Best Oximeter?

[Sillyme]

I'm thinking of getting one that records - both for myself and to let other family members use who I think may need CPAP but are as resistant as I was. It was the O2 levels that did it for me. They aren't cheap so don't want to get a dud. Experience? What features are most helpful and which are fluff?

[Goofproof]

The CMS 50E, is fine, but first I'd want a XPAP that recorded full data and the software to use it. Then Maybe a Pulse Ox. Jim

[gpk111]

Having studied the data from an inexpensive (but respectable) unit and projecting what a professional model may be able to do, I have come to the conclusion that an oximeter is only useful when considered along with other data, including a sleep study or (at minimum) a home sleep study.

This may sound like I'm reading out of some book which advocates defensive medicine, but I believe it to be true.

I guess it could serve a screening function: if the data looks way out of whack, you could conclude that further study is warranted. However, I would be wary of false negatives.

[gpk111]

Silly,
More oximeter threads here:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=55471&p=519247#p519247

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=55477&p=519244#p519244

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=55394&p=519214#p519214

Gerry

[elena88]

I was interested in buying one, and knew I wanted something comfortable that would not bug me..

so I went to this website, and asked Kevin Cooper for some advice..

I ended up buying the wrist model, and Im very pleased with it, and Kevin is a great guy and
will give you honest advice.. he is so darn helpful!

http://www.pulseoxstore.com/

It was very easy to download the data too, the oxi comes with the software.. you can watch it in real time, or record anyone you want..

I recorded my husband too..

[Zippie85]

thanks, that helped me a lot!
regards,
chantal

[ResmedUser]

I'm thinking of getting one that records - both for myself and to let other family members use who I think may need CPAP but are as resistant as I was. It was the O2 levels that did it for me. They aren't cheap so don't want to get a dud. Experience? What features are most helpful and which are fluff?

I got all into this oximeter idea about two years back. I ended up buying a high end Nonin wristOx recording oximeter. It is good, but I have used it only maybe ten times for actual recording in my sleep since I got it. It never did anything much to improve my treatment. Honestly, youd be better off saving your $$$ and maybe buying a second CPAP or APAP for a backup if you dont already have a backup machine.

I should have spent the money on an oximeter for a backup APAP. If you need an oximeter, your doctor will prescribe you one.

If you just want a spot checker for the daytime to see if you have low daytime O2, you can get cheap ones from REI. Pilots and mountain climbers use spot checker oximeters all the time and those are inexpensive. I have one of those two and actually use the spot checking one a fair amount. I discovered the more weight I lost, the higher my O2 levels went while I was awake. I guess being fat made my breathing harder <doh!!). Who woulda thunk that?

Mikey

[HoseCrusher]

Mikey, I think you are missing something here...

Obstructive sleep apnea means that your airway closes. When your airway closes, your oxygen saturation drops. If it drops far enough, your pulse rate increases while you arrouse to a point where you gasp for breath to get your oxygen levels back up.

You may have not been able to figure out how a pulse oximeter helps in reviewing all of this, but it actually does. I would suggest that you dust off your pulse oximeter and give it another go. The reports are actually very revealing.

For example, if you have no desaturations below 90%, you know that your pressures are adequate to prevent obstructions. If you have no desaturation events, you know that as far as oxygen levels go, you are doing well. Next you need to review pulse events. The default settings for pulse events roughly correlate to arousals. You can also adjust the settings to flag more significant pulse events.

In addition, pulse oximetry adds more channels to your data. If you look at your air flow data, and see something different, you can then correlate it to the pulse oximetry data to see if it is significant, or just something different. If you have higher machine scored AHI based upon air flow, and see that you have no significant desaturations or pulse events, you can rest easy that the machine is seeing something, but it may not be significant. If you feel like crap when you wake up and review your pulse oximetry data to find that you have had no desaturations during the night, you can then begin to look elsewhere for the problem. This tells you that the xPAP therapy is keeping your airway open, and the reason that you feel like crap has nothing to do with low oxygen levels. Now you can leave the machine settings alone and devote your efforts to finding out what is wrong and finding a solution to why you feel like crap.

The proper use of a pulse oximeter can fine tune the machine to give better treatment. With the cost of a recording pulse oximeter running in the $100 range, I think it is an important accessory for xPAP therapy. For those who are thrown to the wolves and have to figure out for themselves what a good pressure is, a pulse oximeter can be a valuable aid in finding a proper pressure. It can not substitute for a sleep study, but it can alert you to gross problems.

I think you are selling the pulse oximeter short. Properly used, it can provide some valuable information.

[Slartybartfast]

My 5 month appointment with the sleep Doc is on Monday afternoon. I printed out ResScan data reports taken over several nights, at both the prescribed 11 cm CPAP conditions, and my preferred 9 - 20 cm APAP settings. I appended the oximetry reports I collected on those nights with my CMS 50E to support my belief that the APAP settings I chose are appropriate. I don't expect any argument from the Doc, but I wanted to have both factors of therapy, the xPAP conditions and the oximetry, available in case he questions what I'm doing.

The way I see it, the oximetry report verifies that the xPAP therapy is effective, just as blood glucose testing verifies that a diabetic patient's insulin dosage is correct.

[Sally.C]

i just can say that this is brandnew for me, but thanks...
cheers,
sally