Oxygen saturation what to expect

My AHI is usually below 2 and often below 1, however my saturation levels drop during the night to 88% on my new ResMed Air Curve Pacewave 10 set on ASVAuto. Just wondering what the normal range is?

88 is the bottom of the 'normal' range but a bit arbitrary depending on how long yours is higher, how long below that, etc. etc.

Thank you Julie.
Last night my oxygen levels dropped below 90% for 1 hour 8 minutes during a 5 hour 47 minute sleep period.
My O2 score 7.7 though I am not sure if that is good or bad.
Drops per hour 0.3.
Drops over 4% 2
Average SPO2 96%
Lowest SPO2 89%

It seems that if I turn my settings down a bit my AHI goes up, but not by much, but my oxygen saturation levels improve.
My current machine settings are:

Mode ASVAuto
Min EPAP 8.00 cmH2O
Max EPAP 14.00 cmH2O
Min IPAP 13.00 cmH2O
Max IPAP 28.00 cmH2O
PS Min 5.00 cmH2O
PS Max 14.00 cmH2O

However
If I lower my EPAP Max to 13 and
lower PS Max to 13
My saturation numbers improve but AHI increases.
I am not sure which numbers are more important

You really need to be talking to your doctor about all this and what, if anything, needs to be done to correct the situation.

In the US the 88% guideline is the usual line in the sand and cut off point and a lot depends on how long someone spends at 88 or below.

Hi Pugsy
Thank you for your suggestion.
However due to covid and people with the virus taking priority, I am not able to schedule an appointment for the next 12 months possibly longer, so looking for ideas from the forum.

But it sounds form you say I am above 88 so should be okay. My oxymeter is new to me so all unchartered territory for now.

Many thanks

As long as you spend more time above 88%, well into the 90's, you should be fine. The occasional drop for whatever reason it happens, is not great, but not a big deal as long as it really is occasional. And if you'd be more comfortable changing that 5 min. to a 6 ot 7 while otherwise keeping an eye on things, I don't think that's a big deal either... many have a higher min. setting without consequences.

Your doctor doesn't have to see you to have an opinion about where his line in the sand might be for you.
Phone call or email should be sufficient.
I don't know all your medical history... so I hesitate to give you a line in the sand without knowing all the facts.
In general though...in the US people don't qualify for insurance coverage of adding O2 until that 88% line is reached and I admit I don't know the duration requirement. I am sure there is some sort of duration criteria though.

Now is your doc happy with that 88% line in the sand....for YOU...there is no way for us to know.
Which is why people should always ask their doctor.
And you don't have to sit in front of him/her to ask that question.
There are regular phone calls to the nurse to convey the question to the doctor...there is email option...even telephone video calls are available today...even Medicare will pay for video teleconference calls.

So... my point is that don't go assuming that what I say is the "gospel according to Pugsy" and it encompasses advice for everyone.
It doesn't because we can't possibly know your entire medical history and even if we did, we aren't doctors.
As with all medical conditions....sometimes it's a lot more involved than just a "number" and people have to look at the big picture.

All that said to cover my ass....
Now....just looking at the numbers and not seeing the actual graphs...

Last night my oxygen levels dropped below 90% for 1 hour 8 minutes during a 5 hour 47 minute sleep period.
My O2 score 7.7 though I am not sure if that is good or bad.
Drops per hour 0.3.
Drops over 4% 2
Average SPO2 96%
Lowest SPO2 89%

Your overall average is 96%....yet you spent over an hour below 90%...that really doesn't compute very well.
You don't seem to have very many drops over 4 % per hour but to add up to over an hour they gotta be fairly lengthy drops.

Then there is this

If I lower my EPAP Max to 13 and
lower PS Max to 13
My saturation numbers improve but AHI increases.

Which leaves me scratching my head wondering just how often you actually hit your EPAP max and how often you hit PS max. How much of an increase? Which event category increase? Is this something you see consistently or a one off kind of thing?

You are on ASV...for some reason or other and that makes your situation a lot more complicated than just tweaking some little something on an apap for plain jane vanilla OSA.

All these complications means people should always have a chat with their doctor about any of their concerns...just to be safe. I can't in good conscious not advise you of that fact especially since the numbers don't compute and us playing armchair doctors over the internet isn't in your best interest.
We can give generalizations and that's about it.
The drops are borderline problematic even if just using the generalization standards.
It's not like your normal baseline O2 level is maybe 92% and it drops to 89%. Your overall average of 96% is considered normal range...that means a drop to 89 is rather significant....and the potential cause of that drop is what worries me.
Is it apnea related or related to something else???? Is it related to why you are on ASV or related to something else.

Bottom line....your doctor is the one to have the final say so as to whether he/she is worried about it or not.

Not the armchair "doctors" on the internet because we can't possibly know/see the big picture.

Call up your doctor's nurse and convey your concerns and ask that those concerns be conveyed to your doctor.
You shouldn't have to be in the office physically to get the answer....even with Covid there are ways to get answers that don't involve an in person office visit.

TAT.LANTA wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 04, 2021 8:56 am

However due to covid and people with the virus taking priority, I am not able to schedule an appointment for the next 12 months possibly longer, so looking for ideas from the forum.

Many doctors do not accept the data from a patient's "home" oximeter. Most DMEs will provide a professional oximeter and a report back to the doctor, all free of charge. The DME will need an order from your doctor. All of this can be done remotely. Some, but not all, DMEs will deliver/pickup the device from your home free of charge.

I'm assuming you are in the US (Hotlanta?).

Thank you for the responses.
I have not as yet learned how to transport the graphs form Oscar.
I do not have any underlying health conditions worth mentioning.

Need to read up on how to be able to post the graphs very soon.
Calling and emailing doc is not currently an option due to pandemic and docs mostly working from home.
But I will keep trying to make contact.

A PaceWave is being used...so not in the US.
I suspect UK or Europe or Australia.
AirCurve 10 ASV....model name used in North America but in other parts of the world PaceWave term is used.
Same machine functions though.

Other parts of the world very well could use a different line in the sand for just about anything including how low O2 must go before anyone starts to worry.

Easiest way to share OSCAR reports is take a screenshot...and there is a menu option for doing just that in OSCAR.
Under View top menu on the left or use key F12 function.
I am not sure where it gets saved to since I don't use OSCAR to take screenshots but once saved you can use the attachment feature at the bottom of your reply box.
You just click on it and navigate to where the screenshot is and choose it...and it will show up in your post.
Initially you see the location address but once you submit the post the image shows up.

Generally speaking unless I see glaring problems on the detailed reports from ASV users I am very hesitant to advise changing settings much because we simply don't know all the history. I don't want to maybe cause someone a problem.

Also ....depending on what kind of pulse oximeter being used...OSCAR can show the O2 level graphs.

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 04, 2021 3:51 pm

I suspect UK or Europe or Australia.

TAT.LANTA wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 03, 2021 8:44 pm

TAT.LANTA

I'm thinking he is the owner of Pleng Tattoo (Lanta Tattoo) in Krabi, Thailand. Nice joint.

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 04, 2021 4:25 pm

Pugsy wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 04, 2021 3:51 pm

I suspect UK or Europe or Australia.

TAT.LANTA wrote: ↑

Fri Dec 03, 2021 8:44 pm

TAT.LANTA

I'm thinking he is the owner of Pleng Tattoo (Lanta Tattoo) in Krabi, Thailand. Nice joint.

is that where you and gramps get your tattoos?

and piercings

ChicagoGranny wrote: ↑

Sat Dec 04, 2021 6:38 pm

and piercings