Low spo2 readings, real or faulty?

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tiredandscared
Posts: 333
Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2015 2:47 pm

Low spo2 readings, real or faulty?

Post by tiredandscared » Wed Oct 07, 2015 9:08 am

2 weeks ago, i had some crazy oxygen desaturations that have gotten me concerned:

05:22:51 09/22/01 97 109 0.204 Low Quality Signal
05:22:55 09/22/01 96 108 0.101 Low Quality Signal
05:22:59 09/22/01 96 108 0.085 Low Quality Signal
05:23:03 09/22/01 96 108 0.053 Low Quality Signal
05:23:07 09/22/01 96 109 0.035 Low Quality Signal
05:23:11 09/22/01 96 109 0.025 Low Quality Signal
05:23:15 09/22/01 96 -- 0.019 Low Quality Signal
05:23:19 09/22/01 96 -- 0.075 Low Quality Signal
05:23:23 09/22/01 96 -- 0.085 Low Quality Signal
05:23:27 09/22/01 95 67 0.044 Low Quality Signal
05:23:31 09/22/01 93 68 0.032 Low Quality Signal
05:23:35 09/22/01 92 66 0.024 Low Quality Signal
05:23:39 09/22/01 92 63 0.018 Low Quality Signal
05:23:43 09/22/01 92 63 0.014 Low Quality Signal
05:23:47 09/22/01 -- -- 0.012 Low Quality Signal
05:23:51 09/22/01 -- -- -- Check Sensor Site
05:23:55 09/22/01 97 68 0.012 Low Quality Signal
05:23:59 09/22/01 95 71 0.019 Low Quality Signal
05:24:03 09/22/01 92 70 0.017 Low Quality Signal

05:24:07 09/22/01 91 70 0.016 Low Quality Signal
05:24:11 09/22/01 -- -- 0.012 Low Quality Signal
05:24:15 09/22/01 92 68 0.012 Low Quality Signal
05:24:19 09/22/01 92 67 0.013 Low Quality Signal
05:24:23 09/22/01 92 -- 0.014 Low Quality Signal
05:24:27 09/22/01 90 33 0.094 Low Quality Signal
05:24:31 09/22/01 89 34 0.158 Low SpO2 & Low Pulse Rate Low Quality Signal
05:24:35 09/22/01 88 35 0.141 Low SpO2 & Low Pulse Rate Low Quality Signal
05:24:39 09/22/01 81 36 0.075 Low SpO2 & Low Pulse Rate Low Quality Signal
05:24:43 09/22/01 79 32 0.047 Low SpO2 & Low Pulse Rate Low Quality Signal
05:24:47 09/22/01 79 32 0.047 Low SpO2 & Low Pulse Rate Low Quality Signal
05:24:51 09/22/01 77 30 0.028 Low SpO2 & Low Pulse Rate Low Quality Signal
05:24:55 09/22/01 77 30 0.026 Low SpO2 & Low Pulse Rate Low Quality Signal
05:24:59 09/22/01 78 30 0.022 Low SpO2 & Low Pulse Rate Low Quality Signal
05:25:03 09/22/01 76 44 0.065 Low SpO2 & Low Pulse Rate Low Quality Signal
05:25:07 09/22/01 76 47 0.061 Low SpO2 & Low Pulse Rate Low Quality Signal
05:25:11 09/22/01 76 61 0.048 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:25:15 09/22/01 76 66 0.038 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:25:19 09/22/01 76 67 0.028 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:25:23 09/22/01 76 64 0.024 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:25:27 09/22/01 76 63 0.022 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:25:31 09/22/01 76 68 0.018 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:25:35 09/22/01 85 68 0.015 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal[
/b]
05:25:39 09/22/01 92 69 0.017 Low Quality Signal
05:25:43 09/22/01 94 68 0.018 Low Quality Signal
05:25:47 09/22/01 94 67 0.014 Low Quality Signal
05:25:51 09/22/01 94 70 0.014 Low Quality Signal
05:25:55 09/22/01 94 70 0.017 Low Quality Signal
05:25:59 09/22/01 94 69 0.016 Low Quality Signal
05:26:03 09/22/01 94 68 0.014 Low Quality Signal
05:26:07 09/22/01 93 67 0.013 Low Quality Signal
05:26:11 09/22/01 92 67 0.016 Low Quality Signal
05:26:15 09/22/01 92 65 0.016 Low Quality Signal
05:26:19 09/22/01 92 64 0.016 Low Quality Signal
05:26:23 09/22/01 92 62 0.015 Low Quality Signal
05:26:27 09/22/01 92 61 0.014 Low Quality Signal
05:26:31 09/22/01 92 61 0.015 Low Quality Signal
05:26:35 09/22/01 92 60 0.015 Low Quality Signal
05:26:39 09/22/01 92 58 0.015 Low Quality Signal
05:26:43 09/22/01 92 61 0.015 Low Quality Signal
05:26:47 09/22/01 93 67 0.015 Low Quality Signal
05:26:51 09/22/01 94 68 0.015 Low Quality Signal
05:26:55 09/22/01 95 68 0.015 Low Quality Signal
05:26:59 09/22/01 96 71 0.017 Low Quality Signal
05:27:03 09/22/01 97 71 0.017 Low Quality Signal


