Question Regarding O2 use and pulse ox

[Pumuckl]

Hi everyone,

I am new to using oxygen at home and have been feeling quite poorly as in shortness of breath, tightness in chest etc. I am also on IV meds (tobra and cefapime) for Pseudo infection. (Current situation has been going on for 2.5 weeks)

On air (at rest) my sats have been between 79 and 84 with a pulse around 122 - 127.
On O2 @ 3 liters (at rest) my sats are 91-93 with a pulse around 102 - 113

Since I am still feeling like I am struggling for air (lethargic, headache etc) I am wondering if my levels should be different. I have phoned the doc (mine is on vacation) and was told to increase my steroids (so far this is not helping me).

Any thoughts, or suggestions what levels should be at when on O2 (or is it a case by case situation?)

Thanks for the help

 

[Pumuckl]

Hi everyone,

I am new to using oxygen at home and have been feeling quite poorly as in shortness of breath, tightness in chest etc. I am also on IV meds (tobra and cefapime) for Pseudo infection. (Current situation has been going on for 2.5 weeks)

On air (at rest) my sats have been between 79 and 84 with a pulse around 122 - 127.
On O2 @ 3 liters (at rest) my sats are 91-93 with a pulse around 102 - 113

Since I am still feeling like I am struggling for air (lethargic, headache etc) I am wondering if my levels should be different. I have phoned the doc (mine is on vacation) and was told to increase my steroids (so far this is not helping me).

Any thoughts, or suggestions what levels should be at when on O2 (or is it a case by case situation?)

Thanks for the help

 

[Pumuckl]

Hi everyone,

I am new to using oxygen at home and have been feeling quite poorly as in shortness of breath, tightness in chest etc. I am also on IV meds (tobra and cefapime) for Pseudo infection. (Current situation has been going on for 2.5 weeks)

On air (at rest) my sats have been between 79 and 84 with a pulse around 122 - 127.
On O2 @ 3 liters (at rest) my sats are 91-93 with a pulse around 102 - 113

Since I am still feeling like I am struggling for air (lethargic, headache etc) I am wondering if my levels should be different. I have phoned the doc (mine is on vacation) and was told to increase my steroids (so far this is not helping me).

Any thoughts, or suggestions what levels should be at when on O2 (or is it a case by case situation?)

Thanks for the help

 

[coltsfan715]

I am by no means making a medical reccomendation for you but I wanted to share what my docs have told me. My sats vary pretty widely depending on the activity and the time of day and all. In the mornings I am at 91ish with 2 liters and a few hours later (not after meds or anything different just as time passes) I will be 97 on 2 liters. For example I had a test run for transplant eval - at the start of the test the bumped me to 5 liters cause my sats were so low - they were at 92 on 5 liters - by the end of the test (which included exercise) they had bumped me back down to 2-3 liters and I was satting at about 97 or so. When I left I was on 2 liters and functioning just fine lol.

Sometimes it can be unpredictable. I asked my docs about what to do if I felt "air hungry" or starved for air. Their reply was that IF I DID feel air hungry that I needed more O2 most likely. They said funny thing how the body works like that - it tells you what it needs and it is pretty obvious when you listen to it. They told me that if I got to a point that I felt air hungry and I felt I needed it to try and increase to 3 liters and see if I felt better. Each time I have felt air hungry and increased my liter intake I have felt better within a few minutes - able to catch my breath and not so icky feeling.

It varies for me on O2 intake though. I had the transplant doc tell me that I was on the right amount of O2 when my sats were at 92 with 2 liters (again first thing in the AM) but I think that having sats around 96 or 97 is better. Though I tend to stick around 2 liters unless my body needs otherwise - like for alot of exercise or whatever.

Take Care and hopefully you find something that works for you. I don't know what sats should be on O2. You would have to ask your doc about that - I just know what my docs had told me about the air hungry feeling.

Take Care,
Lindsey

 

[coltsfan715]

I am by no means making a medical reccomendation for you but I wanted to share what my docs have told me. My sats vary pretty widely depending on the activity and the time of day and all. In the mornings I am at 91ish with 2 liters and a few hours later (not after meds or anything different just as time passes) I will be 97 on 2 liters. For example I had a test run for transplant eval - at the start of the test the bumped me to 5 liters cause my sats were so low - they were at 92 on 5 liters - by the end of the test (which included exercise) they had bumped me back down to 2-3 liters and I was satting at about 97 or so. When I left I was on 2 liters and functioning just fine lol.

Sometimes it can be unpredictable. I asked my docs about what to do if I felt "air hungry" or starved for air. Their reply was that IF I DID feel air hungry that I needed more O2 most likely. They said funny thing how the body works like that - it tells you what it needs and it is pretty obvious when you listen to it. They told me that if I got to a point that I felt air hungry and I felt I needed it to try and increase to 3 liters and see if I felt better. Each time I have felt air hungry and increased my liter intake I have felt better within a few minutes - able to catch my breath and not so icky feeling.

