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For most PAP users, an oximeter doesn't really provide any necessary information, other than curiosity.

On the other hand, if one has an underlyng pulmonary problem such as COPD, etc. it can be very helpful.

Hi Secret Agent Girl

My oximeter is extremely important to me.

With it on, and set to alarm if my SpO2 goes down, I can safely close my eyes and nap on my recliner.

Sometimes I can have up to an hours nap with no apneas, other times the alarm wakes me up almost immediately.

I am trying to get my sleep hygiene good enough to do without naps, but until then my oximeter serves me well.

I have also recorded my SpO2 overnight, and no SpO2 desaturation has ever occurred.

Currently I just use it for napping, but when I try experimenting with other OSA treatments - MAD, voice exercises, chewing gum etc. then I will be using it overnight again - either with the alarm set as usual, or with the recording on.

It is also very useful for lending to a friend overnight, so they can see if they desaturate.

cheers

Mars

NB Nothing that I say in this post in any way contradicts anything Slinky has said

Tsk, tsk, Mars. You KNOW you should be using your PAP even for naps.

The team of medical professionals I have hired to watch over my health respond very favorably to hard data in a form that they are familiar with.

A pulse oximeter report provides that hard data.

In addition, I have had many opportunities to use this wonderful tool in some clever ways.

Here are a few examples:

After my sleep study I was given an APAP machine set wide open and was told that the machine would determine the pressure I needed to use. After being "blown" awake several times with the machine running at 20 and my mask leaking like crazy, I decided there must be a better way to figure this out. I used my oximetry data to dial in my pressure and found it to be better at doing so than the AHI index. I also used the data to determine that for me an exact CPAP pressure gives me a lower machine AHI than even a close range APAP setting.

As Slinky pointed out, if you have a good sleep doctor this effort wouldn't be required, but in my case I didn't.

I also recorded several nights data prior to my sleep study, and recorded data during my sleep study. Since I am asymptomatic, the oximetry data gives me an idea of what my xPAP therapy is doing and I can see the changes in my oxygen levels before and after xPAP.

I was looking after a 5 year old that had a sudden asthma attack. We didn't know the child had asthma, but during the attack I was able to record some oximetry data an that aided the medical professionals in determining that the problem was asthma.

A young lady quickly sat down feeling light headed and mentioned that she felt her heart was racing. I just happened to have my oximeter close by and was able to record an irregular heart beat and some low oxygen levels. This data was passed on to the cardiologist and I was told that he immediately recognized the pattern and was quickly able to figure out what was going on.

I had a friend who lost his wife due to heart failure. While helping him attend to the "transition" of no longer having his wife around, he mentioned that he noticed an occasional flutter from his heart. We talked about sleep apnea and he said that he has been told that he snored, but did not know if he stopped breathing. I loaned him my oximeter for a night with the understanding that it was not a sleep study but when reviewed by a medical professional could be a screening for determining if a sleep study was needed. He was comforted to see that his heart was beating strongly all night and that while he did have a couple of desaturations, they were very brief and only went down to 88%. I left him with a printout of the report and I am not sure if he is going to give it to his doctor or not.

I could go on and on, but this is my favorite.

A friend stubbed his toe and it would not heal. I mentioned diabetes, but he assured me that was not a problem. I talked him into wearing the oximeter on a toe for a night, and comparing that with wearing it on his finger for the next night. I printed out both reports and he took them to his doctor. They immediately found a clot in his leg and gave him treatment to dissolve it. I actually received a call from the doctor who was interested in my "technique." I told him that I had read about it in one of the articles on pulse oximetery and could take no credit for it. He thanked me and assured me that my efforts had saved my friend from a stroke and/or a heart attack.

Now that I am dialed in as far as xPAP pressure goes, I continue to collect sleep oximetery data in an effort to relate it to sleep efficiency. My sleep study revealed that I have fractured sleep. We compared the EEG data to the oxygen saturation data, and there is a bit of a correlation between the two.

I'll end with a funny side story. I was helping a 15 year old and his girlfriend with a homework report. They both smoke. I was telling them that it would be much better for their health if they didn't smoke, and explained that the smoke displaces oxygen in their lungs. We decided to run a test to check this out. All I can say is that the human body is remarkable.

While smoking, the oxygen level stayed at 95 - 97%, but the heart rate went from 72 beats per minute to 98 beats per minute. In this case the body compensated for the reduction in oxygen by running the heart 36% faster. They mentioned that it looked like smoking was just another form of exercise... Needles to say my demonstration was less than compelling and they still smoke. Oh well, I tried. Perhaps I should have had them run around the block before doing the test.

I'm glad that there are some people that are getting some good use out of their oximeters. For most it may be overkill, but I have had several patients who have either needed pressures adjusted or figured out that there was an underlying health issue as well as sleep apnea.
Kevin Cooper

Depends on how your cpap therapy is working.

I've been on the hose for one year now. When I first started, used it once every few weeks. Once I found 'the' mask, got my leaks under control and hit my numbers, then I'd check every other month, just to make sure saturation solid.

For someone just starting therapy, it's a useful tool. Once you settle in, it's becomes optional.

IMHO

SA Girl, I used it to determine if I was desatting during events: lined up graphs from APAP and CMS60D...nope, I stay well oxygenated using APAP, up around 97-99, higher than my typical daytime level. I will use the alarming feature if we lose power with the snow storm as I do not have backup power. We, our local foum meetup suppport group, have 3 of 'em and one gets loaned around periodically...we've all used it to see how we're doing when we sleep. They are used to watch trends, during illness to determine if pressure tweaks are needed, and used on friends/loved ones if we suspect apnea.

I feel having the oximeter info is just part of being proactive concerning my apnea. I bought a CMS50E for a little over $100 and wear it overnight every couple of weeks just to make sure my oxygen level is reasonable and not dropping below the 88% mark which, apparently, is the point at which further investigation becomes mandatory. The unit is nothing fancy but it does give a nice summary report and detailed graphs which I keep as a record that I can take along to my DME or a doctor if I visit one.

In my case, yes, having an oximeter is very useful to me.

My doctors consider me stable, for the most part, and only check my overnight pulse ox once every few months. Because my situation is so changeable, it can deteriorate quickly and become a serious problem before they check (at least that's my opinion on it). So, I check it periodically just to make sure things are okay by the standards my doctor has set. If they're not, we can catch it and try to do something before it becomes a critical problem.

My doctor is aware that I have my own meter and approves of this strategy.

In my case, logging data across several nights, it allowed me to show hard evidence that oxygen levels were dropping to below 60% each night and averaging in the low to mid 80% range. This information was very helpful in helping me push to get my data analysis done and prescription for CPAP so I could actually start treatment. Now I can see that I enjoy normal levels most of the sleep with dips no lower than 86% on any data so far, not perfect but a VERY major improvement. I also feel much better having seen the vast change in actual data and even more so seeing my heart rate much more stable now on treatment, and no a roller-coaster like it was before. So, yes the omitery data was very helpful or me and I will continue to check things periodically.