Oxygen??

[karessamom]

Just had a new titration study done a couple of months ago. Just got a copy of the report yesterday when I switched CPAP suppliers and I found it very interesting that it said my sats were between 89 and 91% and recommended 2L of oxygen at night. No one told me about that. This was done before a recent cardiac ablation for PSAT so I'm wondering now if I really need it?? When the dr. called to report the results (a couple months ago) he never said anything about oxygen but wanted to set me up (I already had cpap stuff) so now wondering if that's what he was talking about?? would 2L of oxygen really make any difference in how I feel in the morning or how I sleep at night?? many mornings I wake groggy and I still sometimes have nightmares of doing CPR on someone or something tragic happening?? that may be just conincidense?? but I'm really curious now--and because the heart arrhythmia problem is better wondering if that was the cause of the lower oxygen?? i'm actually kind of dissappointed in this report as it didn't say anything about numbers except for the low O2. I've been on CPAP since 2009 and doing really good. your thoughts??

[Julie]

Hi, not to trivialize the report (or you) that you got, but if every one of us who ever had a reading of 1-2 #'s below 90 at some time went out and got put on 02, we'd all be in quite a state! I doubt very much that you need it now any more than you have in the past or will in the future. Keep an eye on things of course, but possibly the recommendation for 02 is some kind of standard thing that lab has built into its policy, maybe to address other issues besides plain OSA, and so it came along with your titration, but I otherwise wouldn't worry a lot about that... and wouldn't personally want to mess with 02 myself unless I was very sure I really needed it to stay alive.

[karessamom]

my way of thinking exactly--but I did find it amuzing to say the least! ha! but how low is too low for your sats?? is it OK to have sats at a persistent level of 89 to 90?? (while sleeping) just curious--

[Julie]

Hi, it's hard to say what's 'too' low... obviously the lower, the longer, the worse, but the odd night in high 80's I don't think is terrible, though if it happens routinely I'd certainly want to look at possible reasons, whether related to the machine, mask or e.g. smoking! It's hard to chase any one-off values with regard to treatment, too many variables from room temp to sudden outside noise to your dog nudging the hose .

[greatunclebill]

t's not hard to say what is too low. generally if you are below 89% for a total of something like 5 minute over the night, a doctor will prescribe and insurance will pay for supplemental o2. if you don't meet those threshholds most insurance won't pay.

you are an individual with individual medical history and most definitely should speak with your doctor about it before refusing o2. strangers on the internet haven't examined you personally and don't know your complete medical history.

[karessamom]

My dr has already rxed it in my new prescription I was just wondering if it would be
Worth it and if I'd feel that much better by getting it. Apparently according to the last study
My oxygen says we're staying at 88 to 90 most of the night. Iam not sleeping as good as I used to and wake up most
Mornings fairly groggy so I was wondering if it would be worth it to go ahead and get it and if I'd feel better. My AHI's are low so I'm good that way but sats are low too. And to answer about smoking I do not nor ever have smoked nor anyone in household

[SleepyToo2]

My dr has already rxed it in my new prescription I was just wondering if it would be
Worth it and if I'd feel that much better by getting it. Apparently according to the last study
My oxygen says we're staying at 88 to 90 most of the night. Iam not sleeping as good as I used to and wake up most
Mornings fairly groggy so I was wondering if it would be worth it to go ahead and get it and if I'd feel better. My AHI's are low so I'm good that way but sats are low too. And to answer about smoking I do not nor ever have smoked nor anyone in household

Firstly, what is your AHI when on the machine, and what was your O2 saturation when on the machine? If your AHIs are below 5 every night, and you wear the mask all night every night, there is a good chance that your treatment is working. In which case your O2 saturation should be in the mid to upper 90s for most of the night. If you still think that there is something wrong, ask your physician for a test with an oximeter. Wear that all night for a night and then have them take a look at the results. Actually, you can buy your own oximeter, and read the results yourself, which is more convenient because you can check from time to time.

[DreamDiver]

karessamom,
While we can all give you opinions on this forum, the only person who is really qualified to tell you whether you need oxygen is your doctor. If your O2 needs have changed, it's probably a good idea to talk with the doc about it, and then buy an oximeter, and try a few nights with O2, then with the doctor in the loop, compare with some nights without O2. Compare oximetry between nights with and without oxygen. You and your doctor can then have real data to base your decision on.

[karessamom]

I actually have a recording pulse oxygen monitor but I can't get the thing to download its a CMs 50Dplus

[DreamDiver]

I actually have a recording pulse oxygen monitor but I can't get the thing to download its a CMs 50Dplus

The manual that comes with it is written in Chinglish - not very helpful.
I found some better additional instructions here:
http://www.pulseoxstore.com/CMS-50D_Plu ... CTIONS.pdf

Once you finish recording:

1. Take the oximeter off. (Do not turn record off yet!) Open the spo2 review software. (The green heart icon.)
2. Connect the oximeter to the computer via usb cable.
3. Hit the magnifying glass icon and press new session and enter your information. The screen shows device connected: Waiting for data.
4. Press the power button to go into the settings menu. The arrow will be next to "record on".
5. Press the power button and hold until it shows "record off". Your data will be uploaded into the spo2 review software. You can now go into the software and hit the tools button if you want to adjust the parameters of your reading.
6. Press the print icon and you can choose the type of report that you want.

The report that seems to have the most information on a single page is the "OxiMetry Report" when you hit the print button.

[Vonon]

Several years ago moved to Colorado where I lived at 7300 ft, altitude. After 10 years of feeling tired my doctor checked my overnight oxygen saturation which showed significant time spent in the 78 to 85 range. 2 sleep studies later I had CPAP plus 5L oxygen added. Much better! I have since moved to a much lower altitude but hate to think of all the damage done. Take 2L of oxygen and be thankful in the morning.

[karessamom]

Dreamdiver: Thank you! a million times IT WORKED!! I'd tried different ways and could not get the information to download all I was able to get was realtime so this helped immensely! now I've got something to work with! I was about ready to give up on it!! I haven't tried overnight just a test sample for a few minutes but I know it works and how to get the data--My question is why don't they tell you this in the instructions ha!

[DreamDiver]

Dreamdiver: Thank you! a million times IT WORKED!! I'd tried different ways and could not get the information to download all I was able to get was realtime so this helped immensely! now I've got something to work with! I was about ready to give up on it!! I haven't tried overnight just a test sample for a few minutes but I know it works and how to get the data--My question is why don't they tell you this in the instructions ha!

First cardinal rule of instruction manual design: Never give the job of making the manual to the engineers who built the device. I suspect the auxiliary manual was created by the people at pulseoxstore.com.

[purple]

I would not worry that one needs a bit of O2. Keep in mind that the amount of O2 in our atmosphere is now down ten percent because of increases in CO2. So our human genetic background is accustomed to more. Plus. What Altitude do you live at?

All I am trying to say, is do not stress too much about the need.

[karessamom]

I am at about 4500 ft I live in utah