Poll: your lowest SpO2% level for a typical night?

[jinroh]

Based on my understanding, one major goal for xPAP treatment is to eliminate Oxygen desaturations. So it make sense to confirm the effectiveness by oximeter.

So what is your lowest SpO2% level for a typical night? by using xPAP of course.

I also appreciate if people can share their SpO2% figures.
For example, below is the data of mine, 2 days ago. I combined SpO2 and BiPAP report to a single figure. As you see, I woke up twice for about 20 minutes. All three intensive apneas/O2 desaturation happened 10~20 minutes after I turned on BiPAP (i.e. falling asleep).

Does that tell me something? Do you observe similar thing in your case?

[twokatmew]

For some reason your image is not displaying, jinroh. Some nights my oxy goes to 89%, but it's not there very long. Usually the lowest is around 91%.

[jinroh]

For some reason your image is not displaying, jinroh. Some nights my oxy goes to 89%, but it's not there very long. Usually the lowest is around 91%.

Hi twokatmew, thank you for pointing that out. I fixed the picture link, hopefully you all can see the figure.

[Hawthorne]

I can see the image and it's quite an example of how apneas can result in destats!

I don't know what your pressure settings are. You said a Bipap. you may want to raise your minimum some and slowly. I say this knowing not a lot about Bipaps but thinking in terms of my pressure range on my auto. Someone who knows more about Bipaps will see something more I am sure.

It's very obvious in your combined report. Thanks for posting this!

[Peter_C]

I am no doctor...but?

I would think, prior to gaining any real insight by seeing the lowest on-PAP numbers, you may wish to compare off-PAP lowest to on-PAP lowest?

Using myself for an example during my first study (prior to any surgery) my lowest off-PAP number was 63%!! And, that low happened 17 times in a 7hr period.

So - looking back at that, now my lowest number on-PAP (since surgery and change to BI-PAP) is 89%, and that is *once* in a night!

My wife, who just got her C-PAP bout 40 days ago (with a pressure of only 6) has never dropped below 96% on-PAP, but during her first study, she never dropped below 90% -ever! Just that she would wake at every minor drop - see my thinking?
HTH

[PST]

I used a pulse oximeter the last two nights. (I'm gathering data to try to win an argument with my doctor tomorrow.) There were no desaturations to speak of, not counting some oddities in the first 10 minutes while I was getting masked and settled. Part of the night it just stayed steady at around 96, at other times it sort of oscillated in the range 93-99. My oxygen saturation shows no reaction to a few brief apneas shown on the ResScan output.

[Arizona-Willie]

I usually don't go much lower than 84 - 87% but it's not unusual at all to see drops way down into the 60's even for very very brief periods.. but that is a bit unusual.

I almost always spend more than 90% of the time below 95% only briefly coming above 95%.

And apneas / hypopneas reported either by my Resmen or Respironics machines don't always equate to the desats.

It is possible to show a desat without an apnea ( probably because of shallow breathing, I dunno ) and the reverse is also true, I've seen apneas and no desats.
That happens quite often because the apnea doesn't last long enough to cause a desat, but when they are clustered they almost always cause a desat.

Everyone varies ... but without an oximeter a person is just guessing in the dark.

Oximeters should be builtin to every xpap machine along with a wireless connection.

[jonquiljo]

My O2 averages (without desats) in the 93-94 range. This concerns me a bit. When I am awake I go to 97% Does the body slow down that much? I have no heart or vascular or any disease that anyone can find. I am pretty fit - but it seems to be a bit low. Then again my pulse range average is in the 50's when I am asleep. Amy ideas?? thanks.

[JohnBFisher]

Most of the time I am in about the same range as you. I periodically have a desaturation into the 80s and sometimes into the 70s. But I am fighting a central apneas. Even though my ASV supports my breathing during those events, it does not completely eliminate the desaturation. But it's a LOT better than it was.

Here's hoping you will be able to get your therapy working for you...