I have never been on oxygen other than in hospital or in an ambulance. One reason Oxygen does not sit well with Amioderone .
My breathing is worstening - Not like a COPD flare or even an Asthma flare. I also have dyspnea and I think that is worstening..
My sats improved some years after I stopped smoking. usually 94 but lower at nigh time.
Most of today been 92 0r 93, last night 90 - I did a sleep test which lasted 3 hours, average 90with trips as low as 84 - That happened earlier today but just for a short while.
My 02 is lower in a flare up,but that just a part of the time - Hard breathing for me if far more of a problem than a COPD flare up.
My question is - my breathing mostly not wheezy most of the time, but with not much exertion.
My question is how low to sats have to go, or how bad breathing is. before oxygen comes in the picture - That is one thing I really don't want.
Written by
Ern007
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
I am surprised no one answered to you here on this forum Ern 🤷 I would imagine if your oxygen sats would drop to a danger level where you would really struggle to breath, oxygen would be needed! Hopefully others will be able to answer that question for you Ern! 🙏🥰 And definitely talk to your doctor urgently tomorrow Ern please 🙏❤️
I don't recall having Dyspnea in Winter, I am gonna check on my record when it was diagnosed, I know it was very bad in Corfu about 5 years ago - was very humid, 😀
before I was on oxygen I was frightened of it. I’ve got a concentrator now,it’s really useful if we go shopping or for a short walk,which I need to keep my muscles useful.
I was concerned what people would think at first,now I’ve got over that.
I’ve got a wheeled walker which I use outside,it helps my walking, I have a chronic back problem,along with my lung issues it helps me greatly.
So when I go out I use the walker,the oxygen concentrator fits nicely in the basket of the walker.me complete with nasal cannula.
When I go for a walk,people treat me in different ways, either scuttle past or they say hello in a *nice* way. I just try to carry on,sometimes better than others.
I hope you have a reasonable day tomorrow.
The constant change in weather is playing havoc with my lungs.
Regardless of you disability seen or unseen, we shouldn't treat people differently! I don't care really as to me they are people in my community or town! I think People with disabilities are so great with improvising so they can cope 👌🥰😁
I have a great respect for people with disabilities! Sad fact is when life's quality is greatly diminished by lack of financial or medical resources!
Example:
My Step Mum was so full of life, now she is bedridden and in a nursing home!
She's never out of her bed 🙄 which to me is unacceptable!
To assist her to take part in nursing home life needs to be addressed!
Only her daughters can change that!
It really greatly frustrates me!
She lives in Wuppertal Germany and sadly I am so far away! Otherwise I would speak up for her 👍
I used to work in nursing care, and we assisted residents to sit in a comfy wheelchair for a couple of hours, maybe 3 x per week and when performances where on in the home Ern ❤️ Their eyes lit up with joy and contentment 👌😁🥰
Yes absolutely Ern! I would get my Step Mum out of her bed with lots of cushions under her bottom leg and back, give her a ride out into the garden or feed her lunch in the dining room! It's lonely being in your room all day accept TV, and no stimulation! My dad is visiting her religiously every afternoon/evening! My dad's 92 years old!
It must be hard for your dad 92 - But that generaion did care, nobody know how long that can be kept up, but maybe what he is doing is keeping your dad going. It is all about committment and love you are right, without that care would not amount to much.
My mother died quickly when she was 60, my dad reached 71 when he got cancer, which was advanced - We looked after my dad until the end and did not think twice. Anne help a lot those difficult days,
Yes my Auntie was the same caring for her relatives! If I were in Germany I would too do that! Sadly marriage took me to England, not sure if that was good or bad 🤷 but it isn't easy to live that far away, depressing at times Ern 🙄
With COPD they say oxygen should be between 88 and 91 . The oxygen is not to help your breathing but to protect your vital organs from lack of oxygen or these could shut down I.e. heart ,kidneys liver etc.i am now in oxygen 24/7 and must admit I am having difficulty accepting it. I have to go to dentist today first time out in 9 months already in anxious state and dreading it. Also new dentist who doesn't know me. .I also hope I don't get stared at. I akso have problem carrying cylinder as find even the small one heavy . I've dosed myself up with steroids and Lorazapam. Praying it all goes well. XxS😱🙏
My oxygen at the moment is 89/91 some days and 91/92 other days, I have been down this road before, oygen to me Sheila would mean a medication change, I just hope Dr has ideas other than oxygen.