It varies for me on O2 intake though. I had the transplant doc tell me that I was on the right amount of O2 when my sats were at 92 with 2 liters (again first thing in the AM) but I think that having sats around 96 or 97 is better. Though I tend to stick around 2 liters unless my body needs otherwise - like for alot of exercise or whatever.

Take Care and hopefully you find something that works for you. I don't know what sats should be on O2. You would have to ask your doc about that - I just know what my docs had told me about the air hungry feeling.

Take Care,
Lindsey

 

[coltsfan715]

I am by no means making a medical reccomendation for you but I wanted to share what my docs have told me. My sats vary pretty widely depending on the activity and the time of day and all. In the mornings I am at 91ish with 2 liters and a few hours later (not after meds or anything different just as time passes) I will be 97 on 2 liters. For example I had a test run for transplant eval - at the start of the test the bumped me to 5 liters cause my sats were so low - they were at 92 on 5 liters - by the end of the test (which included exercise) they had bumped me back down to 2-3 liters and I was satting at about 97 or so. When I left I was on 2 liters and functioning just fine lol.

Sometimes it can be unpredictable. I asked my docs about what to do if I felt "air hungry" or starved for air. Their reply was that IF I DID feel air hungry that I needed more O2 most likely. They said funny thing how the body works like that - it tells you what it needs and it is pretty obvious when you listen to it. They told me that if I got to a point that I felt air hungry and I felt I needed it to try and increase to 3 liters and see if I felt better. Each time I have felt air hungry and increased my liter intake I have felt better within a few minutes - able to catch my breath and not so icky feeling.

It varies for me on O2 intake though. I had the transplant doc tell me that I was on the right amount of O2 when my sats were at 92 with 2 liters (again first thing in the AM) but I think that having sats around 96 or 97 is better. Though I tend to stick around 2 liters unless my body needs otherwise - like for alot of exercise or whatever.

Take Care and hopefully you find something that works for you. I don't know what sats should be on O2. You would have to ask your doc about that - I just know what my docs had told me about the air hungry feeling.

Take Care,
Lindsey

 

[Scarlett81]

lindsay-
did they tell you why you would fluctuate so quickly like that?
(My oxygen has always been high, but since i caught this virus its been lower-also b/c of the baby pushing on me too. they haven't talked about oxygen yet with me-(I'm down to 96 from always being 100.) But since this is all new to me, I don't understand why it gets lower like that.)
Sorry to commander your thread pumuckl!-I'm just curious!

 

[Scarlett81]

lindsay-
did they tell you why you would fluctuate so quickly like that?
(My oxygen has always been high, but since i caught this virus its been lower-also b/c of the baby pushing on me too. they haven't talked about oxygen yet with me-(I'm down to 96 from always being 100.) But since this is all new to me, I don't understand why it gets lower like that.)
Sorry to commander your thread pumuckl!-I'm just curious!

 

[Scarlett81]

lindsay-
did they tell you why you would fluctuate so quickly like that?
(My oxygen has always been high, but since i caught this virus its been lower-also b/c of the baby pushing on me too. they haven't talked about oxygen yet with me-(I'm down to 96 from always being 100.) But since this is all new to me, I don't understand why it gets lower like that.)
Sorry to commander your thread pumuckl!-I'm just curious!

 

[coltsfan715]

Hey Christian,

I am not sure really as to why it fluctuates so much they have never told me one way or the other - I personally think itis because I tend to be a mouth breather naturally - I have to think and remind myself to breathe through my nose. *I had bad sinus issues for years that caused/led to the mouth breathing lol*.

They seemed intrigued by the fact that it varied so much as well. When I am concentrating on my breathing and make a point to breathe through my nose my sats stay pretty consistent though, since I use a nasal cannula for O2.

Take Care,
Lindsey

 

[coltsfan715]

Hey Christian,

I am not sure really as to why it fluctuates so much they have never told me one way or the other - I personally think itis because I tend to be a mouth breather naturally - I have to think and remind myself to breathe through my nose. *I had bad sinus issues for years that caused/led to the mouth breathing lol*.

They seemed intrigued by the fact that it varied so much as well. When I am concentrating on my breathing and make a point to breathe through my nose my sats stay pretty consistent though, since I use a nasal cannula for O2.

Take Care,
Lindsey

 

[coltsfan715]

Hey Christian,

I am not sure really as to why it fluctuates so much they have never told me one way or the other - I personally think itis because I tend to be a mouth breather naturally - I have to think and remind myself to breathe through my nose. *I had bad sinus issues for years that caused/led to the mouth breathing lol*.

They seemed intrigued by the fact that it varied so much as well. When I am concentrating on my breathing and make a point to breathe through my nose my sats stay pretty consistent though, since I use a nasal cannula for O2.

Take Care,
Lindsey

 

[HairGirl]

I've been on oxygen now for 8 months, like Lindsey it varies during the day, I usually can breathe better during the day and normal activities, but since my surgery in Feb. I have felt I've needed it more, I'm on 3 liters during the day and sometimes will turn it up to 4 at night, it's just natural for your body to be lower at night.

