Hello Guest, Welcome to Apnea Board !
As a guest, you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use.
To post a message, you must create a free account using a valid email address.

or Create an Account


New Posts   Today's Posts

Cheapest oximeter? (Want to find out if I have apnea)
#1
Cheapest oximeter? (Want to find out if I have apnea)
I recently found out that there's actually another way of discovering apnea besides having a sleep study or having someone sleep with you, so I'm trying to find the cheapest oximeter that'll do the job.

If it helps any, I'm a 5 foot 10 inch male, and weigh about 190 pounds.

Also, I just ran a forum search for all threads with the word oximeter in the title and am looking up specs, etc on them right now, but I figured it might help to ask too. Thanks for any help!
Post Reply Post Reply
#2
RE: Cheapest oximeter? (Want to find out if I have apnea)
Most of us have used Supplier #19 in the supplier's list.
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...plier-List

Also look in the Review Section as there are several reviews of different models there.
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Forum-P...iews-Forum

An oximeter will only tell you that your oxygen levels do or do not drop during sleep. There are many reasons for this happening.

And, in the future, I strongly urge you to come up with better user names. Such nonsense random letter user names will get you banned as a potential spammer. Putting in your weight and height did not help either with your query or being labeled as a spammer.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




Post Reply Post Reply
#3
RE: Cheapest oximeter? (Want to find out if I have apnea)
(11-16-2012, 11:18 AM)PaulaO2 Wrote: Most of us have used Supplier #19 in the supplier's list.

Also look in the Review Section as there are several reviews of different models there.

An oximeter will only tell you that your oxygen levels do or do not drop during sleep. There are many reasons for this happening.

Thanks for the help.

(11-16-2012, 11:18 AM)PaulaO2 Wrote: And, in the future, I strongly urge you to come up with better user names. Such nonsense random letter user names will get you banned as a potential spammer. Putting in your weight and height did not help either with your query or being labeled as a spammer.

Hadn't thought of that. Makes sense though. I just decided to use the same username that I use on another forum where I've done 1,800+ posts. I'm not here to spam, just trying to figure out my unrefreshing sleep.
Post Reply Post Reply
#4
RE: Cheapest oximeter? (Want to find out if I have apnea)
It won't help unless it's a recording oximeter that will record a whole night's O2 and BP readings. There are pulseoxes that will display O2, but not record it. Even if you have apnea, your O2 will be normal while awake.

The CMS-50D+ seems to be the cheapest workable pulseox. Note the PLUS sign at the end. There's a CMS-50D pulseox that does NOT record overnight.

If the pulseox shows O2 problems when you sleep, it's a fairly good indication you have apnea. Unfortunately, you can have pretty bad apnea, but not have any bad O2 drops.

Almost no one actually suffocates completely from apnea. You eventually wake up enough to start breathing again. Some people will partially wake up from the apnea before their O2 level drops enough to show on the pulseox, but the sleep disturbance, stress, and hormones are still harmful to them.

The point being that the pulseox may indicate you probably have apnea, it won't rule it out.

Being overweight may increase your chances for apnea, but there are quite a few thin apneacs.

Why do you think you might have apnea?
Get the free OSCAR CPAP software here.
Useful links.
Click here for information on the main alternative to CPAP.
If it's midnight and a DME tells you it's dark outside, go and check it yourself.
Post Reply Post Reply
#5
RE: Cheapest oximeter? (Want to find out if I have apnea)
Hi
avjgirsijdhtjhs,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Best of luck to you.
trish6hundred
Post Reply Post Reply
#6
RE: Cheapest oximeter? (Want to find out if I have apnea)
(11-16-2012, 03:17 PM)archangle Wrote: The point being that the pulseox may indicate you probably have apnea, it won't rule it out.

That was the impression that I was under - an oximeter can just about certainly rule in apnea, but it can't rule out apnea, considering that you could have significant sleep disruption due to apnea, but not have much of an O2 drop(s).

(11-16-2012, 03:17 PM)archangle Wrote: Why do you think you might have apnea?

For almost three years now, I've woken up most mornings (like as in literally EVERY morning, for months in a row) after only 5-6.5 hours of sleep and had difficulty falling back asleep, and then there are other periods of time that maybe last a couple weeks or months where the early waking only happens about 5 or so nights per week (with the other 2ish nights per week getting 6.5-8.5 hours of sleep before waking up). Throughout this entire 2.8 year period, I have been VERY unrefreshed by my sleep - there hasn't even been one day when I was rested, and on my best days, I was still more than a little sleep deprived.