A nightmare. The dentist did temp filling which fell out before I left. Did it again and this fell out in car . Waited so long my small oxygen rank ran out . Had spare in boot but that went to red after a few minutes. I was an hour away from home couldn't breathe. Hubby phoned 999 they brought me home in Ambulance on their oxygen. Still haven't had my filling. First time out in 9 months disaster. Thanks for thinking about me I have to wait another 4 months for dentist appointment. Apparently you have to state when booking if you want a permanent filling. What absolute nonsense. XxSheila
Oh Sheila, I am so sorry. I desperately wanted you to have breezed through it all and be happy and ready for the next trip out.
Thank goodness for ambulances! Those small tanks don’t last long do they? I always take a larger one and get my daughter to carry it for me. Makes me feel like I’m being waited on!
Sounds like a rubbish dentist! Of course you want a permanent filling, one that lasts until you get home would be an improvement!
I hope this doesn’t stop you trying again, even if you just go out for coffee. I had my usual anxiety stint when I was leaving the house for PR this morning, I definitely need to practice just going to the car!!
I hope you’ve recovered Sheila, better luck next time, Laurie xx
Oh Sheila. I'm so sorry too. I couldn't have imagined so much could go wrong. That dentist sounds useless. I'm glad the ambulance got you home in one piece. You must be shattered. As for having to ask for a permanent filling- I've never heard of such a thing. I hoped this trip would have given you the confidence to start going out for pleasanter things. Grrrr!- it's enough to make you weep. xxxxx Chris
I hope things go well for you Sheila - I am not able to have steroids ibut I have Lorazapam which after a good time with them, their effects are now almost gone. My oxygen is often in that range but, more and more it is not. Good luck at the dentist, I hate them, I remember having my wisdom teeth extracted at the hospital, although the LA they used was good . If and I am not sure I will, I like you would not like a cylinder - Take lots of care.
hi Ern for me my oxy sats dropped when I wasn’t even aware… it was comments for family saying my lips look blue that prompted me to ask the consultant to check it out. She was surprised when carrying out the 6 minute walk test to find despite me not being terribly breathless my sats were plummeting. Since then I’ve been on ambulatory oxygen and checked to see I’m not a co2 retainer etc. it’s not always obvious to the consultant when you are sitting in a chair in his consultancy room than you may need extra help. I’d suggest you get an appointment and air your concerns. Good luck and embrace the oxygen if that’s an option … my quality of life is so much better for it.
With me I used to have bad COPD flare ups. for some reason rare now but my breathing in some ways is worse. I can be OK one minute and struggling the next, Las night was not that good
Hi I wonder if what you are experiencing is a little time delay - so when stopping activities and you find yourself becoming more out of breath for a short amount of time afterwards despite stopping the activity and then slowly while resting you find your breathing continues to worsens and then eventually become better if so this is a natural ‘pay back time’. So for example as you exert yourself you put increased breathing demand on your body…you continue the excretion but by this time your body is in a worse state that when you first started the activity. I used to climb to top of the stairs collapse on the bed and then think I’m about to pass out (not recommended) but was confused as I couldn’t understand why I was getting even more and more out of breath for the seconds maybe half a minute or more that I was completely resting following a period of activity. Physio explained it was a time delay effects of your body reserved already being so low.
Hi BreatheasyBe - My sats have been dropping for a while. and I have a very low heart rate at times which dows not help, At this moment my oximeter report shows my heart rate ofter in teh low 30s. that's been going on for a while - That could contribute to my 02 sats I think. I am at GP tomorrow and a Thorax CT scan later this month.
