My sats are 96% at rest but get very breathless on exertion and my sats are still 96%.should i carry on using oxygen when I get breathless

[ked1941]

My sats are 96% resting, after exercise I am very breathless but my sats are still 96%.should I be using my oxygen when I am breathless

[O2Trees]

Hi Ked, You definitely shouldn't be using the oxygen if your sats are 96%. You risk getting CO2 retention if you do. The standard advice if you use oxygen is have it at a level which will keep your sats between 88-92%.

Please talk to your GP or respiratory nurse about this as I am not a medic and do not know your situation.

Oxygen can help with breathlessness but the main reason for using it is to protect your internal organs from oxygen starvation.

It sounds like you need a medication review to sort out the breathlessness.

I suggest you call the BLF helpline, office hours, 03000 030 5555. They will have better information than i can give you.

[jabber]

I agree with everything O2Trees says - if your sats stay at 96% even after exercise I wouldn't have thought you'd need supplementary oxygen. Do call the helpline tomorrow, and try to see your own respiratory team as soon as possible.

Hope you have a good night and are able to get the breathlessness sorted out quickly.

[derrylynne]

sounds to me like you are a retainer. The retaining of co2 will make you breathless. I cannot understand why you are given oxygen if your sats remain at 96. I use oxygen for mobility. But although mine can be as high as 92 sitting once on my feet they will drop to 82 and below within a minute. I need mine to keep my heart and other organs safe then by bringing my sats up to around 90. Get advice quickly..

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How much oxygen are you using

[Offcut]

I have a highish stats but I too get very breathless and have been deemed exercise intolerant by my consultant. Silly things like putting on my shoes without my long shoe horn will make me have to come up for breath, this is mainly because I have a paralysed diaphragm plus RLD and PH etc.

I have the GP nurse look at my stats and say I am fine but will not do a walk test? If I do a peak flow I can blow a reasonable number but I am empty because the RLD means I have little elasticity in my lungs. Going up stairs can see me drop between 78% and 88% but I recover quickly?

As other peeps have said you need to have it looked at a little deeper. High stats does not mean you should not be out of breath you need to know why it is happening?

Be Well

[Sandy3]

But, what are your sats DURING exercise? Are you out of breath because your sats went low during exercise, and, by the time you are getting a reading, they may already have recovered.

[Gwen46]

My Sats vary between 96 and 99 on Oxygen. If I come off it my sats drop quite quickly and after just 12 hours they are down to 72. (Had a nose bleed and hospital insisted I could NOT use my oxygen at all, then wondered why all the alarms went off when they did my obs...) I would say yes, when breathless use your oxygen till you are no longer breathless. Makes sense to me.

[Gwen46]

Forgot to add you should always ask your COPD nurse when you have a question like this as everyone is different.