Newbie asks how to monitor Sa02 while sleeping with CPAP?

[tedburnsIII]

Hello-

~50 days on CPAP.

I am 65 years of age and I have been looking into the issue of getting a oximeter but my machine is apparently not compatible with Sleepyhead or an oximeter. The icode connect feature and the SD card do not display oxygen levels.

My events seem to clear at a much lower pressure of about 7cms but my sao2 on the split-night sleep study was not adequate until I reached titrated level of 12 while supine, and the oxygen Sa02 was then only 92.5%!

I did call up 3B and they were not aware of an interface between an oximeter and their RESmart auto-CPAP machine, despite the fact there is a USB port on it. I would like the benefit of monitoring my Sa02 while sleeping, to either confirm or deny the study findings and adjust accordingly.

Please try to give me a bit of slack as I'm a newbie on this very useful forum. It's important to me to find out how I can monitor my Sa02 while sleeping with CPAP.

Comments appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[Julie]

http://www.coopermedical.com/overnight- ... meter.html

Quite popular... and Kevin, the 'store' owner is always helpful to us when called. The important feature is the overnight recording, but if you can afford other types that don't necessarily use a fingertip attachment, look at others on the site, or wait til other Cpaptalk people see your note in the a.m. (what are you doing up so late!) to say what's worked for them.

[JDS74]

It appears as if the USB port on the machine is only for reading out the data to software running on your desktop machine and doesn't provide two-way data communication from and external pulse-oximeter.

As was suggested, a fingertip oximeter can provide useful SpO2 data during sleep. I used the CMS50F oximeter before installing a Respironics oximeter in my machine. The reports directly from the CMS50F are quite useful and detailed. My experience with the consumer grade oximeters is that they seem to report the SpO2 level about 1 to 2% lower than medical grade ones do, at least when measuring my SpO2 levels so take the numbers as guidance and not hard, medical fact. Mileage may vary for others.

Do you have the clinician manual for your machine so that you can make changes to your settings? One is available on line.

[palerider]

I did call up 3B and they were not aware of an interface between an oximeter and their RESmart auto-CPAP machine, despite the fact there is a USB port on it. I would like the benefit of monitoring my Sa02 while sleeping, to either confirm or deny the study findings and adjust accordingly.

you cannot measure SaO2, period, end of story, SaO2 requires a blood draw, (arterial, the a in Sa) you CAN measure SpO2 with a pulse oximeter (the p in Sp), you do not need one that hooks up to a cpap, those few that do hook up to the high end cpaps (which you don't have) are VERY expensive (on the order of 10x as much as a wrist mounted model) and cumbersome (more wires to get tangled in during the night)

get a cms50F or I model, and be happy. (under 100$ from aliexpress.com, there are many listed, shop by price)

[tedburnsIII]

It appears as if the USB port on the machine is only for reading out the data to software running on your desktop machine and doesn't provide two-way data communication from and external pulse-oximeter.

As was suggested, a fingertip oximeter can provide useful SpO2 data during sleep. I used the CMS50F oximeter before installing a Respironics oximeter in my machine. The reports directly from the CMS50F are quite useful and detailed. My experience with the consumer grade oximeters is that they seem to report the SpO2 level about 1 to 2% lower than medical grade ones do, at least when measuring my SpO2 levels so take the numbers as guidance and not hard, medical fact. Mileage may vary for others.

Do you have the clinician manual for your machine so that you can make changes to your settings? One is available on line.

Very useful information in your post.

Yes, I have taken matters upon myself and know how to make all pressure settings in both AUTO and CPAP modes. I joined that site and with my machine it is really simple to change settings- as simple as learning the user-comfort settings. It is impracticable to run to doctors and continually change prescriptions and have to have DME change settings for something so simple. In the end, I am the only one who can guard my health.

I did make a donation to that site for that very useful service provided.

[tedburnsIII]

I did call up 3B and they were not aware of an interface between an oximeter and their RESmart auto-CPAP machine, despite the fact there is a USB port on it. I would like the benefit of monitoring my Sa02 while sleeping, to either confirm or deny the study findings and adjust accordingly.

you cannot measure SaO2, period, end of story, SaO2 requires a blood draw, (arterial, the a in Sa) you CAN measure SpO2 with a pulse oximeter (the p in Sp), you do not need one that hooks up to a cpap, those few that do hook up to the high end cpaps (which you don't have) are VERY expensive (on the order of 10x as much as a wrist mounted model) and cumbersome (more wires to get tangled in during the night)

get a cms50F or I model, and be happy. (under 100$ from aliexpress.com, there are many listed, shop by price)

I was preparing to ask what 'Sp02' represents. What does the 'p' stand for? DUH- 'pulse'

In any event, DME has been on this issue and is going to get a prescription from my cardio for a pulse oximeter to be used over the course of a few nights so that I can experiment with settings and Sp02. When she calls back should I demand the cms50F? Perhaps I should first ask her WHAT machine they will provide and then get opinions on it. This will be provided to me for monitoring purposes only and will be returned.

