Mask Off - A Cautionary Tale

[JDS74]

For the first time in my four year of CPAP therapy, I took my mask off, turned off the machine, and went back to sleep.
Here are the results of that period of time. Later, I woke up and noticed I wasn't masked up and fixed everything. The bad part is I have no recollection of the taking off part, just the waking later and fixing everything.




The SpO2 graph has been cropped to cover just the time in question. For those of you who think its OK to sleep a while and then take your mask off, take a close look at the time below 88%. That's enough to do some damage. That could be you.

[Julie]

That is scary! I do sometimes just conk out on the sofa for no more than 20-30 mins, and often feel really 'up' afterward, but your note may remind me not to outsmart myself.

[JDS74]

BTW, had I been on my machine for all this time, these results would qualify for supplemental oxygen.

[SleepyToo2]

That's the kind of result I got during my first sleep study. I have only used the pulse oximeter a couple of times since starting on CPAP - both times the oxygen levels remained above 90% (I don't recall exactly what they were). What is the secret to keeping the pulse oximeter on your finger all night?

[JDS74]

That's the kind of result I got during my first sleep study. I have only used the pulse oximeter a couple of times since starting on CPAP - both times the oxygen levels remained above 90% (I don't recall exactly what they were). What is the secret to keeping the pulse oximeter on your finger all night?

It depends on the model you use. I use the CMS50F with the soft fingertip sensor.

CMS50F
Mine is the white face model that has both the sensor port and a USB port.
The oximeter straps on like a watch and the sensor goes on your finger at the end of a tether. My hands are quite large so the tether cable runs straight out to the sensor and doesn't have loops in it as illustrated here.

If you have a different model like the ones that are all self-contained, then perhaps some tape will help keep it on.

CMS50D+
I've never tried one of those at night - just at the doctor's office.

[SleepyToo2]

Thanks - that explains it! I have the CMS50D+ and end up taking it off/it falling off part way through the night. Yours would be much easier to keep in place.

[chunkyfrog]

I have the CMS50D, and I put it on my left thumb, where it stays as long as I like.
If I put it on my finger, it is uncomfortable--enough so that it hurts and I have to remove it before I can sleep.
My point is to experiment until it is comfortable, yet collects data. Tape if you are active.

[Overflow]

You wear an oximeter every single night? Or was it a testing night and coincidental that you took mask off at the same time.

[JDS74]

I've been wearing my oximeter most nights this last month, I'm trying to track to see if there is a difference between before my PLMD meds and now. So it was a coincidence that last night this happened and I had the oximeter recording.
As I said in my original post, this is the first time in four years I removed my mask.

And, yes, the numbers are a little scary.

There is a difference from before the PLMD meds and now. The time at low SpO2 is larger now than before. Not big enough of a difference to justify O2 supplementation. Not sure what to make of the change but I'll have something to discuss with my neurologist who is titrating the PLMD meds. So, just data collection now.

[HoseCrusher]

What a difference an open airway makes...

I really hate ugly graphs like that.