...Believe it or Not...

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.
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Offerocker
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...Believe it or Not...

Post by Offerocker » Mon Oct 16, 2006 6:00 pm

Last night I used a recordable pulse oximiter from local DME, after I requested same from pulmonary dr.

I received the following phone message from the DME's RT this afternoon:

"I'd just like to confirm that you were using your CPAP with oxygen while doing the test".

D U H * D U H * D U H * D U H * D U H * D U H * D U H * D U H *

The oxygen was Rx'd at 2. I have it set at 4.
I am withing1/2 mile of the machine, and it gives a good blast....of SOMETHING...I'm pretty sure it is oxygen, because I watched the numbers go up & down with & without it hooked up. Now, I hope he's not taking that little test as the "All Night Study: !!!
Slept a great, solid 8 hours.

Got up, left on the pulse ox just to watch the numbers change with exertion, etc. Coffee and ___ didn't affect the number as much as I'd thought!!!

I was high 80's, to 94 during the night before I drifted off, and awakened once...93-94.

My machine only goes to 6!

I wonder if it is safe to turn it up another notch or to, to 5 or 6?

Haven't decided just what to tell the RT tomorrow morning...OK, I'll tell him the truth, and see how much he cares? Or maybe another pulse ox? Or another oxygen machine?


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dsm
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Post by dsm » Mon Oct 16, 2006 7:03 pm

Offer...

When my Brother was recently in intensive care (seriously ill with a nasty respiritory infection + he is a paraplegic) I saw the nurse put the SpO2 probe on one of his toes & noticed his SpO2 was 100%.

I marvelled that he could get such a great SpO2 reading from one of his toes. I usually get about 95% from my ring finger.

The nurse pointed out that he was on a very high dose of supplemental oxygen (I just can't recall the amount but it was high).

I have wondered about the benefit of adding supplemental oxygen such as to get a 100% reading (NOTE! I am not going to try this - not unless my doctor suggested it ), but I still wonder if it would be a good thing to get 100%
while sleeping.

DSM
xPAP and Quattro std mask (plus a pad-a-cheek anti-leak strap)

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NightHawkeye
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Post by NightHawkeye » Mon Oct 16, 2006 7:33 pm

dsm wrote:I saw the nurse put the SpO2 probe on one of his toes & noticed his SpO2 was 100%.

I marvelled that he could get such a great SpO2 reading from one of his toes. I usually get about 95% from my ring finger.
There's also another likely explanation for the high reading - it was probably not true. Been there, done that . . . I saw that reading a lot in my pre-xPAP days. Cold fingers and cold toes will give an artificially high SpO2 reading everytime.

A consistent 100% reading on an oximeter is not a good thing. It means that something is wrong! You might want to have your brother explore that possibility since his nurse was apparently clueless.

Regards,
Bill

Guest

Post by Guest » Mon Oct 16, 2006 7:36 pm

The average peson is usually around 97-99% and that is considered normal.
You can overoxgenate yourself so I would be a little careful about changing the litre flow too terribly much.
I'm not supprised the provider called to check on the CPAP use. I have had a lot of patients who were ordered an overnight and were also on CPAP and they did the test only with the pulse ox - even after we tell them repeatedly to use both. It happens a lot more than you'd think!

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Offerocker
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Post by Offerocker » Mon Oct 16, 2006 7:37 pm

dsm wrote:Offer...


I have wondered about the benefit of adding supplemental oxygen such as to get a 100% reading (NOTE! I am not going to try this - not unless my doctor suggested it ), but I still wonder if it would be a good thing to get 100%
while sleeping.

DSM
First, DSM, I am very sorry to learn of your brother's condition; I can only hope that he is able to cope. I know that respiratory problems abound due to lack of exercise. Please, please be certain that he does not get ANY pressure sores due to either sitting or lying in one position continually. A person is to be turned every 2 hours, and touching limbs need to be padded - towels, pillows, etc. But then, I'd guess you already know this.

