Sats

[Harry13]

Hi This is my first post and I'm on Oxygen 24/7. My problem is as soon as I stand up my Sats drop drasticly low e.g. when I walk to the bathroom which is no more than 15 steps away they drop to the low 70's or high 60's some times lower and it takes me a good 10 min's to recover. But I can sit in my chair and do minimum exercises for 20 min's and they only drop to the low 80's. I was wondering who else has this problem. Cheers. Harry13

[Time_2_drink]

Hi Henry I have same problem sometimes just sitting can drop into the 70/60 and heart rate esculates i have just come out of hospital was taking in with sats of 50 heart rate 166. .Nobody seems to have the answer I also retain CO2 like you I wish there was a answer take care .

[Harry13 in reply to Time_2_drink]

Sorry I took so long in replying. My stats are ok till I get up. While I'm sitting doing Zilt I'm fine but bored. Oh Hum. H

[Stumpy55]

Hi harry I'm a newbie, I sympathise with your problems but have to say I don't really understand all this about sats. I am disabled in a wheelchair and have stage 4 copd. At the moment I have chest infection and can barely breath and yet my sats are all fairly good

[2greys in reply to Stumpy55]

It is a conundrum, although at at stage 3, I can really feel really sob (short of breath) yet my sats can be 94%, another time I can be at 90% and feel just fine and do any amount of exercise. A really crazy disease that defies all logic. I sometimes wonder if having a pulse/oximeter is worth using as it can have no bearing over how I feel. I have lost count of how many times I have been convinced that I am in real trouble, feeling sob, only to be disproved by my sats that are really okay.

[Harry13 in reply to 2greys]

Hi 2 greys. Yes it is a really crazy disease that defies all logic. I know of people who say they have the decease but they are still smoking and walking about like a 2 year old. Makes me angry. Take care. H

[Harry13 in reply to 2greys]

Hi 2 greys. Yes it is a really crazy disease that defies all logic. I know of people who say they have the decease but they are still smoking and walking about like a 2 year old. Makes me angry. Take care. H

[Stumpy55 in reply to 2greys]

Hi 2greys, I know how you feel about being short of breath, I don't know about you but I get really scared when I am fighting to breath and tend to panic because of it. The paremedic told me my sats are good even though I have chest infection, I can't work that out. I am stage 4 copd. I am wheelchair bound and when I am panicking I start crashing into things trying to get outside for some air.

[bethany1- in reply to Stumpy55]

I too suffered from terrible panic attacks, when in the beginning I thought I was choking to death; then one of the paramedics suggest that I ask my gp for something to calm me down, the following morning just before it would all kick I took one diazapem and for the first time in a couple of year I was not scared, I took them for two days, and then I realised I was no longer frightened of of the choking and phlegm, later on I progressed to carbosisteine and huffing exercises, do ask your go for something to break that awful cycle

[Stumpy55 in reply to bethany1-]

Hello Bethany, although I sympathise with your panic attacks, it really helps me to know that I'm not alone. It's so scary when you can't breath properly you feel like your going to stop breathing so then you panic. And that makes everything even worse. I know what I'm suppose to do but common sense

goes out the window when your panicking

[Harry13 in reply to Stumpy55]

Hi stumpy. Sorry to hear you have a chest infection. That's the last thing you need. I haven't got a clue what stage I am. Must make a point to find out.

You are obviously far worse than I am. Take care. H

[Stumpy55 in reply to Harry13]

Thankyou Harry, I do feel really unwell at the moment because my breathing is worse than normal and my energy is very limited. There are four stages of copd. I can never work out the sats, I find it confusing. I am finding breathing hard and yet my oxygen level is pretty good. I wish you well and it's good to talk. ✋️😊

[Harry13 in reply to Stumpy55]

I don't know what stage I am stumpy55. will have to find out. must be high to be as I'm on Oxygen full time .Take care and stay safe and warm as the say we are in for an ARCTIC BLAST by the end of the week. Our sats are supposed to be in the nineties so I'm told.

[Stumpy55 in reply to Harry13]

Wish you safe and well too. THANKYOU for your message, I haven't been on this site very long and wanted to chat with others who share my illness. Sometimes when my breathing is tough I tend to panic, do you? And doctors tell me just to calm down and breath slowly through your nose and out through your mouth. Well when I panic I find it hard to do the right thing.

[Harry13 in reply to Stumpy55]

Hi stumpy. I used to and do still at times and I find if I close my eyes and breath in as slowly and deeply I can though my nose and out through pursed lips longer than I breathed in e.g in 4 secs out 6 or longer and gradually lower my shoulders sure helps. Hope this is of help to you.

