Hi everyone. My first post. Diagnosed by CT scan recently with Emphysema. Lung Function test will be July and OP appt chest clinic in August. I have a Kinetic oximeter but it does not cope with movement so difficult to gauge walking/ exercise impact. Most models I have seen have same caveat. Any (reasonably priced) recommendations please ?
Thanks Casey
Welcome to the forums, Casey. It’s the last place any of us would want to be, but it’s actually a pretty great place in some ways once you end up here.
Oximeters just don’t cope well with motion. Even in a very unwell patient in a hospital bed, motion artefact - which simply means interference with the signal due to movement of the place the probe is attached to - occurs and leads to either a temporary, potentially inaccurate reading, or a total inability to obtain a reading at all. In a hospital setting, if they’re trying to establish someone’s exercise tolerance in a lab by putting them on a bike or treadmill, they’ll usually use either an earlobe probe, or they’ll ask the person to hold on to the exercise machine with the hand that the probe is attached to (not full proof, but works to some extent). If they’re assessing it more informally, say for physios to monitor changes in fitness on a respiratory ward, or to ensure an unwell patient isn’t struggling whilst moving around or exercising, then the usual method is to get them to stop and stand still while they spot check it. One of the reasons doing this is acceptable is that if you have genuinely low sats on exertion (as opposed to an erroneous reading due to poor signal or motion artefact), they’ll stay low for a while after you stop. Low O2 doesn’t immediately bounce back up, and a reading that does shoot up from (for example) 92% to 98% in the space of seconds reliably indicates the 92 was nonsense to begin with. The caveat with the stop and spot method at home is that using an all in one fingertip SpO2 monitor (where you have the display on the bit that goes over the finger) may take considerably longer to pick up the signal and give you an accurate reading than the handheld oximeters often used in ward and hospital exercise settings. You also need to fully understand how to use one to ensure that you are getting accurate figures, as there is more to getting accurate readings than just putting your finger in.
You can buy a reusable earlobe probe and compatible oximeter in the UK, but you would be talking upwards of £2-300 to do so, and it really would be overkill: generally speaking, if there is a clinical need for that kind of equipment, the nhs will provide it. Have you had any low sats that you’re aware of? What are your resting sats like? I’m not medically qualified, but my understanding is that if your resting sats are good (above 95%), the likelihood of your exercise sats being worryingly low are very slim. Have you done any spirometry tests so far, or will the hospital appt in July be your first? Do you have lots of breathlessness/shortness of breath? I know covid has caused some delays, but given that they’re not rushing with your appointments, that would give me some reassurance that you’re probably not in a situation where your sats are likely to be really low.
Hi Charlie. Thanks the prompt response. My”formal” diagnosis of emphysema was this Jan but I had a non-specific diagnosis of COPD since 2012 when I had pneumonia. I was hospitalised in March last year with pneumonia again I was on oxygen then +steroids snd ABs and it took 4 days to get my sats back up to 93 before they let e out, but had no CT scan etc until this January , when I was suspected of cancer, cos of weight loss, but instead they told me emphysemaMy normal sats have been around 93 since the first pneumonia I also have always had naturally low BP and temp. My sats drop to about 88 if I do30 seconds of marching on the foot or Step ups and return to 92-94 within 5-10 minutes rest.
I had a telephone consultation with the chest consultant and my OP appointments would normally have been April-May but cos of COVID backlogs it is all delayed
I am not panicking nor paranoid but I do like to keep an eye on my daily BPand sats
Thanks Casey
All very useful information, and apologies if it sounded like I was trying to teach you to suck eggs as a result! 🙈 We do get newbies that are (understandably) very anxious after diagnosis, worrying about their sats when they’re actually really quite well. The reality for oximeters remains the same, though - earlobe is the most effective way to monitor during exercise, but it comes at a steep cost versus a £20 fingertip SpO2 for stop and spot, plus you would need the means of getting it calibrated. I’m going to be honest and say it sounds like your care has been a bit lacking, but hopefully they’ll turn that around. It’s been a postcode lottery during covid, even between specialties at the same hospitals, never mind different hospitals and areas.
Thanks Charlie. I did not take your comments that way so I apologise too if I sounded a bit snotty You hit the spot re poor care- complaints have been raised!
I gave a binge if (non life-threatening) conditions and have learnt many moons ago you have to be good at self awareness snd self advocacy which for me includes self measurement where relevant.
“At my age” it becomes increasingly important!
Thanks again for your advice and support; likewise to the other members who responded.
🙏 Casey
To complement Charlie g's answer and to put it into laymans terms,none exist so don't even waste your time researching.I have a Nonin wristox pulse oximeter,that retails at over £500.it can handle movement and even do a programmable sleep study if required,it is very useful to me in my ambulatory exertions due to the severity of my condition,my sats can plummet into the low 70,s and i need to know when to stop or react but only because i have had to become a bit of a self confessed expert to manage the amount of supplementary oxygen i can pump into my system to survive.Do not become obsessed with measuring your sats,they are only really important when you have a confirmed diagnosis wherebye you need to take action to avoid hypoxia and your post indicates that you are nowhere near that stage.
Continue to exercise and perhaps measure your sats prior to exercise and on completion of the exercise and see how long any depreciation rectifys itself which may be more useful information to disclose to your consultant.
Best wishes Ski's and Scruff's
🙃😸
Thank you. All good stuff. I am not obsessive and know I am nowhere near serious. I just keep an eye on it Appreciate your input 🙏
Hello and welcome to this forum, lots of really nice, helpful and supportive people. I can't really add anything to what Charlie_G has said. I have purchased a couple of different Oximeter's, sometimes doesn't give a reading sometimes does so I would not recommend either of the ones that I have. My Emphysema was diagnosed when I had a CT Scan for something else so was sort of found by accident, thankfully. Hope all goes well with your Lung Function Test's. Let us know how you get on. Best wishes. xx
Welcome, Casey. I am sure you will find everyone on here very willing to swap ideas and help in any way they can. John
Sorry, maybe for a rough idea, alot of smart watches now check oxygen. I've checked mine against both my oximeters and it gives the same reading. You do have to stop moving for a minute for it to take the reading, but I've found it helpful when I'm out walking. Mine cost £30. Hubbies was £50. Both are accurate. Some of the Fitbits take continuous readings, don't think you have to stop, during day/night, I couldn't afford one of them!
Got ours from Amazon. Mine's a Huawei Honor Band, hubbie's is a LEMFO smart watch. 🙂
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