05:27:07 09/22/01 98 72 0.276
05:27:11 09/22/01 97 72 0.378
05:27:15 09/22/01 97 72 0.307
05:27:19 09/22/01 97 73 0.193 Low Quality Signal
05:27:23 09/22/01 97 73 0.122 Low Quality Signal
05:27:27 09/22/01 97 74 0.124 Low Quality Signal
05:27:31 09/22/01 97 76 0.214 Low Quality Signal
05:27:35 09/22/01 97 77 0.315
05:27:39 09/22/01 97 76 0.199 Low Quality Signal
05:27:43 09/22/01 97 76 0.155 Low Quality Signal
05:27:47 09/22/01 97 78 0.299
05:27:51 09/22/01 95 78 0.955
05:27:55 09/22/01 95 78 0.923
05:27:59 09/22/01 95 80 0.591
05:28:03 09/22/01 94 82 0.298
05:28:07 09/22/01 90 74 0.164 Low Quality Signal
05:28:11 09/22/01 89 74 0.148 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:28:15 09/22/01 89 71 0.112 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:28:19 09/22/01 88 66 0.135 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:28:23 09/22/01 88 66 0.130 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:28:27 09/22/01 88 75 0.088 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:28:31 09/22/01 88 77 0.085 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:28:35 09/22/01 89 75 0.094 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:28:39 09/22/01 90 69 0.068 Low Quality Signal
05:28:43 09/22/01 89 68 0.045 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:28:47 09/22/01 88 66 0.038 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:28:51 09/22/01 87 71 0.034 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:28:55 09/22/01 87 71 0.031 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:28:59 09/22/01 86 71 0.056 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:29:03 09/22/01 86 76 0.059 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:29:07 09/22/01 86 76 0.103 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:29:11 09/22/01 86 77 0.085 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:29:15 09/22/01 85 65 0.054 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:29:19 09/22/01 83 63 0.039 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:29:23 09/22/01 82 65 0.037 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:29:27 09/22/01 83 63 0.035 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:29:31 09/22/01 85 61 0.032 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:29:35 09/22/01 86 63 0.029 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:29:39 09/22/01 87 68 0.029 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:29:43 09/22/01 86 76 0.040 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
05:29:47 09/22/01 85 79 0.274 Low SpO2
05:29:51 09/22/01 83 82 0.815 Low SpO2
05:29:55 09/22/01 81 84 1.081 Low SpO2
05:29:59 09/22/01 81 84 1.141 Low SpO2
05:30:03 09/22/01 88 95 1.382 Low SpO2



Does anyone have any experience with this? Should i take them seriously at face value or dismiss them? I've looked through my SPO2 measurements, i've had low signal quality events, but never any events where the oxygen saturation went down to 76. I know i was mouth breathing the day i took this measurement, as I had severe nasal congestion and no access to relief medications.
Last edited by tiredandscared on Wed Oct 07, 2015 10:02 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Julie
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Re: Low spo2 readings, real or faulty?

Post by Julie » Wed Oct 07, 2015 9:26 am

You say yourself you had other problems on that one day, and the read out says Low Quality, so stop thinking the sky's falling and wait for results over time, at least a week's worth of them. We all have occasional drops at some time, whatever the reason of the moment, but you need to get some perspective.

tiredandscared
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Re: Low spo2 readings, real or faulty?

