exhaust end of the valve it should allow you to inhale, then blow into this valve and you shoud feel it shut and not allow air in, this would verify your valve is working properly. I hope that made sense!!!???

Hope this helps,

Baer

I can suck a 3 liter bag dry in one breath at 15lpm and barely keep up with it refilling at 25lpm when I'm getting hit hard. 8 lpm isn't going to cut it. Until you get a higher flow regulator you need to bigger bag. Somewhere on here there is a description of how to make a reservoir bag from a garbage bag. Don't know how well it works but it comes up from time to time. Call your supplier. They should at least be able to get you up to a 15lpm regulator. You may also need a Rx for high flow O2 from your doc before they'll give it to you. Good luck and God bless. lance

LV,

What you experienced trying to use oxygen therapy at a low flow rate is exactly why we suggest an oxygen flow rate of 15 liters/minute is the absolute minimum...  and further suggest that a flow rate of 25 liters/minute is the minimum to achieve hyperventilation.

The sensation of suffocation was very real...  The amount of lung ventilation at 6 liters/minute is less than a third of what you normally inhale while at rest.  When lung ventilation is restricted like this, CO2 levels build rapidly causing a powerful urge to breathe faster only the regulator flow rate and non-rebreathing mask will not permit this to happen. 

What is even worse is CO2 is a more powerful vasodilator than 100% oxygen is as a vasoconstrictor... 

The net result of trying to use oxygen therapy at low flow rates like this is... AN ABORT OF YOUR CH WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE!!!!  AND THE BUILD UP OF CO2 WILL ONLY MAKE THE CH PAIN WORSE!!!

While you're waiting for a regulator with higher flow rates, try the following procedure.  Breathe room air deeply using a technique called breathing at forced vital capacity flow rates for two or three cycles while the 3-liter reservoir bag is filling with oxygen.  When it's full, use the same breathing technique to suck the oxygen down... Then repeat the sequence.

This will not give you as much oxygen you would get at a flow rate of 25-40 liter/minute but you'll get sufficient lung ventilation to prevent CO2 build up.  Your abort times will not be as fast as you would get from hyperventilating with 100% oxygen but they will be light-years faster than trying to abort a CH at a flow rate of 6 liters/minute.

As far as collapsing the reservoir bag goes...  I found it easy to collapse the 3-liter reservoir bag all the way up to a flow rate of 40 liters/minute...  If you were out jogging at a fast pace, your lung ventilation would be at least that high if not higher...  I could also collapse the O2PTIMASK's 3-liter reservoir bag at a flow rate of 60 liters/minute... but as that required a lot of effort, I could only sustain that level of lung ventilation for 20 to 30 seconds.

Take care and please keep us posted...

V/R, Batch

Helpful advice, thanks guys.