As for your question of the sats, you should be around 96-98, before I was on oxygen I would normally be 92-94, but on oxygen they like it to be higher, so if you are only at 91 with oxygen go ahead and turn it up! Hopefully that will help solve some of your problems.

 

[HairGirl]

I've been on oxygen now for 8 months, like Lindsey it varies during the day, I usually can breathe better during the day and normal activities, but since my surgery in Feb. I have felt I've needed it more, I'm on 3 liters during the day and sometimes will turn it up to 4 at night, it's just natural for your body to be lower at night.

As for your question of the sats, you should be around 96-98, before I was on oxygen I would normally be 92-94, but on oxygen they like it to be higher, so if you are only at 91 with oxygen go ahead and turn it up! Hopefully that will help solve some of your problems.

 

[HairGirl]

I've been on oxygen now for 8 months, like Lindsey it varies during the day, I usually can breathe better during the day and normal activities, but since my surgery in Feb. I have felt I've needed it more, I'm on 3 liters during the day and sometimes will turn it up to 4 at night, it's just natural for your body to be lower at night.

As for your question of the sats, you should be around 96-98, before I was on oxygen I would normally be 92-94, but on oxygen they like it to be higher, so if you are only at 91 with oxygen go ahead and turn it up! Hopefully that will help solve some of your problems.

 

[lflatford]

I would consult with your Dr. before making any adjustments. For the last three years I worked as a Sr. Account Executive for and O2 company here in East Tennessee, and on numerous times our patients would increase the oxygen to quickly satisfy the "air hunger", there is such a thing as getting too much oxygen and it being bad for you. Especially if your doing it at the advise of your fellow peers and not at the recommendation of your Doctor. Your sats are going to be lower at night because your body shuts down and relaxes, thus your breathing relaxes as well, causing your sats to fall a little as well. Now with that being said, there are devices out there that your o2 company can help you out with like the SAGE device, which is a device that gives you o2 oxygen based on what you are doing (ie, rest or activity) not sleep. At rest you could set it at 2lpm, and because it has a sensor it would sense when you are doing activity so your Dr. might recommend 3 or 4lpm. But until you speak to your Dr, I would not make any adjustments based on what others have had success with.

Chuck father to Avery 3, Double Delta F508
Rhett 2 carrier

 

[lflatford]

I would consult with your Dr. before making any adjustments. For the last three years I worked as a Sr. Account Executive for and O2 company here in East Tennessee, and on numerous times our patients would increase the oxygen to quickly satisfy the "air hunger", there is such a thing as getting too much oxygen and it being bad for you. Especially if your doing it at the advise of your fellow peers and not at the recommendation of your Doctor. Your sats are going to be lower at night because your body shuts down and relaxes, thus your breathing relaxes as well, causing your sats to fall a little as well. Now with that being said, there are devices out there that your o2 company can help you out with like the SAGE device, which is a device that gives you o2 oxygen based on what you are doing (ie, rest or activity) not sleep. At rest you could set it at 2lpm, and because it has a sensor it would sense when you are doing activity so your Dr. might recommend 3 or 4lpm. But until you speak to your Dr, I would not make any adjustments based on what others have had success with.

Chuck father to Avery 3, Double Delta F508
Rhett 2 carrier

 

[lflatford]

I would consult with your Dr. before making any adjustments. For the last three years I worked as a Sr. Account Executive for and O2 company here in East Tennessee, and on numerous times our patients would increase the oxygen to quickly satisfy the "air hunger", there is such a thing as getting too much oxygen and it being bad for you. Especially if your doing it at the advise of your fellow peers and not at the recommendation of your Doctor. Your sats are going to be lower at night because your body shuts down and relaxes, thus your breathing relaxes as well, causing your sats to fall a little as well. Now with that being said, there are devices out there that your o2 company can help you out with like the SAGE device, which is a device that gives you o2 oxygen based on what you are doing (ie, rest or activity) not sleep. At rest you could set it at 2lpm, and because it has a sensor it would sense when you are doing activity so your Dr. might recommend 3 or 4lpm. But until you speak to your Dr, I would not make any adjustments based on what others have had success with.

Chuck father to Avery 3, Double Delta F508
Rhett 2 carrier

 

[Pumuckl]

Thank you all for the replies and information. I plan on talking to my doc when I see her next week.

My problems are during the day when I want to be able to move around and do things and just find that I do not have enough air and energy to do so. I went ahead and increased the oxygen to 3.5 liters and it has brought my O2 levels up to 96 and made me feel a bit better yesterday.

I was also wondering does anyone here use portable oxygen concentrators or just the huge bottles of oxygen when going out. If you have a more portable unit are those covered by insurance etc.

Thanks again <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

 

[Pumuckl]

Thank you all for the replies and information. I plan on talking to my doc when I see her next week.

My problems are during the day when I want to be able to move around and do things and just find that I do not have enough air and energy to do so. I went ahead and increased the oxygen to 3.5 liters and it has brought my O2 levels up to 96 and made me feel a bit better yesterday.

I was also wondering does anyone here use portable oxygen concentrators or just the huge bottles of oxygen when going out. If you have a more portable unit are those covered by insurance etc.

Thanks again <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">