Thanks for ALL posts thus far this thread!

[JDS74]

The pulse oximeter that you'll get from the DME is likely to be a medical grade one that will be able to record for three days or more without needing to be downloaded. If you want one like that, be prepared to spend a few hundred dollars. You won't get very much better data than that available from the CMS50F.

[tedburnsIII]

The pulse oximeter that you'll get from the DME is likely to be a medical grade one that will be able to record for three days or more without needing to be downloaded. If you want one like that, be prepared to spend a few hundred dollars. You won't get very much better data than that available from the CMS50F.

I was told the data would be downloaded by them after machine returned to them and the info would be passed on to my cardiologist. Then I would be able to obtain a copy.

If theirs is a medical grade one, on loan to me, I might think it superior to the CMS50F? I may consider buying the latter down the road. Right now I don't want to incur any expense. It is good to know that if I understand you correctly the medical grade one may be superior but not by much?

[Julie]

Ted, I don't think it honestly would be worth your expense... the ones noted here are well thought of, do the job (I've never heard complaints about them) and are only one part of the OSA/Cpap picture.

[palerider]

The pulse oximeter that you'll get from the DME is likely to be a medical grade one that will be able to record for three days or more without needing to be downloaded. If you want one like that, be prepared to spend a few hundred dollars.

this is incorrect.

the cms50i (for under 100$) will record multiple 8 hour sessions... I know someone has played with his and gotten at least 15 sessions on it, whether he gave up at that point, or ran into a limit, I don't remember.

[tedburnsIII]

The pulse oximeter that you'll get from the DME is likely to be a medical grade one that will be able to record for three days or more without needing to be downloaded. If you want one like that, be prepared to spend a few hundred dollars. You won't get very much better data than that available from the CMS50F.

I was told the data would be downloaded by them after machine returned to them and the info would be passed on to my cardiologist. Then I would be able to obtain a copy.

If theirs is a medical grade one, on loan to me, I might think it superior to the CMS50F? I may consider buying the latter down the road. Right now I don't want to incur any expense. It is good to know that if I understand you correctly the medical grade one may be superior but not by much?

Later: I finally went to the link for that machine. Price is right: http://www.coopermedical.com/overnight- ... meter.html

Using hindsight, I should just spring for it and not have to deal with doctor and the DME and I will refuse to be out of pocket. Might as well buy a Dr. Cooper machine, always have it available. Honestly, I was not aware of overnight reporting- I thought that might be expensive with over the counter stuff. Duh...

[tedburnsIII]

Update: I am going to place the prescription for the Respironics Nonin on hold with my DME. I believe that it is medical grade. However, I was told that it could only be used by me overnight once due to supply and demand.

So, it is impractical to use it. I need to use a pulse oximeter as if doing a titrated study on myself each night at a different cm level.

So it seems this is a DIY operation.

Thanks for the link to the Cooper offerings. Now I need to decide which overnight data recording pulse oximeter I will purchase for under $100, whether it be from Cooper or another source. His items are apparently made in China and can be obtained for less on ebay but then there's the shipping delay from China.

So, and due to my current limited finances, I will be buying from a U.S. vendor, probably on eBay or directly from Cooper or another site. Shipping is free only on orders over $100 from his site. What I like about ebay is the guarantees provided by ebay and Paypal, along with the 'Pay after delivery' option.

[Julie]

Don't forget the phone support you can get from Kevin at Cooper - to me it was worth a lot as he helped with a couple of issues.

[tedburnsIII]

Don't forget the phone support you can get from Kevin at Cooper - to me it was worth a lot as he helped with a couple of issues.

Julie, thank you. I will give him a call. Just curious if it's really worth it to get the 50F over the 50D, or to get something else.

First night with either, I intend to have machine at fixed 12cm.

If the Sp02 reasonably correlates to the SaO2 during the split-night titration, then I'm good. I do realize that other factors may be relevant other than Sp02 but for my purposes I should be good.

The point is that I felt good, very good, or even great at the lower pressures, with AHI well below 5, and most often below 1.0, but if one goes by the study, my recommended level is 12cm.

[WildMtnHoney]

I have the 50D+, got it yesterday, slept with it last night.

The only issue I have seen, in my one lonely night, is that it at some points my finger must have moved and it didn't read for a few seconds here and there. I figure that's nothing a little tape won't fix.

Granted, it isn't the most comfortable thing to sleep with, but I didn't want to spend more, so it is what it is for me.