Low Oxygen Levels on CPAP

Hi All,

Recently diagnosed with OSA and started my CPAP just a couple of days ago. I still feel horrible. I know it will take time to adjust, but I’m still recording very low oxygen levels during the night. Isn’t that the whole point of the machine?

My AHI isn’t that high—7 during the sleep study, 5.5 and 10 during my first two nights on the machine. Which seems ok, except that I consistently hit low oxygen levels in the mid-80s and sometimes even the 70s.

Last night I hovered around 85% for over an hour.

The machine is a Philips Dreamstation with APAP. Currently stuck with a full face mask.

I’m 31 years old and only a couple of lbs overweight.

Any idea what could be going on? I just want to feel like myself again.

What is your pressure range on APAP? Your AHI of 10 using the machine is worse than your sleep study not using the machine, so I would say "not that bad" is inaccurate shall we say. If you get SleepyHead and post some charts, people here can help you a lot to substantially reduce your AHI, and most likely as a result, improve your oxygen saturation while sleeping.

if o2 is dropping like that, call your doctor asap.

Idobelieveinfairies wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 21, 2018 10:44 am

Hi All,

Recently diagnosed with OSA and started my CPAP just a couple of days ago. I still feel horrible. I know it will take time to adjust, but I’m still recording very low oxygen levels during the night. Isn’t that the whole point of the machine?

My AHI isn’t that high—7 during the sleep study, 5.5 and 10 during my first two nights on the machine. as Which seems ok, except that I consistently hit low oxygen levels in the mid-80s and sometimes even the 70s.

Last night I hovered around 85% for over an hour.

The machine is a Philips Dreamstation with APAP. Currently stuck with a full face mask.

I’m 31 years old and only a couple of lbs overweight.

Any idea what could be going on? I just want to feel like myself again.

What's wrong with a FF mask....About 35-40% of CPAP users use them. Why are you stuck with one? CPAP machines do not add oxygen. If your levels are that low, see your doctor as Bill mentioned. What are you using to measure your O2 levels?

Idobelieveinfairies wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 21, 2018 10:44 am

Any idea what could be going on? I just want to feel like myself again.

Idea: your machine isn't adjusted properly for your needs.

Read, and follow the sticky post at the top of the forum... "READ THIS BEFORE POSTING".

All,

I really appreciate the replies. I’ll try to answer the questions.

Raisedfist, the max pressure both nights was 15, and the 90% pressure was 9.6/8.5.

What is the Sleepyhead app? All I could find was an app for Apple Watch. I currently use a Garmin to track sleep but I don’t know what kind of data is needed.

Greatunclebill and LSAT, I’m using a Garnin Vivosmart 4 to track O2. I’m inclined to trust the numbers because the device helped me spot my OSA in the first place, and they’re pretty consistent with how I feel in the mornings. However, the device hasn’t been out very long and my doctor was fairly dismissive when I brought up the 70s levels during my initial consult. Mid-80s is what I hit during my sleep study, consistent with the Garmin.

LSAT, I say “stuck with” because the equipment provider didn’t give me a choice and insisted the full mask would be easier to adjust to. I’d have preferred to start with something a little less intrusive. Also, as a rather petite female, the thing seems rather egregiously oversized—I can’t really move in it without causing leaks.

Palerider, I don’t see a note.

Idobelieveinfairies wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 22, 2018 8:04 am

All,

I really appreciate the replies. I’ll try to answer the questions.

Raisedfist, the max pressure both nights was 15, and the 90% pressure was 9.6/8.5.

What is the Sleepyhead app? All I could find was an app for Apple Watch. I currently use a Garmin to track sleep but I don’t know what kind of data is needed.

Greatunclebill and LSAT, I’m using a Garnin Vivosmart 4 to track O2. I’m inclined to trust the numbers because the device helped me spot my OSA in the first place, and they’re pretty consistent with how I feel in the mornings. However, the device hasn’t been out very long and my doctor was fairly dismissive when I brought up the 70s levels during my initial consult. Mid-80s is what I hit during my sleep study, consistent with the Garmin.

