short of breath

[dyson]

I have had emphysma for 8 years now and told i retain co2 i am very short of breath but sats say 98-99 is this normal

[Caspiana]

Hello dyson . I too get very out of breath when moving around a bit but my sats stay high. I guess it's different for everybody. My sats really go down if I walk more than a couple of meters and don't have my oxygen on.

[dyson in reply to Caspiana]

Hi Caspiana thank you for your reply i only have to walk to the kitchen and breathing is not good and sats have always been 95 at rest but the last few days have gone high i dont have oxygen hope your as well as can be Eunice

[Caspiana in reply to dyson]

Hello Eunice.

Have you consulted your doctor? If you walk outside like to the shops does it go down further?

[dyson in reply to Caspiana]

it does drop down to 90 and below if i walk out side but dont hold out much hope with gp he will not send me for ct scan even though i have never had one

[Caspiana in reply to dyson]

Well your gp isn't much cop. If your sats are going below 90 you could risk damaging your other organs. You may need oxygen . Any chance of getting another opinion?

[dyson in reply to Caspiana]

i am going for sporomity test tomorrow and if i ask for a print out like i do every time they say book with gp and he can explain them i asked p 2 weeks ago after being in hosptial for him to refer me to the hosptail he said lets get you on your 2nd pr first see how that works out but i do feel they need to no whats going on with the inside of the lungs not just x rays as i have never had a scan

[Caspiana in reply to dyson]

They should give you a print out. I don't see why they can't. Do you have anyone who can go with you? Sometimes if you have someone to back you they find it harder to say no. You are right you need to find out what is going on. To be honest like in my case you cannot see anything on the x-ray or the CT scan so much but you need to do everything to get to the bottom of this drop in oxygen. It's also dangerous if you get too low without any oxygen to help you. Please do keep us updated about the spirometer test tomorrow. I am thinking of you.

[dyson in reply to Caspiana]

Thank you i will let you no how i get on

[Lilian226 in reply to dyson]

It's not much fun having this disease, why should we have to fight to get the correct treatment? Lilian xxxx

[sinclair61]

Hi

I was wondering do you wake in the morning with heart palpitations? I've been thinking that I do that due to co2 retention when I sleep.

Thanks

Sinclair

[dyson in reply to sinclair61]

I dont when i wake up but during the day i do but aalways wake feeling i have been drinking voddy all night wish i had lol Eunice

[sinclair61 in reply to dyson]

Hmm

They say heart palpitations are linked to co2 retention. Do you get shakes at all or muscle twitching?

Try regular diaphragm breathing it helps to expel co2.

What stage are you?

Sinclair

[dyson in reply to sinclair61]

I do get temours in my hands and legs I dont no what stage i am at no one seems to aswer me when i ask just that its bad and i only use the top of my lungs because the bottom is not working

[sinclair61]

Also, I should have said earlier that your sats can be normal and still retaining co2. Oxygen saturation doesn't differentiate between carbon dioxide and oxygen. You need arterial blood gases for that

[mrsmummy in reply to sinclair61]

An oximeter will only 'read' oxygen levels in the blood, not CO2 levels. The pulse oximeter works out the oxygen saturation by comparing how much red light and infra red light is absorbed by the blood.

[dyson in reply to mrsmummy]

Thanks mrsmummy

[sinclair61 in reply to mrsmummy]

Apologies

But my point is that you can have high oxygen saturation but still be retaining co2.

[mrsmummy in reply to sinclair61]

Correct.

[knitter]

I can have a SATS reading above 95 and still be very breathless with a tight chest.

I was going to suggest belly breathing but you say your lower lungs aren't working. are they damaged ?

[dyson]

thats right Knitter they dont work they are to damaged only found that out because i was in A-E 2 weeks ago

[y_not]

Hi dyson,

Seems many GP's either don't know/don't understand or (dare I say) don't care about some of the lung diseases! Great for minor issues BUT they are supposed to point the direction for more serious issues - sounds like your's doesn't understand that. Change GP or take someone with you or demand a meeting with the Practice Manager and complain.

Depending on your condition you COULD be doing things to slow progress and any delay has a negative impact. Personally, I like to grab them by the proverbial throat but then I'm not small and not very quiet (doesn't suit everyone) but it's your health so I'd suggest being as strong as you can (or get assistance)

Best wishes

[dyson in reply to y_not]

Thank you for your reply y-not and yes i totally agree with you on all that you say tomorrow i am going to sit and blow in the machines again which i hate but i will be demanding a print off of the results which they always say you have to ask the doc for then i will be seeing him i sit and read what people say on here and think i should no all this about me the time as come to grab that proverbial throat as you say its my health going down the pan here. Like i said i have lots of x-rays but what about a scan to see whats going on in side ect i need to know A-E told me i retain so that can not do me any good and the bottom part of my lungs are crap now its time i got the right help thanks for the kick up the back side Y-not

[y_not in reply to dyson]

In fairness to doctors, one did say to me a long time ago, "se know what's happening and sometimes forget that those around us don't. If you have any questions always feel free to ask" which reminded me that they are human and sometimes, like all the rest of us, will assume everyone else knows .... think I'm going soft now!

[dyson in reply to y_not]

Ha Ha no dont go soft need you to keep kicking me up the back side lol