Shortness of breath when oxygen is 98. How is this explained

[norma1950]

Could someone whose blood oxygen level is 98 still have shortness of breathe and need an oxygen machine directly to the lungs

[Sohara]

I have been short of breath now since I was a young girl....oc ourse not so bad when younger...but increasingly SOB as the years rolled by...now I am stage 3/4 and VERY short of breath...but I am lucky my sats are always OK around 98 ( unless I have an infection when they can drop very low)

I have been given oxygen on those occasions, but have NEVER had it suggested I need any help breathing otherwise.

So not sure why you have a breathing machine Norma.....is it perhaps a temporary measure ?

[IPFsufferer]

When you say directly to the lungs it implies a tube down the windpipe and forced ventilation rather than a cannula in the nose?

[Offcut]

Have you had a co2 test?

[warwickstag]

If you have sats of 98 I can't see how oxygen would help. Oxygen is prescribed when sats fall below high 80's and is given to protect organs from damage due to low oxygen levels. You would need to discuss your breathlessness with your GP to see if your COPD meds need changing.

[snail]

My oxygen levels are normally 96 at rest and 91/92 on exertion. I have severe emphysema/copd, 59 years old, diagnosed at 44( after being treated for asthma for years) I had by then lost 60% lung capacity and I am now on oxygen 24/7.

[PaulAllan]

Hi,just wondering if it's more to do with the exchange of gases isn't working correctly. That might be work checking out.

[stilltruckin]

copd.about.com/od/breathing...

Quote:

'The percentage of oxygen saturation doesn't always correlate with the sensation of breathlessness. This means that a patient may feel short of breath, despite a normal pulse oximetry reading. In COPD, this phenomena is primarily caused by co-existing heart failure and/or skeletal muscle alterations.'

[stillmovin in reply to stilltruckin]

Hi there stilltruckin.

Haven't yet had time to read fully the website you gave, just the direct quote in your reply. However, I don't quite understand the quote. I will read the website when I have time later and maybe that will help but in a nutshell, the quote you gave seems to indicate that the phenomena of having problems with breathlessness and yet still having good oxygen levels is indicating a heart problem or some sort of muscle problem?

I have 99 oxygen level but am going through a very bothersome period of breathlessness and dry coughing (I have COPD and Bronchiectasis, apparently). I hope I don't have a heart problem on top of all the other things......

Best wishes,

stillmovin1

[onamission]

I went to my GP a couple of moths ago yet another chest infection when I went in to the room it was a locum, He said my oxygen was normal 98 and as far as he could see I didn't need any meds. This is not the case it just means oxygen is getting in to your body and should not be taken in to account, this is aslo the opinion of the physiotherapist who runs the PR group she is going to be talking to the local GP's so you see GP's don't know it all