Post by tiredandscared » Wed Oct 07, 2015 9:51 am

Julie wrote:You say yourself you had other problems on that one day, and the read out says Low Quality, so stop thinking the sky's falling and wait for results over time, at least a week's worth of them. We all have occasional drops at some time, whatever the reason of the moment, but you need to get some perspective.
Granted you have a point. But i'm still curious to whether this is common or an artefact with other members who use Oximeters.

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LSAT
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Re: Low spo2 readings, real or faulty?

Post by LSAT » Wed Oct 07, 2015 9:52 am

These were very short episodes...only 1-1.5 minutes....you most likely had an apnea event during that time.

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tiredandscared
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Re: Low spo2 readings, real or faulty?

Post by tiredandscared » Wed Oct 07, 2015 10:01 am

LSAT wrote:These were very short episodes...only 1-1.5 minutes....you most likely had an apnea event during that time.
The strange part about this is that my usual nadir is 86-87 at most and under short events. It's perplexing. Whenever I tape the sensor on. I rarely have crazy numbers like this. Not sure what to make out of this. Can just having your mouth open in a bad spot, exponentially worsen your sleep apnea? I thought that having a nadir of 76 usually happened to people with severer forms of sleep apnea.

here are smaller events that are similar. Is it possible to like go down from 95 to 76 in a matter of seconds?


22:30:34 09/21/01 95 78 0.215 Low Quality Signal
22:30:38 09/21/01 84 76 0.165 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
22:30:42 09/21/01 76 73 0.135 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
22:30:46 09/21/01 75 74 0.117 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
22:30:50 09/21/01 75 81 0.214 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
22:30:54 09/21/01 75 90 0.614 Low SpO2
22:30:58 09/21/01 78 87 0.582 Low SpO2
22:31:02 09/21/01 89 82 0.542 Low SpO2



22:30:34 09/21/01 95 78 0.215 Low Quality Signal
22:30:38 09/21/01 84 76 0.165 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
22:30:42 09/21/01 76 73 0.135 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
22:30:46 09/21/01 75 74 0.117 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
22:30:50 09/21/01 75 81 0.214 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
22:30:54 09/21/01 75 90 0.614 Low SpO2
22:30:58 09/21/01 78 87 0.582 Low SpO2
22:31:02 09/21/01 89 82 0.542 Low SpO2
22:31:06 09/21/01 98 80 0.569

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Pugsy
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Re: Low spo2 readings, real or faulty?

Post by Pugsy » Wed Oct 07, 2015 10:28 am

tiredandscared wrote:Is it possible to like go down from 95 to 76 in a matter of seconds?
No.
Hold your breath for that number of seconds and watch the pulse oximeter to see if it changes any.
Hold your breath for twice that number of seconds and see if it changes any.
tiredandscared wrote:Whenever I tape the sensor on. I rarely have crazy numbers like this.
I think you have answered your own question.
I think what you are seeing is related to poor signal and the oximeter simply can't get it right when there is loss of contact and the signal is of poor quality.

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tiredandscared
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Re: Low spo2 readings, real or faulty?

Post by tiredandscared » Wed Oct 07, 2015 12:05 pm

Pugsy wrote:
No.
Hold your breath for that number of seconds and watch the pulse oximeter to see if it changes any.
Hold your breath for twice that number of seconds and see if it changes any.
Not sure if it works that way(I'm thinking if it's different between an apnea and a conscious effort to stop breathing, in the latter your lungs have amount of oxygen stored as a reserve, while the former is just your muscles failing causing an unexpected obstruction) but you're right. It's not possible for oxygen to fall so drastically. Even with apnea.

Pugsy wrote:
I think you have answered your own question.
I think what you are seeing is related to poor signal and the oximeter simply can't get it right when there is loss of contact and the signal is of poor quality.
I thought that originally. Whenever I tried to recreate it. It wasn't possible. I could get it to low numbers, but the signal quality still remained relatively good( 1.000-1.500) range. There is something going on during sleep that i can't figure out.
Last edited by tiredandscared on Thu Oct 08, 2015 3:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Julie
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Re: Low spo2 readings, real or faulty?

Post by Julie » Wed Oct 07, 2015 1:50 pm

You might be carrying a lot of stress about OSA into sleep, creating a vicious circle. You need to find a way to break the cycle if possible, or else you'll never feel confident about things.

