Received a decent Pulse Oximeter in the mail yesterday.

[LuckyCharms]

I bought it just in case we might need it. Also bought a new thermometer.

Anyway, I tried it out and it showed 100%. I thought it was broken. I'm a former pack a day smoker. Quit 8 years ago. Tried it again, it was 99%. And again, back up to 100%. Did some light exercise and waited a few minutes...99%. Tried it on different fingers...99 or 100%. I probably tested it 50 times today. Always 99 or 100%.

My wife did the same thing. Her readings were in the 95 to 97% range. Since both of our readings were consistent throughout the day, I'm fairly confident that it is reading correctly.

When I was smoking cigarettes, my readings were always in the low 90's if I had the occasion to get it checked in a medical setting, and the providers would always chew me out a bit.

I'm glad I quit smoking.

Now I'm just hoping we don't have a need to check the readings for a real reason.

[Skittles]

1. I just realized there is a reading on my fitbit

but I am unsure because it always says 95

[LuckyCharms]

2. That's good!

Everything I'm reading says 95 to 100 is normal.

[multigraincracker]

6. Mine use to hover around 92 to 94.

With my pacemaker its up around 97 to 98.
Also the fog has lifted in my head.

[LuckyCharms]

10. Good for you!

[SheltieLover]

3. I ordered one when delta began to surge

Seems to work fine &, thankfully, I haven't had to use it!

Good for you quitting smoking! Glad to hear your lungs have recovered!

[LuckyCharms]

9. .

[Laffy Kat]

4. That's great!

You must live at sea level.

[LuckyCharms]

7. About 900 ft. above sea level

[left-of-center2012]

5. I have to use oxygen at night or when I lie down

A test done previously showed by oxygen level was in the low 80s while sleeping.

When I am tested now at the doctor's office
(without additional oxygen) my reading is around 95 which they say is good.

[LuckyCharms]

8. Yes, 95 is good.

You just made me think a bit.

I have sleep apnea and use a CPAP...I'm wondering if my level drops at night.

[left-of-center2012]

13. My doc wants me tested for a CPAP

But my copay would be $300 and I understand I'd have to 'sleep' during the test while hooked up to a zillion wires.

I go to the bathroom a couple times each night and can't see dealing with the wires while being tested.

[LuckyCharms]

14. Sorry to hear about the $300 co-pay.

I really don't know what to say about these insurance companies. $300 is enough money to make a lot of people, including me, think about not bothering with a sleep study. I hope you can somehow find a way to get the study done.

I've had 2 studies done in the past. It actually was not too bad. There is a "sleep center" in my area where the studies are done. You go into a very nice hotel-like room. All the comforts of home. You can actually get a pretty good sleep during the test, however, I kept getting woken up during my second test by a booming male voice over a speaker telling me to put my CPAP mask back on because I ripped it off while sleeping (I think I had to get the second test because they had to adjust the settings on my CPAP machine).

You are right about the wires, There's a ton of them. At the time I had the studies done, I didn't have to use the bathroom during the night, but I imagine it would not be a problem. They would probably just send someone into the room to help you navigate the wires while moving to and from the bathroom.

[mopinko]

15. they can be done at home.

simpler test, docs dont like to do it because it isnt 'standardized conditions'.
i always thought testing in the real world would be more useful. things like snoring spouses and bed hogging pets dont show up in the sleep center.

you'd be able to get up tho. lotsa wires, but they're all bundled. they're used to that stuff.

[Kali]

17. lots of bathroom trips can be a symptom of SA

that is a lot of money but worth it if you have it and get a diagnosis and a machine. sleeping through the night is so freaking great, not to mention the health benefits. sleep apnea is damaging to much of the body, not just a cause of inconvenient snoring.

[hlthe2b]

11. Just remember if you live at altitude as many of us in the West, normal values are less

since oxygen saturation decreases at varying levels of altitude. Not just for the newly arrived to the area, but for those habituated. I've dealt with a lot of panic on this score during COVID with the "walking well," though I do encourage the use of these devices with a bit more education. A normal blood oxygen saturation at sea level is considered 95% or higher in healthy adults. Normal is 90% at altitudes above 5000 feet, including the "mile-high city," Denver (and can be even less as you go higher).

The nation's premier respiratory hospital, National Jewish in Denver has tried to get this word out, but there is confusion. Again, in Denver (5,000 feet altitude), a normal saturation in a healthy person is about 90%.

Bottom line, if you are concerned about decreases in what you think should be normal and you are otherwise feeling fine, check with your personal Health Care Provider before panicking.

https://hoehenmedizin.eu/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Pulse-Oximetry-at-High-Altitude.pdf

[LuckyCharms]

12. Good info. Thanks!

[Kali]

18. do you know if altitude affects blood pressure?

I have been curious about that for a while.

[hlthe2b]

19. Yes. It has an adrenergic (BP and HR-increasing impact) even at rest...

though the degree of response is highly variable. It is recommended that those with existing hypertension traveling to areas of high altitude monitor closely and discuss with their physician whether or not a change in medication dose may be necessary (and at what level of increase).

[Kali]

20. I'm curious about the opposite -

effect on BP traveling to lower altitude by someone adapted to higher.

[hlthe2b]

21. Yes. Changes to a much lower altitude likewise has an adrenergic-triggering effect

For those with mild to moderate hypertension, these impacts may not be so significant as to cause major symptoms and some may modulate fairly quickly on their own or with current medication doses. Significant physical exertion without allowing several days to adapt--either way--can be problematic though.

[Wounded Bear]

16. Good for you. I got a crap one...

as a "prize" for some survey or something. The battery compartment lid won't stay on and it hardly gets a reading, except once in a while, apparently when I hold my tongue in the corner of my mouth or something.



Well, at least it was free.

[RicROC]

22. I wonder why that device is not spelled Oxymeter with a y instead of the i.

[LuckyCharms]

23. I wondered the same.

I had to google how to spell it...I assumed it would be spelled with a "y".

[localroger]

24. It is usual for words which have "oxygen" as root to use i instead of y

For example oxide and oxidizer.

[Cicada]

25. Watch a video on using it

I thought I got covid , my wife and I same day false alarmed with colds, and scared myself by misusing the device I had. The reading indicated I was likely to die. Because I was using it incorrectly. You tube how to video to the rescue.

[LuckyCharms]

26. How was it being used incorrectly?

Thanks!