When is oxygen an acceptable treatment for OSA?

osagirl · Post by **osagirl** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 12:22 pm

I had another sleep study last night...
The tech told me this morning that no matter how high he went with cpap, he couldnt get my o2 levels to go above 95. But he also said I wasn't having events?? I don't know what to do, any input is appriciated

Titrator · Post by **Titrator** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 12:42 pm

Hi OSAGirl,

O2 saturation of 90% or higher is considered normal. If you are at 91% you are doing just fine. There is no need to try and raise your O2 level to more than 95%. Some people will have a resting saturation of higher than 95%, but other will be a little lower. As long as you are above 90% you are considered to be normal.

Supplemental O2 therapy doesn't help you as a single tool to treat OSA. If there is an obstruction, O2 will not clear it, but sometimes If you have a circumstance that clears your OSA, but still leaves you below 90% O2, no matter what pressure you use, then O2 therapy is implemented.

Titrator Ted

osagirl · Post by **osagirl** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 12:54 pm

okay one more question..
what if im tired because my o2 isn't 100 when i sleep, then is oxygen implemented?

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:06 pm

I have COPD and to the best of my knowledge oxygen is never a treatment for sleep apnea.

Oxygen supplementation, even just for sleep, is EXPENSIVE. In our area it is billed at $492.50 A MONTH. The allowed amount is $232.48. In my case Medicare pays $185.98 and my secondary pays $46.50. If I didn't have good secondary insurance I would be responsible for the $46.50 a month. Plus the oxygen concentrator can add as much as $30 to $40 a month to your electric bill.

I assume you are sure you didn't misunderstand the tech to say that your 02 saturation never went BELOW 95% as well as that you didn't have any events or desats??

The worry is not that your sats are 95% or higher but if your sats go UNDER 90%. One doesn't qualify for oxygen supplementation unless you experience frequent and somewhat prolonged oxygen desaturations 88% or LOWER.

Or, if you have been on CPAP therapy awhile, it means that the CPAP therapy is doing its job, it is preventing apneas and hypopneas. IF your 02 is dropping below 88% frequently during sleep and for somewhat prolonged periods then you MIGHT need 02 supplementation AS WELL AS CPAP.

It is just too early with too little information to get upset by what the tech told you. Wait until you get the results of your sleep and titration studies and the dictated report before getting too upset or worried about this.

Slinky · Post by **Slinky** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:13 pm

To the best of my knowledge NO ONE ever gets up to 100% oxygen saturation on room air. Our 02 saturations fluctuate w/exertion, higher when resting and lower when exercising. As long as your sats stay w/in the 90%-99% range you are in good shape.

Do you have reason to be concerned about your pulmonary function such as being a smoker, or a recently quit smoker?

Wulfman... · Post by **Wulfman...** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 1:18 pm

I think the premise to your question is incorrect. I also agree with Ted and Slinky.
If you're getting O2 numbers in the 90's and you're still tired, you need to look elsewhere. Are you getting ENOUGH sleep? Any other physical conditions that are causing you problems?
I have no idea of what the statistical possibilities of even reaching 100% are.....for a "normal" person or even with O2 added in.....while sleeping.

Den

kteague · Post by **kteague** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 3:13 pm

"When is oxygen an acceptable treatment for OSA?"

Ditto what's already been said about oxygen not being needed if 02 levels are in the normal range. Those who get oxygen in addition to their cpap general have compromised lung function and need 02 whether awake or asleep.

I had a coworker who was given oxygen for sleep in a desperate attempt to help keep her oxygen levels above danger zone when she absolutely couldn't adjust to cpap therapy. She was hospitalized a very ill woman. I'm guessing she had more hypopneas than apneas, because she benefitted greatly from the 02. Her BP and sugar went down. Her CHF was brought under control. She began riding a stationary bike and built up to 10 miles per day, and has lost about 80 pounds. She went off the 02 after losing the weight, but later, just to be safe, she had an overnight oximetry that showed she no longer needed the supplementation.

My coworker must be one whose weight really was the cause of her apnea. In my mind, she would have recovered quicker had she managed to use the cpap and the 02 wouldn't have been needed. But I'm glad her doctor continued to try to help her. She used to seem older than her age, but now she's one that others don't believe her age. Once again, so many variations in experiences.

Kathy

sharon1965 · Post by **sharon1965** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 3:18 pm

at the top of the page there is a link to cpap videos...if you click on that you'll find a list of videos to choose from...there is an excellent one called "understanding sleep disordered breathing" which has a dramatization of a psg, performed on model...it has graphs that show data on normal breathing, snoring,hypopneas and apneas, and it follows the heart rate and oxygen saturation...you'll see that the saturation never rises to 100%, in fact, i believe 96% is the highest you'll see, even with no flow limitation

_________________

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rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 6:44 pm

osagirl, what pressure have you been prescribed?

I sure hope it wasn't one of the high pressures the sleep tech used solely in an attempt to get your SpO2 to go above 95 long after a pressure was found that eliminated apneas and hypopneas, snores and significant flow limitations. Geeze.

As the others have said, O2 levels staying 90 or above while sleeping is considered normal, as far as I know. But I'm no doctor, or anything in the health care field. Sounds like you had a sleep tech who is not too savvy about what is normal SpO2 during sleep.

linda b · Post by **linda b** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:26 pm

I started using oxygen at night in December 2005. It was prescribed by my family doctor after I was refused surgery because my resting oxygen was way below 89%. I then went to a pulmonologist who diagnosed me with COPD (asthma/bronchitis/emphasema) and sent me for a sleep study. An oximetry test showed desaturations down to 40% with the whole night spent below 80%. To make a long story shorter, it was mid-May 2006 by the time I actually got my APAP machine and started therapy for the sleep apnea.

HOWEVER, by that time I was feeling considerably better from just the oxygen at night. The brain fog I had been in was gone, my mild depression went bye-bye, my memory problems decreased and I was beginning to lose a little weight.

My advise is pretty much the same as others -- make sure you have the correct information and if therapy is needed, then by all means do it. But if you do NOT have sleep apnea but DO have low oxygen levels, then you need to find out why. My cost for oxygen is about $36 per month and the increase in utility bills is barely noticeable when using it at night only. There is also the option of liquid oxygen which does not require electricity. In my opinion, the cost is money very well spent!!

Humidifier

Humidifier

When is oxygen an acceptable treatment for OSA?

When is oxygen an acceptable treatment for OSA?

One woman as an example