To those of us that desaturate....

[bmc23]

Have you ever found out the root cause of your desaturation? I do use the supplemental o2 piggybacked to bipap... need a new oximetry test to see the result. Cardiology/pulmonary believe there appears to be a missing piece. They are looking at a PFO but it did not surface during ECHO bubble study. I do have mild copd.... breathing not bad though. Hope the missing piece isn't like a loose screw.... know what I mean. Just interested.... thx

[BleepingBeauty]

Have you ever found out the root cause of your desaturation? I do use the supplemental o2 piggybacked to bipap... need a new oximetry test to see the result. Cardiology/pulmonary believe there appears to be a missing piece. They are looking at a PFO but it did not surface during ECHO bubble study. I do have mild copd.... breathing not bad though. Hope the missing piece isn't like a loose screw.... know what I mean. Just interested.... thx

Hi. I also have mild COPD (dx'd after an eleven-day stay in the hospital last summer with pneumonia), but I've had supplemental O2 with xPAP for a few years now. My old sleep doc suspected (five+ years ago) that I needed the O2 at night because I live at high elevation, so she ordered a concentrator for me. I also had a full Pulmonary Function Test done last summer, after the pneumonia and being dx'd with COPD, and everything was okay. I do use a recording overnight oximeter occasionally just to be sure my O2 level doesn't need attention. (FYI, I had moderate/severe desats noted on my original sleep study back in 2007.)

So the short answer is no, I don't know the exact reason why the O2 is needed at night, but I use it, and I feel pretty good. And I was *really* happy that I had the concentrator when I had pneumonia last year; I was using it 24/7 before I was hospitalized, and it helped.

I hope you find your answers.