Today my husband has phoned the Community COPD nurse because of my oxygen stats dropping when I'm active . some of you know from my recent post that i have an appointment to see a consultant on the 23rd and i was going to try and hold out till then but today i went out to the bank and i was so woozy and light headed i had to come home .
The nurse is going to visittomorrowow morning , she asked my husband on the phone was i wearing nail varnisI'mim not and have never heard that one before, anyhow i shall post back after she has been tomorrow.
xx Gill
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gillwigan
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Hope your visit goes ok Gill.
If wearing nail polish an oximeter doesn't give an accurate reading, also if hands are cold its sometimes difficult to get an accurate reading when using a oximeter.
Thanks for the kind comments , i dont use nail varnish so its not that , ive been getting bad readings for a while now on extertion, i was diagnosed ten years ago so im thinking it's another stage or step along the emphysemia way , im not one for not staying active and i don't have a chest cold , i can only see what the nurse says tommorow fingers crossed .
Hope all goes well for you and that she can help Val
Just had a thought about oxy meters , my hubby has no lung disease so when he has been active i have put the oxy meter on his finger he always gets a readin of 98 or 99 while i get the low readings , i guess that shows the oxy meter works .
Feel quite fortunate rarely get out of the nineties regardless of pulse rate or short of breath. good luck tmrw Gill
Hi All
We need to make doctors aware of low blood saturation levels as MaureenV told us it damages our bodies when levels are low. Is now the time Stitch to follow gillwigan getting the help needed to stop that damage.
Well that didn't go well , the nurse arrived and took my oxygen level at rest , we had a chat and i told her my readings were low when im active , she said my oxy meter could be faulty fair enough , now when i take my stats i wait till the breathlessness stops then take a reading this morning i got a reading of 81 before the nurse came .
Anyhow she sent me up and down the stairs for about one and a half mins i was breathless so she stuck the oxy meter on me straight away and got a reading of 97 , i explained i get that when im still breathless so i wait till im not then i get a low reading , she answered that thats not the way to do it and said my oxy meter is giving false readings , my husband then went up and down the stairs 4 times took a reading on mine and it was 99 but she wouldnt have it and said mine it faulty which im upset about because i paid £70 for it .
In the end she talked about excersise and i told her im active and im am but it hurts when i get breathless , we said lets wait until we see the consulant on the 23rd and she agreed .
May i ask how do other people here use a pulse oxy meter ? do you wait till you are not breathless then put it on or do you put it on straight away ? .
I think having an oximeter is a good thing..i have used one for the last 5 years since i started using 02. It does take a while to get used to understanding the readings..its a a good measure on how sats/heart rate are doing especially during an exacerbation / infection .
I have used an oximeter for a few years now and have never been able to get up the stairs without a low reading. I think that is why the nurse suspects there is something wrong with yours. There are posts for and against on this blog. I use mine to keep a check on my lung health. My sats will often be different from day to day, and always from hour to hour, even minute to minute as like most on this page, I have copd. Put it on my wife and she will read 99 or 98% most the time. If she goes for a half hour walk, my wife comes in at the same sats. Mine when walking, I often have to stop to gain breath, will drop to 84% on average. Those like me that have suffered severe or very severe copd for a while will know this is no reason to be alarmed, and no reason to reach for the o2. Indeed because of the way the breathing mechanism works o2 will not stop you becoming breathless, just raise your stats to a more normal level.
Sometimes, during exercise, my sats will drop to 79%. Alarmed? Not at all. Sit down for two minutes, keep it on my finger, and I will watch my sats rise to my normal 92%. I put mine on during exercise sometimes out of interest. Most of all I use mine to gauge if I have a suspect infection coming or not to allow me to start taking the meds quickly. In my case indicated by a racing pulse, also shown on the oximeter, and a drop in my sats. Certainly being breathless in itself is not dangerous. As soon as you stop for a little rest, you will feel better. Feeling faint can be because of panic setting in at getting breathless. Or because you feel a little faint during the exercise, as happens to me sometimes, and panicking because of that. Please seek advice. But if the advice is you do not need o2 supplement. Trust the medics I must add though that if anyone ever feels breathless at rest it is time to seek immediate medical attention as this would almost always be caused by an exacerbation.
During a chat with a consultant on an informal basis I proffered that those living at very high altitudes, like the Andes, must suffer low o2 sats often. They often have sats in the 70's, and appear to suffer no harm. Those climbing Everest would also suffer badly from low sats. As said, please trust the medical advice given
Those in the Andes usually have SATS in the mid 80's, once they are in the 70's they are considered hypoxic. As a race they are naturally well adapted to lower levels of 02 in the atmosphere. As for climbing Everest, you will no doubt have heard of such terms as 'the death zone' etc. The higher reaches of Everest require oxygen. Parvati
Thanks Derrylynne i intend to trust the medics ans the nurse said a blood gas test will sort this out one way or the other, i have to say i was referred to the Thoracic consultant by the cardiologist who was concerned after test about the effects on my heart when I'm breathless, I'm not screaming out for oxygen Ive always said the longer without it the better, but my heart positively bangs like a drum when I'm breathless and a am in pain at the same time, hurry up the 23RD when i see the consultant .
Hi All Some sound advice from the BLF on 37fowler using as a guide not becoming anxious as Derrylynne pointed out listen to your own body while following medical advice.
Good luck with your appointment gillwigan! I am also waiting for an appointment with a consultant since February,I dont know how long it will take but I am seeing one after losing 7% fev1 in less than a year.I bought an oximeter on Amazon for £20 and am finding it a usefull indicator of how well I'm doing.I now know that I only drop to 84 when I walk to the place I can catch a bus and my h.b.p.m. goes to 140! but starts dropping as soon as I sit down and my numbers soon go back up! This tells me I could probably do with some oxygen on exercise but of course I'll wait for expert advice,whenever that may be! Just curious as to what fev1 numbers you have?All the best,cazz
Ive lost 5% in 12 mths huffer but how about this for a twist in the tale i got a phone call today from the hospital my appointment was for the 23RD but i have i been asked to go in on Wednesday Morning next week bring the appointment forward a week , i don't know whether that is a good thing or bad as i had a chest x ray 2 weeks ago and that is for the consultant .
When taking sats levels at rest mine used to be about 92%, sometimes now it's 89% my last blood gases she said it was 89 and that was alright? So as soon as you get up to do anything ? what do they drop to? If my sats are registering 85% I don't even try to move until they improve this is usually achieved by increasing my oxygen. Do they not take this in to account even though mine were only 89 with BG's ? Val
When I had pneumonia they said if it goes under 90you need oxygen and I was in hospital for the week and only needed oxygen once or twice -now at home my sat is often 91 and I'm comparatively well - what is going on! When I visited the consultant yesterday for my six monthly appt. it was 97!, must measure my device against the local doctors sat O2 toy!,
You can't bloody win they please themselves ,why take a resting reading when it's when you are active you need oxygen, 1 yr I've needed it I get told" you got a inhalor and a car, how bloody rude, yes and I use 1 inhalor a wk ,it is supposed to last I month,no walking that's a pleasure,NHS doesn't cover pleasure to leave the house.....idiots!!!
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I must add though that if anyone ever feels breathless at rest it is time to seek immediate medical attention as this would almost always be caused by an exacerbation. 
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