4 ms·

I had an attack of viral epiglottitis approximately 18 months ago and called 999 as I could feel my throat closing up. When the ambulance crew arrived they put

I had an attack of viral epiglottitis approximately 18 months ago and called 999 as I could feel my throat closing up. When the ambulance crew arrived they put a pulse oximeter on me, and my heart rate was above 130 and remained so even after sitting on the sofa for 10 minutes trying to breathe normally. SpO2 kept declining no matter how hard I tried to breathe, and they took me down to the ambulance and intubated me just as my fingertips started to turn blue. Sadly I remember it all.

stordoff 4y ago
That sounds horrific, I hope you're OK now. I was lucky enough to avoid intubation, but I suspect I wasn't too far away from it. CPAP with pure O2/a high-flow nasal canula at 90L/min pure O2 (I initially couldn't tolerate the CPAP mask for extended periods due to an anxiety disorder, though I felt myself becoming more fatigued over time on the HFNC) was keeping me at 88-90% (arterial blood gas measurement) initially, and that slowly started to climb a few days into treatment.