I can't help with your questions Ern. (Thank goodness from a purely selfish point of view.) I hope you get some answers soon, though it sounds as if your GP or consultant might be the best person to give you authoritative answers. I hope you can avoid oxygen for a good long while yet. xxx Chris
Thank's Chris - I am at my GP tomorrow, also I am having a CT Thorax follow up scan as the was something wrong last year. I am hoping I don't need oxygen, as I have had VT and has AF and Amioderone if the only suitable medication for me, Bete Blockers for example would be dangerous for me with COPD, Asthma and Dyspnoea the latter is creepy/xxx
while I was in hospital 3 months ago with Aspergillosis and COPD I was on 24/7 oxygen, my target sats were 88-92 and if the level went up above 92 the O2 level was reduced until the stats dropped back to 92. I was weaned off the 24/7 oxygen and after 6 weeks to stabilise I had an oxygen assessment at home. The oxygen nurse had me walking around the garden with and with out oxygen and I’m now on ambulatory oxygen. The cylinders are a bit of a pain but at least I can do a lot more with the oxygen on. The nurse explained it’s nothing to do with breathlessness it’s to ensure that my oxygen levels don’t drop too dangerously low levels to the extent that organ damage can start to occur, and treat it as any other medication
Thanks for that Biker88 - I have had very low sats for a while. but the average was mainly 90/91 - but lots of events in the low 80s, not the average is creeping up, not to the low 80s but I think it needs sorting,
Sorry to read that you are not feeling so well and that your Dyspnoea is increasing. Not so nice is it ?
So a couple of things,
Breathing and breathlessness is affected by a few things, our physical health, our psychological condition, and how essentially how fit we are, the weather ( barometric pressure ) and how well we metabolise oxygen. Large muscle groups use a lot of oxygen.
Often oxygen doesn’t help with breathlessness very much… low sats and breathlessness are two separate things. Respiratory physiology is mightily complex.
What to do ?
Yes do discuss when you see your GP on Tuesday. Below 88 sats isn’t helpful for you.
An oxygen assessment, as others have said is an easy test by the specialist home oxygen service. It will check your 02 levels on exertion and your C02 levels too with a small ear prick. If you need an assessment it will happen quite quickly and then if you require 02 , a prescription will be set up quickly too
I wonder Ern, have you attended a Pulmonary Rehab course recently ? That will help you get fitter if you are able to be fitter.
Finally I saw needing supplementary oxygen a real sign that things were getting a lot worse though I have to say after 8 years of using it I have found it very helpful and it has helped me keep my major organs in better shape. Without it I wouldn’t be here for sure.
Thank you Pauline - I think unlike my Asthma, Dyspnoea is creepy. no wheeze, just hard to breath.
My sats for a while have been weird - I have had an average of 90, but with lows as in events in the low 80s and even the 70s, but never averaging that.
The oximeter has been recording heart rate in the low 30s. although I am used to low heart rate, I wonder if a rate as low as 32 has anything to do with my breathing, Dyspnoea I understand can be caused by heart problems as well - I will update when I get some answers. At the moment I doubt I would be fit enough for PR - Asthma nurse and I talked about that,
Hi Ern, Well indeed perhaps your low heart rate and dyspnoea are linked although a work up by the GP should clarify that for you shouldn't it ? Hope that consultation goes well for you.
Re PR, yes I appreciate you have additional health issues as well, although perhaps the Resp team could offer you some respiratory physio sessions once the dyspnoea had been looked at ?
Hi Ern! As others have said, in general, they like your sats to be 88-92. From what you say, they would probably like to assess you for oxygen. In your case this is especially unwanted with it clashing with your meds. I guess it's a dilemma for you and your medics to solve , there may be some kind of compromise you can reach?
All the best Ern, I hope your visit to your GP goes well xx
I told her about my SATs - She said for me that's normal, she examined me and she is sending me for an echo - I have two leaky valves, one moderate. My leg pain that I get when walking, I have to see a Physio, when she pressed my groin. gosh did that hurt - I am having a Chest CT scan with hospital, she is requesting the result, as she was going to send me herself. Also back on a rescue pack, I got some AB for now - So it's waiting for test results - I doubt oxygen will be given, so that's a big plus, unless something seen on scan says different.
I Ern007, my Respiratory nurse did a test on me to see if I needed oxygen, the test is they make a very small cut on your ear lobe and take a blood reading from a machine, bit like diabetes test. My ready was 75% for home oxygen it is 73% so I was border line. I have portable oxygen to assist as I can't walk very far at all. My sats on machine is between 83 and 92 very early gets above that. I am stage 3 Emphysema. Best speak to your Respiratory nurse to guide you on this.
I didn't want home oxygen as they told me I need to be on it 16 hours day/night. To restricted for me. But when it comes to a time I have to have it, then so be it.
Hope this helps, wishing you well.
As for Lung reduction, have you seen your specialist? Ad they have a meeting with the hospital doctors to discuss your case, before they decide. There are very few hospitals that do this operation, my one was Guys in London.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Help! Is this even possible or all in my mind?
Driving with stage 4 COPD while on oxygen.
Oxygen