[Stumpy55 in reply to Harry13]

Hi Harry, THANKYOU, I'm beginning to feel a bit better now. Lots of steroids, nebuliser treatments and antibiotics has helped. Because I panic when I can't breath properly my poor husband panics with me bless him. I have emphaseama in both lungs s. Having difficulty in breathing has become a way of life now. I wish you well friend

[Harry13 in reply to Stumpy55]

Hi stumpy

Glad you are feeling a bit better. Tell Hubby not to panic as it makes you panic more.

Take care and stay warm and I wish you well my friend. xxx

[jackdup]

I don’t have the answer to your question but I think part of it is we kind of assume walking just comes naturally and isn't really exercise but when you consider just standing up your legs are lifting the full weight of your body. If you sat in your chair and strapped a hundred pounds of weight onto your feet and then tried doing leg raises your sats may well drop as much as they do when you are walking.

[Harry13 in reply to jackdup]

You are right there jackup. H

[mskpjb]

Welcome Harry13 . I have the same problem and am also on oxygen like you. BUT ! You can`t put on a picture of that sweet little face and not tell us about him or her ! Sheila x

[Harry13 in reply to mskpjb]

Hi Sheila.. Her name is Bella and she's a 3 year old thoroughly spoilt Shih Tzu. H x

[mskpjb in reply to Harry13]

Hi Harry13 . Perfect name for her, she really is bellissima. Sheila x

[Harry13 in reply to mskpjb]

( xxx

[Plumbob]

Hi Harry Welcome to the site

You didn't say what you were suffering from, I'm assuming it's some form of restrictive lung disease such as IPF ?

I have similar problems as yourself with oxygen ranging from 55% to 89% and Heart Rate 87 BPM to 163 BPM depending on what I'm doing -I'm ok sat still but like you a trip to the bathroom (and we don't live in a mansion!!! LOL) and the oxygen drops and heartrate shoots through the roof. I am on oxygen 24/7

I suffer from asbestosis which is in the same family as IPF. The problem is my transfer rate. (the amount of oxygen transferring into my body from my lungs is less than 30%

If you are mechanically minded and liken it to a car with a blocked fuel filter. When your sitting down (ticking over the fuel (oxygen) is trickling through ok. But when you put your foot on the accelerator (start moving about) your engine becomes starved of fuel so the fuel pump (Heart) starts to pump faster to try and get the fuel in ....Hope this makes sense ?

Whatever your condition I wish you well in your quest and hope you manage to stay positive

Take Care

Plumbob

[Harry13 in reply to Plumbob]

Hi Plumbob. I understand what you are saying.

I have C.O.P.D. and they put it down to smoking

20 a day. Nothing to do with me being a coal man( dust)

Demolition Man No masks in those days( more dust)Plasterer ( dust ) Insulation Fibre glass and asbestos.

I do try to stay as positive as I can. You to take care. Cheers. H

[Plumbob in reply to Harry13]

The demon Fags every time !!! it's always a good excuse forget all the other stuff you've breathed in ??

Not sure of the mechanics of COPD as opposed to ILD. But to go back to my original analogy -I would say your fuel pipes are blocked and only trickling fuel through !!!

Look after your self the best as you can. and never be afraid to ask questions and query answer

Stay safe

Owen

[Harry13 in reply to Plumbob]

Cheers Owen. I know my airways are like straws compared to hose pipes on a healthy person with growths in them to stop the phlegm coming up easily. You to stay safe and warm as they say we are in for an Arctic Blast by the end of the week. H

[Salmo]

Exactly the same as you. On O2 all time (IPF). Find its worse at night and first thing in morning.

Sats fine in bed or stiiting but after a short walk (10-steps) my sats crash and HR rockets. The worst thing for me is the sudden rapid fall in O2. It can fall from 95 to 70 in about 10seconds. Strangely this happens not when walking but once I stop, though I know its about to happen before it does as I get a terrible sense of breathlessness even when my sats say 95

One thing I have found is that I can avoid the unpleasant falls in O2 if I very slowly work up to any activity after sitting and carefully control my breathing. For example, I'll now stand up and wait 5-10 seconds before walking. Then take 2 steps and stop and wait 10 seconds. Then 4 or 5 steps and a rest for 5 seconds then 10 steps and rest few seconds gradually increasing activity and decerasing rest. I find that if I move slowly at first in this manner my sats will slowly come down to 90 then 85 and even as low as 80 and I will not feel that out of breath. I usually try to keep my pace slow and keep O2 above 88 and find that once I've got going I can walk for 15 mins without any discomfort or feeling of breathlessness.

[Harry13]

Many thanks for this Salmo. I will give it a try. Only trouble I have is going to the bathroom first thing as soon as I get up.

I have to sit down to do my business and wash my face etc. etc.

and when I get up and walk to the living room there is noway

I could stop and start as my sats drop to the 60's and HR is around 140 but comes down fairly quickly.