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Basic interpretation - help for newbie
#1
Basic interpretation - help for newbie
Hi Everyone,
My partner is a really loud scorer - I mean really loud, complaints from neighbours loud. He stops breathing periodically then snorts air in and I have said for many years that he must have sleep apnea - he spends several hours each weekend day asleep on the sofa.
I bought a CMS 50F oximeter which we used last night for the first time and I can't work out the results - it looks OK as the average SpO2 is 93% but it also drops to a minimum of 80% and he has 390 desaturations which seems crazy. Percentage of time in drop is 60.72%
Would one of you clever data junkies tell me if this is something that warrants a trip to the doctor.......?
Many thanks and apologies, I'm usually good at understanding numbers.
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#2
RE: Basic interpretation - help for newbie
yes, yes it does, even before you got to the oximeter bit.

I just stuck a mask on mine, and said "you wanna sleep in the same room, you wear this".... end of story.
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#3
RE: Basic interpretation - help for newbie
Your partner needs a sleep study and will get a prescription for a CPAP machine. Your life will improve markedly after that. (So will his.)

Rich
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#4
RE: Basic interpretation - help for newbie
Definitely!!!!! An appointment with a sleep specialist Physician should be a high priority event for your spouse.... Nothing else needs said.
Yesterday is history; Tomorrow is a mystery; Today is a gift; Thats why its called "The Present".  
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#5
RE: Basic interpretation - help for newbie
Hi Dottydog,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Hopefully your partner will get a sleep study to find out what's going on.
Hang in there for more suggestions and answers to your questions and much success to you both.
trish6hundred
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#6
RE: Basic interpretation - help for newbie
Welcome to the forum Dottydog!

Definitely for both your sakes (and your neighbours), get him to a doctor for a sleep study. There are a lot of medical conditions that SA can cause left untreated, like heart problems to name just one.

Keep us posted!
APNEABOARD - A great place to be if you're a hosehead!!  Rolleyes  

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EVERY ACCOMPLISHMENT BEGINS WITH THE DECISION TO TRY!
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#7
RE: Basic interpretation - help for newbie
As above. O2 should be in the mid 90's, below 88 they start to take notice, 80% is quite low. I have seen lower in the 60's but that is rare.

The symptoms you describe are classic. I had them and ignored them because I never remembered them, I was asleep after all. After type II diabetes I still did not make the connection. Heart attack and still I did not connect the dots. By the time I was only able to sleep 30 minutes at a time, I was convinced and of course in a rush to get the machine.

Sometimes it takes a 2x4 to the side of the head to get my attention.
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#8
RE: Basic interpretation - help for newbie
Thanks everyone. I'll have to keep pushing him on this one, he is really reluctant to go to the doctor. We did a week with the oximeter and his oxygenation occasionally dropped to mid-60s which know is very dangerous, a couple of these coincided with a heart rate jump to just under 200, and his usual heart rate is closer to 65 when sleeping. It's hard to force him to a doctor's so I'm going to look at cpap machines up for resale too.
Thanks again everyone.
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#9
RE: Basic interpretation - help for newbie
No.

Sleep apnea is not just a sleep disorder. It is a whole body thing. He needs to go to at least his GP and get checked out. Sleep apnea can effect his heart and brain.

What he is doing is akin to having a car problem and turning the radio up to cover up the noise. Or dumping the gas tank full of injector cleaner instead of taking it to a mechanic.

Just the fact YOU are here instead of him means he isn't going to take care of himself. You are. He has to do this himself. Even if you got a used machine and we walked you through the process of finding the best treatment pressure, it is still us and you doing everything for him. He needs to do this for himself because he wants to. He doesn't want to go to the doctor even though his oxygen in his blood drops down to freakin' 60%? He wants to die then, right?
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#10
RE: Basic interpretation - help for newbie
In the long run he will get to a Doctor, either by choice or by ambulance. By choice and sooner would have been nice for me.
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