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SGearhart
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Re: Low spo2 readings, real or faulty?

Post by SGearhart » Wed Oct 07, 2015 2:24 pm

I'm curious; Where does your Oximeter get its date from? The results show that they were recorded in 2001.

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tiredandscared
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Re: Low spo2 readings, real or faulty?

Post by tiredandscared » Wed Oct 07, 2015 2:54 pm

SGearhart wrote:I'm curious; Where does your Oximeter get its date from? The results show that they were recorded in 2001.
I have to reset the machine each time it restarts recordings. The default time setting is 2001. But its kinda hard to be conscientious at this time.
Last edited by tiredandscared on Thu Oct 08, 2015 3:58 am, edited 1 time in total.

PoolQ
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Re: Low spo2 readings, real or faulty?

Post by PoolQ » Wed Oct 07, 2015 5:42 pm

betya its the signal problem
turn your meter on with it off your finger, when ready place it on your finger and see how long it takes for the reading to stabilize
you have a very well defined pattern in your data: signal problem with low O2 readings, signal problem goes away, your O2 level starts to climb and stabilizes at 90%+ levels.

You tape your finger and the signal remains fine along with your O2 levels.

Tape it all night, that is what I do and I have never had a signal problem
Sleeping MUCH better now

tiredandscared
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Re: Low spo2 readings, real or faulty?

Post by tiredandscared » Thu Oct 08, 2015 6:39 am

PoolQ wrote:betya its the signal problem
turn your meter on with it off your finger, when ready place it on your finger and see how long it takes for the reading to stabilize
you have a very well defined pattern in your data: signal problem with low O2 readings, signal problem goes away, your O2 level starts to climb and stabilizes at 90%+ levels.

You tape your finger and the signal remains fine along with your O2 levels.

Tape it all night, that is what I do and I have never had a signal problem
It is a signal problem. I think I know why this happens. It's because of low-perfusion, caused by arm position(a position that hinders good bloodflow). I probably sleep either on my arm or it goes in edge of the bed, which causes low perfusion and blood flow, adding to the fact that the cord line moving.

Here is the results of me attempting to
13:37:45 10/08/01 88 95 0.922 Low SpO2
13:37:49 10/08/01 87 94 0.800 Low SpO2
13:37:53 10/08/01 87 93 0.588 Low SpO2
13:37:57 10/08/01 86 98 0.309 Low SpO2
13:38:01 10/08/01 86 99 0.282 Low SpO2
13:38:05 10/08/01 86 97 0.404 Low SpO2
13:38:09 10/08/01 86 96 0.307 Low SpO2
13:38:13 10/08/01 85 103 0.197 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
13:38:17 10/08/01 85 103 0.168 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
13:38:21 10/08/01 84 93 0.129 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
13:38:25 10/08/01 85 89 0.103 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
13:38:29 10/08/01 85 96 0.087 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
13:38:33 10/08/01 86 100 0.074 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
13:38:37 10/08/01 85 97 0.068 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
13:38:41 10/08/01 85 97 0.066 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
13:38:45 10/08/01 84 100 0.103 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
13:38:49 10/08/01 85 99 0.113 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
13:38:53 10/08/01 85 102 0.108 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
13:38:57 10/08/01 85 106 0.102 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
13:39:01 10/08/01 85 101 0.085 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
13:39:05 10/08/01 85 95 0.071 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
13:39:09 10/08/01 86 98 0.065 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
13:39:13 10/08/01 86 99 0.059 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal
13:39:17 10/08/01 85 95 0.071 Low SpO2 Low Quality Signal

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Cereal Killer
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Re: Low spo2 readings, real or faulty?

Post by Cereal Killer » Thu Oct 08, 2015 7:05 am

This is a good example of why it is best to get the doctor to order a pulse-oximetry study and analyze the results.

What do you think comes out of your messing with your own device except added confusion and stress?

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tiredandscared
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Re: Low spo2 readings, real or faulty?

Post by tiredandscared » Thu Oct 08, 2015 3:49 pm

Cereal Killer wrote:This is a good example of why it is best to get the doctor to order a pulse-oximetry study and analyze the results.

What do you think comes out of your messing with your own device except added confusion and stress?
Even if the process is anxious ridden and really haphazard. I still think I've learned something new about how oximeters work.