LSAT, I say “stuck with” because the equipment provider didn’t give me a choice and insisted the full mask would be easier to adjust to. I’d have preferred to start with something a little less intrusive. Also, as a rather petite female, the thing seems rather egregiously oversized—I can’t really move in it without causing leaks.

Palerider, I don’t see a note.

Don't know about an app, but.......Read, and follow the sticky post at the top of the forum... "READ THIS BEFORE POSTING".

YOU are the customer..you ALWAYS have a choice....If the providor will not cooperate..dump them and go somewhere else...It's your health.
Contact your insurance to see who is in your network.

Apparently some people aren't seeing the Sticky for Newbies to "Please read before posting". It's at the top of the Topics section.
Not sure why but I think it has to do with board viewing option settings since it is an old post.

Anyway...here's the link.
viewtopic/t172378/Sticky--Newbies-PLEAS ... STING.html

SleepyHead....free software but not an app...see here

http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.ph ... d#pid73182

and you can get it from here

https://sleepyhead.jedimark.net/

Hi Idobelieveinfaries,
I also had low oxygen when I first started with my xPAP machine. I lost some weight and treated my GERD more aggressively and was able to get my oxygen up into the 95% range while sleeping, instead of the baseline of 89 to 90%.

-LSAT, agreed. I requested to do a mask exchange and got a nasal pillow mask that I hope will work better for me.

-Pugsy, you’re correct, I wasn’t seeing it. Thanks for the information.

-Mogy, I appreciate the response. I guess what I was wondering in my initial question was whether low oxygen despite CPAP is an indicator something else is going on.

For example, last night my mask reported a good seal and AHI of 3.something. But my oxygen wasn’t so great.

What does your doctor say about your low oxygen on CPAP?
Try getting another oximeter to confirm that the one you are using is correct. I borrowed one from my DME for a week to confirm that what I was reading was correct.

Update: I went back in to the doctor’s office, and the staff went out of their way to make me feel insane and ridiculous. Nurse actually said, “You just got your machine. Why are you here?” After I overheard them talking about me in the hall, “It doesn’t give oxygen,” as though I don’t understand how the machine works.

Meanwhile I got in a wreck last week because I’m too tired to drive.

I guess my next step is to get ahold of a medical quality oximeter to track my numbers overnight. Any suggestions on brand/where to buy?

Idobelieveinfairies wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 29, 2018 8:41 am

Update: I went back in to the doctor’s office, and the staff went out of their way to make me feel insane and ridiculous. Nurse actually said, “You just got your machine. Why are you here?” After I overheard them talking about me in the hall, “It doesn’t give oxygen,” as though I don’t understand how the machine works.

Meanwhile I got in a wreck last week because I’m too tired to drive.

I guess my next step is to get ahold of a medical quality oximeter to track my numbers overnight. Any suggestions on brand/where to buy?

No, your next step is to do what I said in the first place.

Read this: viewtopic/t172378/Sticky--Newbies-PLEAS ... 3104e9cbf3 and post some charts.

Many use the Contec oximeters. The data collected by these oximeters can be imported into Sleepyhead and the charts can be displayed including all of the data from your APAP. I have a Contec CMS50F and like it. Bought off eBay.
The posters with the most experience here really like to see the Sleepyhead charts before giving much advice.
Your PCP(family doctor) should be taking that oxygen chart seriously whether you are on CPAP or not.

I can post some charts later, but of course Sleepyhead won’t show the oxygen levels, which I believe are the key data point at this stage. But if that would be helpful ‍♀️

Unfortunately I’m not really working with a PCP at this point. Made some attempts but my primary doctor refused to take my concerns seriously—told me to stop eating gluten and dairy and consider my “lifestyle”

I had to reach out to the sleep doc on my own initiative to get this initial diagnosis. Honestly, the challenging part isn’t even the treatment—it’s managing to convince medical professionals that my concerns are valid in the first place—that I’m not sleeping in my car during my lunch breaks just for sh**s and giggles. So the stronger evidence I can gather, the better.