Low Pulse Ox During The Day While Awake???!!

[Madalot]

While my situation is different from most that participate here, I experience the same thing. My pulse ox during the day, while resting in a chair, tends to run in the low 90's at times. I am also on supplemental oxygen through my vent when sleeping and that usually keeps me in the middle 90's most of the night. Even then I still have drops into the lower to mid 80's during REM sleep - something I need to address with my doctor again.

But yes, if I get hooked up to my monitor and sit and watch TV for an hour, it's not uncommon for my readings to be in the lower 90's.

I think addressing this with your doctor is the right thing, but I also know how much it helps to ask questions like that here to get input from others that either experience the same thing or have knowledge that could help.

So you just keep on asking any questions you want --

[TmjTerri]

But yes, if I get hooked up to my monitor and sit and watch TV for an hour, it's not uncommon for my readings to be in the lower 90's.

I think addressing this with your doctor is the right thing, but I also know how much it helps to ask questions like that here to get input from others that either experience the same thing or have knowledge that could help.

So you just keep on asking any questions you want --

Thank you Madalot! I appreciate you sharing your experience with low pulse ox with me. Sometimes I if I ask a certain question I feel like some here think I am either stupid for asking or stupid for not running straight to the doctor first. This is why I joined this forum, to ask any and all questions that I may have regarding my personal situation. Certainly I do not want to be looked at like I am dumb for the things I ask, they are just questions. Anyhow, thank you again for sharing, It is very helpful hearing other peoples experiences and how they handle them.

[Madalot]

Thank you Madalot! I appreciate you sharing your experience with low pulse ox with me. Sometimes I if I ask a certain question I feel like some here think I am either stupid for asking or stupid for not running straight to the doctor first. This is why I joined this forum, to ask any and all questions that I may have regarding my personal situation. Certainly I do not want to be looked at like I am dumb for the things I ask, they are just questions. Anyhow, thank you again for sharing, It is very helpful hearing other peoples experiences and how they handle them.

I understand exactly how you feel. This is a very complicated thing that we deal with and frankly, most doctors do not have the time to be available to answer every question a patient may have. I suspect that had I not been able to ask the questions here and ran straight to my doctor for each one, she would have dumped me as a problem patient by now.

A forum like this can be instrumental in helping a person figure out if the situation NEEDS addressing by a doctor and how quickly.

So you keep asking questions. If you feel somebody is being judgmental of you for it, just do the old "eyeroll" and ignore them -- or do what you've done and politely thank them for their input, but eyeroll 'em anyway!!!

[TmjTerri]

I understand exactly how you feel. This is a very complicated thing that we deal with and frankly, most doctors do not have the time to be available to answer every question a patient may have. I suspect that had I not been able to ask the questions here and ran straight to my doctor for each one, she would have dumped me as a problem patient by now.

A forum like this can be instrumental in helping a person figure out if the situation NEEDS addressing by a doctor and how quickly.

So you keep asking questions. If you feel somebody is being judgmental of you for it, just do the old "eyeroll" and ignore them -- or do what you've done and politely thank them for their input, but eyeroll 'em anyway!!!

Madalot..Thank you SO much for this reply. You have made me feel SO much better. You are 100% right when you say to just be polite, ignore and do the old eyeroll..I needed this answer. You are a real gem and this board NEEDS more folks like you!

[Madalot]

Madalot..Thank you SO much for this reply. You have made me feel SO much better. You are 100% right when you say to just be polite, ignore and do the old eyeroll..I needed this answer. You are a real gem and this board NEEDS more folks like you!

You're very kind. I came close to being chased away by a few people, but in the end decided to risk spraining my eyes doing the old eyeroll when necessary. I was even told once that I had violent tendencies that I shouldn't be proud of when I jokingly said a few people needed to be smacked with a baseball bat!!

It takes all kinds and some of these people do make life interesting. I have stuck around, just not as active as I once was.

[TmjTerri]

You're very kind. I came close to being chased away by a few people, but in the end decided to risk spraining my eyes doing the old eyeroll when necessary. I was even told once that I had violent tendencies that I shouldn't be proud of when I jokingly said a few people needed to be smacked with a baseball bat!!

It takes all kinds and some of these people do make life interesting. I have stuck around, just not as active as I once was.

Madalot.. I do not know why I would even let a stranger make me feel like I am a big fat dummy for asking a simple question, I felt that a few times here but after talking to you, not any more. No way!! I really appreciate your support and reminding me that I can just ignore them and do the old eye roll and move on. From now on I am going to be polite like I always am and just either ignore the comment or press delete! I would never ever make some one feel that bad for asking a question..Thanks again!!! I am glad you stuck around.

[TmjTerri]

sounds familiar. I got a few nasty grams too for suggesting something similar in a joking fashion... the PC police are ever present...