Right now, my best guesses as to the cause of this either:

1 - depression - as described in this thread (nevermind - can't link it since I'm a new member), where excessive negative rumination about important matters (important needs\wants (similar to Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs) that animals are programmed to need\want) gets discharged in dreams that evoke the same emotions, and in doing so, the person spends too much time in (non-refreshing) REM sleep, and not enough time in deep (refreshing) sleep, and thus, ends up not being rested enough. Also, early waking is one of the hallmarks of this style of depression. Unfortunately, SSRI's do not stop the early waking for me, or make my sleep more refreshing.

or

2 - apnea

Unfortunately, the two SSRIs I tried (Prozac, titrating up to 60 mg\day and staying at that dose for a month and a half, and Celexa at 20 mg\day) didn't help one bit with my sleep, so I'm thinking that apnea's worth looking in to, and since I don't sleep with anybody, I'm going to try a pulse oximeter.
Post Reply Post Reply
#7
RE: Cheapest oximeter? (Want to find out if I have apnea)
Thanks to everybody so far. I think I'm good as far as my initial question goes.

PaulaO2's post clued me in on the CMS-50D+, and archangle's would have done the same if I hadn't seen the 50D+ in #19 link that PaulaO2 mentioned.

RIP! Smile
Post Reply Post Reply
#8
RE: Cheapest oximeter? (Want to find out if I have apnea)
(11-16-2012, 05:12 PM)avjgirsijdhtjhs Wrote: Thanks to everybody so far. I think I'm good as far as my initial question goes.

PaulaO2's post clued me in on the CMS-50D+, and archangle's would have done the same if I hadn't seen the 50D+ in #19 link that PaulaO2 mentioned.

RIP! Smile

You might want to google up the Eppworth sleepiness test.

I thought there was some other well known, respected sleepiness test, but I can't think of the name right now.

Videotaping yourself while sleeping is also a possibility.
Get the free OSCAR CPAP software here.
Useful links.
Click here for information on the main alternative to CPAP.
If it's midnight and a DME tells you it's dark outside, go and check it yourself.
Post Reply Post Reply
#9
RE: Cheapest oximeter? (Want to find out if I have apnea)
(11-16-2012, 05:53 PM)archangle Wrote: You might want to google up the Eppworth sleepiness test.
You can take the test here
http://www.apneaboard.com/sleep-apnea-in...iness-test

Post Reply Post Reply
#10
RE: Cheapest oximeter? (Want to find out if I have apnea)
(11-16-2012, 11:05 AM)avjgirsijdhtjhs Wrote: I recently found out that there's actually another way of discovering apnea besides having a sleep study or having someone sleep with you, so I'm trying to find the cheapest oximeter that'll do the job.

Of course nothing beats having someone sleep with you Grin
Anyhow, when I look back on things it's possible that if you analyze possible symptoms and feel you might have sleep apnea, there's a good chance that you do. I don't think anyone is so whacked out that they'd make it all up. If you have enough doctors, one of them will listen to you. My GP at the time ignored my requests for help. I got a second opinion. He ordered a sleep study. Things went uphill from there. Oximeter. Whatever that is. I guess there are several methods.

Quote:If it helps any, I'm a 5 foot 10 inch male, and weigh about 190 pounds.

Show off Sad Some of us are only 5'1".

Also, I just ran a forum search for all threads with the word oximeter in the title and am looking up specs, etc on them right now, but I figured it might help to ask too. Thanks for any help!
[/quote]

I don't know what one is. I'm sure the experts know. Otherwise, there are ways to get it done. Don't give up.
Post Reply Post Reply


Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Looking for wrist oximeter to check O2 storywizard 0 66 03-13-2024, 05:29 PM
Last Post: storywizard
  Invisalign to help sleep apnea and dental extractions as a cause of sleep apnea SingleH 6 453 03-10-2024, 12:42 PM
Last Post: RedNailz
Question Oximeter Sensitivity mhjunk525 1 134 03-02-2024, 11:39 AM
Last Post: Crimson Nape
  are there pulse oximeter synced CPAP/Bipap/sleep study devices? bhavintu79 1 181 03-02-2024, 04:53 AM
Last Post: Gep232
  [Health] Pulse oximeter readings while asleep and awake - what do these readings mean? SleepyButHopeful 11 659 02-26-2024, 03:17 AM
Last Post: srlevine1
  [Pressure] unable to find pressure settings on my cpap timoteo666 7 426 02-17-2024, 09:56 PM
Last Post: OpalRose
  Hard time to find the right mask labrat 42 2,174 02-14-2024, 01:58 PM
Last Post: labrat


New Posts   Today's Posts


About Apnea Board

Apnea Board is an educational web site designed to empower Sleep Apnea patients.