Is 12 breaths a minute considered weak respiratory effort?

[SuddenlyWornOut45]

I tested my breaths per minute tonight. I am getting 12 breaths per minute. I am 44, obese and tested myself about two hours after taking my klonopin.

Is 12 breaths a minute considered weak respiratory effort?

thanks,

Eric

[robysue]

I am NOT a doctor.

But:

1) The very act of trying to observe your own respiration affects it. That is why the nurse who measures your respiratory rate at the doctor's office always has you distracted (by continuing to hold your wrist as if she's still counting your pulse) while counting your respiratory rate.

2) There seems to be some disagreement between reputable sources for what a normal resting respiratory rate is. For example, according to http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 007198.htm, the normal resting respiratory rate for adults is 8 to 16 breaths per minute. And according to http://my.clevelandclinic.org/healthy_l ... signs.aspx, the normal resting respiratory rate is 12 to 20 breaths per minute.

[SuddenlyWornOut45]

I just laid there watching TV and had somebody else watch my chest rise and fall and counted it for a minute.

More overanalyzing going on.

Yeah, I know you are not a doctor. No doctor would hang out on here.

thanks for the reply. Nobody else seems to want to chime in.

Eric

I am NOT a doctor.

But:

1) The very act of trying to observe your own respiration affects it. That is why the nurse who measures your respiratory rate at the doctor's office always has you distracted (by continuing to hold your wrist as if she's still counting your pulse) while counting your respiratory rate.

2) There seems to be some disagreement between reputable sources for what a normal resting respiratory rate is. For example, according to http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency ... 007198.htm, the normal resting respiratory rate for adults is 8 to 16 breaths per minute. And according to http://my.clevelandclinic.org/healthy_l ... signs.aspx, the normal resting respiratory rate is 12 to 20 breaths per minute.

[Rick007]

I tested my breaths per minute tonight. I am getting 12 breaths per minute. I am 44, obese and tested myself about two hours after taking my klonopin.

Is 12 breaths a minute considered weak respiratory effort?

As Robysue says, there is a disagreement of what the normal breathing rate should be. According to Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Respirator ... rmal_range the normal adult rate would be between 12 and 20 breaths per minute, so you are normal. But I don't know what you mean by "weak respiratory effort".

If you are trying to evaluate your physical condition strictly by your breathing rate, I don't think that is possible. For starters you would need to measure your blood O2 levels with an Oximeter to determine if your lungs and heart were properly circulating the oxygen that you inhaled during those 12 breaths per minute. You should also test your respiration rate and O2 levels during physical exertion to see what the capacity of your heart and lungs are. Having a good respiration rate and O2 levels while watching TV is not necessarily an indication of good health.

Certainly obesity is not a good thing for many reasons, but obese people do not all have poor lung and heart functions. So I suggest if you have any concerns about your health that you discuss them with a doctor. Don't brush these concerns off simply because your breathing rate is within the Wikipedia range of normal.

[sickwithapnea17]

I'm setting my asv now on 8BPM after a bad night on auto bpm I feel foggy and exhausted and like my mind is heavy and full of wool. but what do you set Ti on like 1.0-1.5? I think klonopin helps any setting, I didn't take it last night. I'm wondering if 5 litres of oxygen is affecting the Phillips pressure sensing, on the sleep study I didn't need O2, but I feel better when sleeping on it.

[Madalot]

I'm setting my asv now on 8BPM after a bad night on auto bpm I feel foggy and exhausted and like my mind is heavy and full of wool. but what do you set Ti on like 1.0-1.5? I think klonopin helps any setting, I didn't take it last night. I'm wondering if 5 litres of oxygen is affecting the Phillips pressure sensing, on the sleep study I didn't need O2, but I feel better when sleeping on it.

Sickwithapnea17 -- You're hijacking threads again. Tch Tch.

I thought you were done posting on this forum? Saw that last night. Just spouting off again I take it?

[zoocrewphoto]

[quote="SuddenlyWornOut45"]

thanks for the reply. Nobody else seems to want to chime in.