I cannot believe that some people would actually write to you and be agressive like that when you were clearly joking. I personally could not ever do that. To be honest, I have even pm a few people who sounded upset at either my questions or responses and apologized to them. Why would I do that?? LOL.. Actually, come to think of it I never heard back from the 2 people I pm and apologized to. LOL.

[gpk111]

1. Have vou calibrated your oximeter (with another one?)
2. Has your oximeter ever registered a higher value?

[TmjTerri]

1. Have vou calibrated your oximeter (with another one?)
2. Has your oximeter ever registered a higher value?

Actually I do not have a pulse oximeter yet.. my doctor ordered one for me to use over night and that is when I noticed my lowered pulse ox. However I am going to get one very very soon so I can keep track every now and then. When I get one can you walk me through how to calibrate the oximeter?

[Goofproof]

I can't find the screw on mine to crank, what makes you think the one you are doing the cal against would be correct. i guess you could drop it in a vat of liquid O2, then see if it reads 100%, I doubt that it will read anything after that. Jim

[gpk111]

Good news: You could have had an unusual night.
Bad news: The ones you rent are usually calibrated.

There are no screws to adjust, as Jim (jokingly) implied. I did notice, though, that the home units are not always reliable. They can't be adjusted, but you can get a feel for their accuracy by taking them to a doc and comparing your instantaneous reading to the doc's. That's what I meant by calibrate.

If you get one, I recommend one that can record the data so you can analyze it, rather than the ones that only have instantaneous readings.

[Madalot]

Madalot.. I do not know why I would even let a stranger make me feel like I am a big fat dummy for asking a simple question, I felt that a few times here but after talking to you, not any more. No way!! I really appreciate your support and reminding me that I can just ignore them and do the old eye roll and move on. From now on I am going to be polite like I always am and just either ignore the comment or press delete! I would never ever make some one feel that bad for asking a question..Thanks again!!! I am glad you stuck around.

I think what happens to people like you and me is that we are genuine whether a person is talking to us face to face or on the internet. We treat people the same and expect the same in return. When we don't get that, it upsets us. Unfortunately, a lot of people use the anonymous nature of the internet to behave in a way that they probably would never dream of in person.

In the end, there are a lot of kind, caring and generous people here -- and their numbers are far superior to the few that do a lot of game playing and power tripping. The ignore feature has come in handy for me a time or two!!

As far as the pulse ox monitor, I strongly agree that getting one that records the overnight data is a must. They aren't that much more expensive, so if you can swing it, it would be worth the extra money.

I got mine and checked it against the data from my DME's. I found that mine (the CMS 50F) seems pretty close to my DME's. My last doctor's appointment, I showed her reports from my monitor and asked her if she would accept the data if I felt it needed addressing. It looked like she took a second to compare it to the data from my DME and came to the same conclusion. She said she would definitely take information from my monitor. She still might order an "official" overnight from my DME, but would definitely use mine to determine any need.

Oh -- I did the same thing you did a couple of times when my DME was ordering overnight tests. The RT asked me to check periodically throughout the days to get readings during my awake periods as well.

[gpk111]

Madalot (why are you mad a lot? )

You should add the CMS50F to your profile! I like that unit a lot. Also reasonably priced, very functional (once you interpret the Chinglish) and easy to wear overnight. Mine seems a little off. It wasn't glaring, but didn't quite jive with my doc's. I'm waiting for a new one to be sent from China.

[Madalot]

Madalot (why are you mad a lot? )

Because you asked so nicely with a smile on your face, I'll take this opportunity to explain it. The name "Madalot" actually does mean Mad a Lot, but it stems from a family situation years back. I was about ready to bust with anger over a stupid family problem and was looking for an online forum to ask for some help and input. I needed a screen name quickly and at that moment, Madalot seemed PERFECT. And the name just stuck and I typically use it in a lot of forums because I can remember it! DoriC calls me "Maddy" and I think that is cute!!

In truth, I don't care when people make fun of the name in fun, but when they accuse me of being "mad a lot" when I AM obviously mad, I don't tend to find it very humorous.

You should add the CMS50F to your profile! I like that unit a lot. Also reasonably priced, very functional (once you interpret the Chinglish) and easy to wear overnight. Mine seems a little off. It wasn't glaring, but didn't quite jive with my doc's. I'm waiting for a new one to be sent from China.

I'll add the CMS50F to my profile -- never occurred to me that it might be helpful for others to see. Thanks.

[blusaber]

Hi

I just picked up the CMS 50E. I to read in the 92 to 95 at rest then I put it on my wife and its 98 (shes that way ya know ) I blame my readings on being around pool chemicals for the last 35 years. I did start taking Iron pills yesterday so we'll see. For what ever reason my over nite numbers were higher last nite.

The only thing I have trouble with this unit is somewhere in the nite my finger starts to hurt and I wake up long enough to change to a different finger it looks to me like the 50 f would not have this problem

Gary