Onset centrals during semi awake/sleep period. Blood rushes.

Last night, as I was in a half awake / half asleep situation, I noticed my wearable pulse ox go down before I was even asleep. I felt blood rush to my head, and then I took a deep breath. My pulse ox rapidly went down to 87, so I quickly grabbed a finger ox off of my nightstand, and it was at 91. What I don't understand is why is this happening before I am asleep? Can your blood oxygen go down that fast; within about a minute or so? This is a big WTF moment for me.

My ASV machine is due to arrive on Tuesday afternoon. This sh*t is stressing me out. Going to try to get my neurologist to help me with an MRI. Health anxiety overload.

Before you get totally stressed out...

You need to "play" with your oximeter a little to better understand how it responds. Mild exercise should increase your heart rate and with that you will also see a rise in O2 levels. When you sit down and relax you can keep your O2 levels up by deep breathing. Switching to shallow breathing will see some drop on O2 levels. By alternating between the two you can get a feel for how fast things move.

A good way to do this is to sit down after a good dinner and watch a movie that puts you to sleep. Just let yourself drift off and you should be able to relax and with the oximeter recording the data you should get some good data that shows how fast things change.

The next part of this is to take your finger out of the oximeter, then put it back in. This will give you a signature of what a lost signal looks like.

These two patterns can help you understand what is going on during normal overnight sessions.

HoseCrusher wrote:Before you get totally stressed out...

You need to "play" with your oximeter a little to better understand how it responds. Mild exercise should increase your heart rate and with that you will also see a rise in O2 levels. When you sit down and relax you can keep your O2 levels up by deep breathing. Switching to shallow breathing will see some drop on O2 levels. By alternating between the two you can get a feel for how fast things move.

A good way to do this is to sit down after a good dinner and watch a movie that puts you to sleep. Just let yourself drift off and you should be able to relax and with the oximeter recording the data you should get some good data that shows how fast things change.

The next part of this is to take your finger out of the oximeter, then put it back in. This will give you a signature of what a lost signal looks like.

These two patterns can help you understand what is going on during normal overnight sessions.

But in the 80s? I have been diagnosed with sleep onset central apnea, mixed with mild to moderate OSA, and they are putting me on an ASV machine because of it. I know I probably sound like a huge chicken, and I am one. I'm worried about my brain not getting enough oxygen. They bring the machine to me on Tuesday, and then I have to learn how to get used to it. There have been times when I woke up gasping, and freaking out, with a heart rate between 120 and 150. Now you know why I sleep with the alarmed pulse ox on my wrist, and I'm on a low dose of anti-anxiety medication.

Thank you for your kind response. I don't mean to be a bitch. I'm just scared. (((HUG)))

Why does the blood rush to my head when the pulse ox goes down? Baffled.

Anxiety can make your BP and O2 levels fluctuate considerably. You say you are worried about your machine, you are worried about your brain, you are "freaking out" about gasping when you wake up. All these concerns cause your breathing to change which in turn will affect your BP and O2 . You should use a recording O2 device that you can wear all night to see your respiration and O2 levels for 8 hours.

LSAT wrote:Anxiety can make your BP and O2 levels fluctuate considerably. You say you are worried about your machine, you are worried about your brain, you are "freaking out" about gasping when you wake up. All these concerns cause your breathing to change which in turn will affect your BP and O2 . You should use a recording O2 device that you can wear all night to see your respiration and O2 levels for 8 hours.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to see that when the two night sleep study papers arrive in the mail. If I set my pulse ox to record, it doesn't alarm me if it dips way down. I know my health anxiety is bad, but I have been diagnosed with PTSD, so I'm a bit of a mess right now. Please forgive me if I seem like as pain in the ass. They could probably make a hilarious movie based on my neurosis.

I was a fit, type-a workaholic, who crashed and burned, and I'm trying hard to pull myself up out of the mess I'm in. Change is weird and difficult for me. I admit it.

JV1967 wrote:Why does the blood rush to my head when the pulse ox goes down? Baffled.

I don't know what you're feeling with this "blood rushing to the head" but, if indeed that is the case, then physiologically the whole thing could be explained by your o2 levels going down, your brain going "GASP!" constricting your blood vessels, reducing flow to your extremities.

tell your brain to stop being so greedy.

note, there's probably no actual physiological basis in that little theory, but it sounds good

palerider wrote:

JV1967 wrote:Why does the blood rush to my head when the pulse ox goes down? Baffled.

I don't know what you're feeling with this "blood rushing to the head" but, if indeed that is the case, then physiologically the whole thing could be explained by your o2 levels going down, your brain going "GASP!" constricting your blood vessels, reducing flow to your extremities.

tell your brain to stop being so greedy.

note, there's probably no actual physiological basis in that little theory, but it sounds good

Just as a point of reference...

While driving long distances (400+ miles) I have seen my O2 levels dip to 85%. As a result I try to take frequent breaks and also take a few deep breaths every now and again and find that works very well.

HoseCrusher wrote:Just as a point of reference...

While driving long distances (400+ miles) I have seen my O2 levels dip to 85%. As a result I try to take frequent breaks and also take a few deep breaths every now and again and find that works very well.

I'm sorry that happened to you. I appreciate that you've taken time to respond to me. It helps. Thank you. (((HUG)))