Oximeter arrived 😊

[AmethystAngel]

Good evening all,

Oximeter arrived and is working well. Pulse while sat is 75 and oxygen sats are 93 so seem to be doing ok.

Can anyone advise what could be causing breathlessness when oxygen sats are in their 90's?

Kind regards, Cath x

[Hidden]

Hi Cath

So sorry i dont have any answers to that but you could try the blf nurses tomorrow they may be able to offer some advice..their number is 03000 030 555 x

[Kad21]

From what I have been lead to understand there is no link to sats and breathlessness, we monitor our oxygen to assess the need for supplementary oxygen to support the other organs. But can experience breathlessness even when our sats are high. Hope this helps a little, talk to your specialist or doctor, they should help you understand better. xx

[rubyred777]

Hi Cath

Glad you got your oximeter. Did you try your 6 min. Walk? I agree that being breathless, doesn't mean your oxygen is low. I've read that on here many times. You need to check with Dr. You might need stronger inhalers. Are you doing breathing exercises. Also, Mandy gave you good advice, to call the blf nurses

tomorrow. Let us know how your doing.

Rubyxx😊

[1redkite]

I purchased an oximeter a year ago. The readings in the morning is usually 94/95 before I take my inhalers, and 98/99 after.

When I have been exerting myself it can drop to 90/91, but if I have an infection, it has been as low as 88, at which point I am very breathless.

My pulse is usually between 78 and 120.

Hope this helps you.

[peege]

When your sats are 93 try some slow deep breathing in through nose & out through mouth and watch your sats rise

[whit]

my sats usually 97% and i think like you ,why am i breathless all the time ?

[Hidden]

Not sure of your circumstances, but I know that sometimes my husband gets breathless for no reason, seemingly. After a pulmonary rehab course, we realised that it was probably anxiety, and not a physical cause. So not something you can stop just like that, but can control when you realise it's happening.

[hallentine47]

In my case its the fact that I have sever COPD and mild Emphysema. The lungs simply do not function efficiently.

[WestWalesPaul]

The oxygen nurse who visited me the other day said the COPD breathlessness is because the lung capacity is less than it ought to be.

If your lung[s] are only working at say 30%, then your body is getting 70% less air in with each breath, so you get breathless, making you breathe faster to try and get the air in.

Its a natural reflex, and may or may not affect your oxygen levels. That depends on physical exertion I think.

I think I've got that explanation right... but as others have said, give the nurses a ring to see what they say.

[aberdeenman]

hi cath ive asked doctor that question, and even they couldn't give me an answer, im normally around 94 but can drop to 89 but comes back up after few mins. even the time I was taken into hospital when the paramedics got here I was really struggling to breath but my oxygen was still 90.

tam

[Offcut]

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

Explains it quite well here.

I have RLD, PH and heart problems and can at best get 96% but average of 93% at rest one flight of stairs and I can be 78/88%. It was only a consultant at Ambulatory care that took the time to see how I change on movement. He agreed that the at rest OBs they do are not worth consideration.

Be well

[Katinka46]

Very interesting to read all the replies to AmethystAngel. I am new to the site and find the comments from everyone very helpful. Should have joined five years ago! I have been consistently breathless and worsening ever since I had pulmonary emboli but my sats are usually all right: 94% at rest, and rarely go below 90%. That happens when I am on my feet for longer than 20 minutes. Kind of assume that we are breathless because our bodies know that we need to breath more rapidly in order to increase oxygen supply to our muscles? Am I being naive? Also heart rate increases to do the same thing? Any advice/understanding very welcome.

Hang in there all you helpful guys and guesses

K x

[FarmerD]

Sats' are a measure of how well the oxygen is transferred into the blood to support the main organs and have little effect on breathlessness.Many things can make us breathless,exertion,change in temperature.I can,t go for a walk if it,s raining because I can,t breathe but I CAN go for a walk if it,s snowing with inches of snow on the ground.I,m a very logical person so that has me totally baffled!Different perfumes,air fresheners all might or might not effect our breathing.I think we just have to learn what our individual triggers are and then avoid them.Best of luck Angel it,s a long learning curve but we will get there. 👍🏿

D.

[GradmaP]

I was told that the oxygen does not help the sob but is given because when we are not getting enough oxygen the heart has to work very hard to pump oxygen around the body. Having oxygen means the heart does not have to work hard at getting oxygen to all the major organs in our body therefore protects our heart and organs which in turn prolongs our life.

Hope this is helpful......

[whistler]

Hi, if you check out the archives of webinars on pulmonarywellness.com you will find everything you need to know and all nicely explained so its easy to take in. From there I learned theres a number of things that can cause sob with good sats, apart form obvious, for example eating a large meal, being deconditioned or not taking meds correctly, some things we can do something about and others we cant, but take a look and you may find a solution. Hope it helps.

Carole