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New member Introduction and questions
#11
RE: New member Introduction and questions
Interesting.
I wonder if the drop to 76 is real or if the sensor/ring moved during your sleep.
Have you experimented while you are awake by rotating the ring and generally fiddling with it to see if it is sensitive to movement and slipping or becoming slightly loose by moving it towards your finger tip etc?
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#12
RE: New member Introduction and questions
I’ll give that a try to see if I can recreate the drop by moving the ring around. I won’t be able to do it tonight since I seem to have left it over at my mother’s home. I prefer that as the reason for the low oxygen reading.

Here’s a closer view of the 76% reading. The time scale is hours:minutes.


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#13
RE: New member Introduction and questions
I must admit it looks a little more real when zoomed in like this.

It isn't simply a spike.. it lasts for 3 minutes.
I might have expected your heart rate to go up dramatically during a low oxygen period.... but I'm no expert on this and shouldn't guess.

Experimenting with fiddling with the ring may tell you something.

Otherwise, the sleep test will find any waxing and waning or stoppages of your breathing that might cause SpO2 changes.
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#14
RE: New member Introduction and questions
You clearly need a sleep test to sort this out. Your oximetry charts show an inverse relationship of SpO2 and pulse, which seems to confirm actual desaturation associated with arousal and possibly adrenaline production. This is a pattern seen in sleep apnea, but without some additional parameters, it is not medically conclusive. Apnea, hypopnea and other respiratory effort related arousals, do not necessarily result in awakening, but in changes in sleep stage. Most of us were never aware of our apnea, except through the complaints of our snoring, and our own general fatigue or sleepiness. The symptoms can be undetected and tolerated for years before treatment is sought, and you have adapted to your chronic low SpO2 and whatever is related to it. Good luck with the sleep study. If you think you may have problems falling asleep in a clinical setting, don't hesitate to request your doctor to prescribe a sleep aid. I personally do not tolerate the sleep study environment well and remained awake for hours.

You will want the study report (not just summary) for your permanent records. The details are important as nearly everyone is diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, even when the results clearly point to complex or central apnea. Also the reports will be important for you through the course of your life to obtain coverage and prescriptions. Trust me when I say, the report will get lost or archived if you don't keep it.
Sleeprider
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#15
RE: New member Introduction and questions
I have a fingernail recording pulse oximeter that I picked up right before the O2ring. I had problems with it coming off my finger overnight and not being able to log to my computer. I’ll try putting the fingernail pulse oximeter on one hand and the O2ring on the other. If I can keep the fingernail pulse oximeter on overnight, I’ll then compare the results against each other. If they are consistent for significant events, I’ll know the events are real.
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#16
RE: New member Introduction and questions
Try taping the one device to your finger. But these are not diagnostic devices. Whether they agree or not, your next step is to get a sleep study.
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#17
RE: New member Introduction and questions
I’m waiting for the sleep study group to contact me. My doctor contacted them and told me they’ll be calling me in a week or two. It’s been at least a week so far. In the meantime, I’m trying to collect data each night that I can give them prior to the study. I’m just passing the time until I hear.

I’ll give taping the clip to my finger a try.
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#18
RE: New member Introduction and questions
I tried using one pulse oximeter on each hand and found some similarities and lots of differences between them. I haven’t been able to do a good comparison, but some dips matched and some didn’t. I still had matching spo2 level drops into the 80s for both, but the number of matches was less than the total of either one.

 It seems to be something I was suspecting. It appears the spo2 level gradually drops when I’m laying on the side with the pulse oximeter, so the low spo2 levels I wasn’t feeling were localized to my arm. That could explain why I had a spo2 level of 76% and not be struggling to breathe. Tonight I’ll try changing position when it alarms to see if it climbs back up without taking deep breaths.

I’m still taking a sleep study when contacted.
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#19
RE: New member Introduction and questions
Time to start bugging the sleep doctor’s office!
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#20
RE: New member Introduction and questions
Keep in mind the SpO2 devices we buy at retail for very few dollars are not going to be as accurate and repeatable as what the hospitals and sleep labs use.  I've even seen the expensive ones in the doctors office give quite different SpO2 numbers when switched to different fingers.  So they aren't perfect either.

Not sure why, but just sayin', don't think these things are reporting perfect and exact numbers.  So don't get too excited until the sleep lab hands you a report.

You might ask your spouse or a friend to use it and see if their results are similar with the occasional low numbers popping into the mix.
RayBee

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