Eric

You posted this an hour after your question. Do you really think people are sitting around on the computer waiting to jump on new questions? This is a world wide forum, and even within the US, we have multiple time frames and different work shifts. We can't all be online at the same time. And we don't all know the answer to your question either.

Please, instead of assuming this forum is bad (why do you keep asking questions if you think so badly of us?), try having a little patience.

[chunkyfrog]

Any time someone mentions drugs like Klonopin, I'm outta there--just not my department.
I'm lucky enough to have never started, and the more I read, the more grateful I get.

[JohnBFisher]

Just as a general note, respiratory rate is not as important as respiratory volume. Don't worry too much about the rate. Instead exercise to increase the volume.

Also Klonopin tends to suppress the central nervous system, which includes breathing. If your respiratory sufficiency is a concern, then you might want to ask your doctor about alternative medications.

[SuddenlyWornOut45]

Thank you. This is the only reply to my original post that did not turn out to be some line of bs. You'd think I was back in the military posting here, I got out of the "expecting a line of bs" type answer decades ago.

Just a straight answer...thanks man.

Eric

Just as a general note, respiratory rate is not as important as respiratory volume. Don't worry too much about the rate. Instead exercise to increase the volume.

Also Klonopin tends to suppress the central nervous system, which includes breathing. If your respiratory sufficiency is a concern, then you might want to ask your doctor about alternative medications.

[ughwhatname]

[quote="SuddenlyWornOut45"]Thank you. This is the only reply to my original post that did not turn out to be some line of bs. You'd think I was back in the military posting here, I got out of the "expecting a line of bs" type answer decades ago.

Just a straight answer...thanks man.

Eric

It is likely comments like these that cause posters to be hesitant to respond to your posts. Besides, you haven't presented that you are particularly open-minded, from my observation.

[SuddenlyWornOut45]

Eh...I think a lot on this forum just like to play stupid mind games with others on here. Immaturity. Im a straightforward guy. Some people dont like that. I am blunt and a skeptic. I dont care for mind games and silliness like that.

I ask a question, I expect straightforward no bs answers. Just like I reply to others questions, I give a no bs, straightforward answer. I dont criticize others (well except for that booze poster and maybe a handful of other ridiculously stupid troll-like posters). I just answer their questions or comment to the best of my knowledge and ability. Thats what I expect in return.

One of the things I absolutely cannot stand is someone who gives me some line of bullshit when I ask a question.

Eric

Eric

It is likely comments like these that cause posters to be hesitant to respond to your posts. Besides, you haven't presented that you are particularly open-minded, from my observation.

[Todzo]

no

it is about volume of air verses metabolic need.

[JohnBFisher]

Here's a good clear source on this topic:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/11258 ... breathing/

[Rick007]

I ask a question, I expect straightforward no bs answers.

Let me be the first to admit my mistake and apologize for the BS answer I sent you.

thanks for the reply. Nobody else seems to want to chime in.

I know that being obese, along with a respiration rate of 12 when taking drugs, can cause great anxiety. I had sensed that you were upset that only one person had answered your original request in 62 minutes and I thought I could provide at least some temporary comfort by providing the BS story about blood O2 levels being a good way to determine the condition of your lungs and heart. I figured that most people would have fallen for that old wives tale, but I guess I misestimated your level of knowledge. It is obviously not the level I had expected.

Is 12 breaths a minute considered weak respiratory effort?

I realize in hindsight that I didn't address your original question at all, but that is only because my obvious ignorance on the subject prevented me from understanding your eloquently asked question. That is entirely my fault and I apologize.

I ask a question, I expect straightforward no bs answers.

I couldn't agree with you more. That is why I also never ask a question I don't already know the answer to. I find that by doing that I can always eliminate the answers that are not correct. Over the years I have discovered many people that I had considered friends were actually trying to conspire against me by providing wrong answers to my questions.

So once again, please accept these apologies in the way they were intended. I also promise not to provide any more BS answers to you in the future. I'm sure that many other members of the forum feel the same way and they will also begin to show you the respect that you obviously deserve.