jenson
A loser who belongs nowhere
- Jul 13, 2025
- 49
No, thats what makes low oxygen environments so dangerous. The feeling of suffocation comes from the inability to expel CO2. When you hold your breath, its not the lack of oxygen that causes you to feel like you are suffocating. Its that buildup of CO2. In a low oxygen environments, you dont feel like you are suffocating because the CO2 is being expelled but you become hypoxemic which causes the other symptoms although you may just black out before then. Thats why I looked into the nitrogen method. As long as the bag has enough space to retain CO2 without you inhaling it back in, you shouldnt get the feeling of suffocation. Its actually kinda weird because people with COPD become desensitized to elevated levels of CO2 in their blood so they transition to O2 dependent breathing. Its actually dangerous to give them too much oxygen because their respiratory rate will slow down and they will retain CO2 (hypercapnic) and end up with symptoms similar to hypoxemia. We use bipap for them which allows CO2 to be blown off more effectively.That's totally alright. I sincerely appreciate you responding and also being honest that you aren't sure. And I'm sure they other info you provided will be helpful to others.
I just have one follow up question and I'll stop bothering you. And just to reiterate, I appreciate you responding.
In regards to methemoglobinemia, is this going to cause "air hunger" or a "feeling of suffocation"? Truthfully, this is the one that frightens me the most, if that's the case.
I personally can rationalize the other symptoms (vomiting, abdominal pain, seizure activity, headache, etc).