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SpO2 Assistant Report Eval? Any Help?

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 8:38 am
by krish
Hi, Since past year or so my other half and kids are complaining that I am snoring loud and she can't sleep. And also, there were occurrences she mentioned that I was gasping for air in the middle of night. So, I bought a Pulsoximeter to do overnight studies at home and generated a report using SpO2 Assistant but, not sure how to read it. Can someone help me understand if I have sleep apnea if so how bad, and do I need to see doc for this? Thanks for all help.

Here is my SpO2 Report for 04/17/2017
http://imgur.com/a/HCXYX

From 04/18/2017
http://imgur.com/a/lPsiZ

Re: SpO2 Assistant Report Eval? Any Help?

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:31 am
by Julie
Hi, you might have OSA, but don't depend on an oximeter to decide that. There are many more factors involved and a sleep study would be more appropriate. An oximeter is helpful to have once you know your diagnosis based on a study (or at least knowledgable testing with an Apap machine) but alone will not tell you much even if there are indications of low 02 for any amount of time or at any level. Plus there could be other reasons for those that are not OSA related. Now many others will chime in I'm sure telling you about their experiences, numbers, levels etc. but you are not them and should be checked out properly.

Re: SpO2 Assistant Report Eval? Any Help?

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:37 am
by GoodGuysFinish
You most certainly have apnea and extremely likely you have obstructive apnea. Your lowest oxygen level is 71, anything under 88 red line is usually physically damaging. You should get a doc on this as soon as you can swing it.

GGF

Re: SpO2 Assistant Report Eval? Any Help?

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 9:50 am
by Pugsy
I am betting that the drop to 71 wasn't real...that it was a loss of contact artifact. Zoom in on that big drop and see if you spot a gray line anywhere which means loss of contact.
It happened too fast for it to be real. Oxygen levels don't drop suddenly like that and they don't go back up so fast either.

The other drop around 1:30.....dunno, it might be real but again zoom in on things to look for any gray lines.

An unremarkable pulse oximetery report doesn't necessarily mean no sleep apnea though. I have a friend who has OSA that was severe with 60 plus events per hour average and her oxygen levels never went below 94% from a baseline of 98%.
It's why I don't put all my eggs in the pulse ox basket for diagnosing or not diagnosing sleep apnea.
If you have other symptoms of sleep apnea....talk to your doctor.

Re: SpO2 Assistant Report Eval? Any Help?

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 10:04 am
by raisedfist
Pulse oximetry cannot diagnose sleep apnea and a seemingly normal overnight report cannot rule out sleep apnea. If, however, the report shows problematic desaturations, that is very much so something I would address with a physician. Pulse oximetry is very valuable as feedback when optimizing therapy.

Re: SpO2 Assistant Report Eval? Any Help?

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 10:15 am
by Oltremare
You'll likely have OSAS but I think mild / moderate. The SPO2 value of 71, it's probably a fake, however, have a significant number of desaturation and 7 times SPO2 went below the 88% threshold alarm but all concentrated in a few minutes between 01.45 and 02.00 hours. Even your PR is quite "lively."
The best information that you have, are those of children and your wife says you loud snoring and gasping for breath in the middle of the night. enough to look for a better diagnosis.
Oximetry is just one of many parameters to be analyzed. To get you a good diagnosis, you ask your doctor polysomnography.
Hello

Re: SpO2 Assistant Report Eval? Any Help?

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 10:55 am
by krish
Thank you all. I just call my PCP and setup an appointment. I will update once I find out the next course of action.

Re: SpO2 Assistant Report Eval? Any Help?

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 1:58 pm
by HoseCrusher
At around 1:40 on 4/17 you had an interesting formation but quickly recovered and the dip on O2 didn't occur again. While interesting, one point doesn't make a trend.

The data from 4/18 looks normal.

Continue to monitor for a few more nights and see if the dip that occurred on 4/17 comes back. Be sure to print out your oximetry reports and bring them along with you to your doctors visit.

Re: SpO2 Assistant Report Eval? Any Help?

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 7:13 pm
by krish
Thanks I will keep monitoring until I see my PCP.

Re: SpO2 Assistant Report Eval? Any Help?

Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 7:32 pm
by ajack
with one episode in 2 nights monitoring so far, I would be looking at simpler treatment than a cpap. a heat and bite top and bottom mouthguard and a head strap would be my first thing.

Put this into ebay. A total for both is only $5 and may well fix it,
NEW Dental Mouth Guard Bruxism Splint Night Teeth Tooth Grinding Sleep Aid (buy 2 you will probably mess the first one up, but it can be reheated and done again)
and
Hot Snore Stop Belt Snoring Cpap Chin Strap Anti Sleep Apnea Jaw Solution Sleep

you may need to swap the chin strap for a cheap foam cervical collar for $10, if you bring your chin to your chest, which closes the airway