Yes, I wonder just WHAT number he's wanting to see!? I do have compromised lung capacity due to scoliosis (can't tell now), and years of smoking. I'd expect an athlete capable of getting 100%. I thought I was doing good to see the 94. UNLESS the pulse ox was faulty, and didn't record what it displayed. So strange, when I returned the device, I asked for him(Ron, THE RT). No, he's 'out.....' then I asked if there was another RT. The person 'handling' me disappeared, then I overheard "Ron"...then another person came out to 'help' me. I now know how they do business. He didn't think he needed to 'bother with me' because I was 'only' returning the device. Actually, I wanted to let him know of the false alarm on previous night, and that I'd left it on AFTER I took off the mask, etc. for approxs 20 minutes. And that I wanted a copy of the readout. "Well, we won't be able to get to that TODAY...wanna come back tomorrow, or should we mail it?" Mail it! Then, TWO hours later, RON leaves the msg on my phone. Gosh no, Ron, I slept all night with my mask on, and didn't think to turn on the cpap machine, let alone the usual ritual of adding the oxygen hose. I guess I'd better save up for a good pulse ox and software, eh? Any recommendations? I know there's been some discussion around about them, but whoever answers this 'call' will get preferential consideration to their opinions. .


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NightHawkeye
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Post by NightHawkeye » Mon Oct 16, 2006 7:55 pm

Offerocker wrote:I guess I'd better save up for a good pulse ox and software, eh? Any recommendations? I know there's been some discussion around about them, but whoever answers this 'call' will get preferential consideration to their opinions. .
There's really only one that's usable, reliable and available for a decent price now, and that's a used Nellcor N-395. You can read your nightly events directly from the front display, which is a good thing because the software is unobtainable through any normal channels. Expect to pay $250 to $500 for a good one with D-100 probe included.

There's also an oximeter available brand spanking new now for $500 with software, but reports have not sounded good - lots of software problems. The rest of the recording oximeters are up in the $1000 range. Good luck OffeRocker. Hope this helps a little.

Regards,
Bill (who finds his oximeter data more meaningful than the Encore data)

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Offerocker
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Post by Offerocker » Mon Oct 16, 2006 8:08 pm

Guest: Thanks for that; I guess I won't be TOO hard on him then.
NIGHTHAWKEYE: Thank you for that recommendation. It does sound familiar too. I appreciate the input on the differences also. I'm going to put the N-395 on my 'wish list' - at the TOP.
Now, to sell xx ComfortSleeves...... ...

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birdshell
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Post by birdshell » Mon Oct 16, 2006 8:56 pm

NightHawkeye wrote:
dsm wrote:I saw the nurse put the SpO2 probe on one of his toes & noticed his SpO2 was 100%.

I marvelled that he could get such a great SpO2 reading from one of his toes. I usually get about 95% from my ring finger.
There's also another likely explanation for the high reading - it was probably not true. Been there, done that . . . I saw that reading a lot in my pre-xPAP days. Cold fingers and cold toes will give an artificially high SpO2 reading everytime.

A consistent 100% reading on an oximeter is not a good thing. It means that something is wrong! You might want to have your brother explore that possibility since his nurse was apparently clueless.

Regards,
Bill
Didn't pure O2 administered to babies cause blindness? Was that caused by overoxygenation? Just thought I'd ask....
Be kinder than necessary; everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

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Offerocker
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Post by Offerocker » Mon Oct 16, 2006 9:14 pm

My father was in an oxygen tent at one time...
I wonder now what the 'level' of oxygen was...

Interesting, Birdshell; I don't recall that myself, but it CAN be dangerous stuff.

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John, RN
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Oxygen is a DRUG

Post by John, RN » Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:58 pm

Especially in patients with COPD, If you give them too much o2, they just quit breathing (and can DIE). For the ballpark ANY sat above 92% is just fine. Exceptions exist in the case of peds with congenital heart defects (where o2 rich and o2 poor blood are MIXED) they can live on a sat of 65-80% until they get their septal defects repaired. O2, if needed, generally needs to be just enough to get the job done. 2 L/M is usually more than enough, and generally will raise the o2 content of room air up to 24-28% as opposed to 21% without any added.
I would strongly suggest users of supplemental o2 to not monkey with the liter flow, as this can be a lot worse than playing with cpap pressures. You can get used to long periods on Oxygen, and it can be hard to wean off of it afterwards.


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