Nymph Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 Hi!The last few times I've been to the doctor (August, September, and now) My oxygen has read 89-90% on the oximeter. My nurse mentioned it, but I don't think she said anything to the Dr and I forgot to ask. I am now a bit worried that I may have a lung problem.I called my sister who's an NP and she had me do a capillary refill test on my fingernail. Apparently my circulation is pretty sluggish and that is why my O2 reads low, she thinks.Does anyone have low O2 readings and, if so, do you have an explanation for them? I'm going to call my Dr today.Thanks,Nicole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katybug Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 Hi Nicole,My circulation has been proven to be insufficient through doppler studies but my oxygen saturation has never been low. I would definitely check this out with the docs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelloz Posted March 24, 2015 Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 I have hypovolemia and many breathing problems but my oxygen saturation is fine when I have checked it. I do remember reading somewhere that it does not mean everything is fine. There is some sort of test where that would take blood straight from an artery...which I hear is painful. In any case I would ask my doctor to be clear about whether or not it needs to be investigated. I know...always another thing to check up on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nymph Posted March 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2015 Thanks! I am going to call them today and ask. I hope it is not something with my lungs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goschi Posted March 25, 2015 Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 I don´t know if low blood oxygen is really common in POTS. I didn´t read much about it, seems to be a neglected issue yet...However, what I could observe personally, since I do have a pulse- and oxymeter for my fingertip (since 1 year) are relatively large fluctuations in my blood oxygen, which are somehow "irrational". Sometimes, I may go as low as 90 when I am simply lying in bed. (not sleeping, just being awake und supine). Sometimes the oxygen would go up to 98/99 immediately, as soon as I stand up and walk around and it stays at these normal values as long as I am upright. On some other occasions, it´s just the other way round - when I was walking for 20-25 minutes and I checked my figures, I was sometimes (definitely not always!) as low as 91/92. Sitting down or lying down would make it go up immediately to 97/98.I have not the least idea what this different phenomena could mean - my docs never paid any attention, or I should rather say the honest ones among them openly admitted that they find my readings extremely strange, but admitted that they had no idea at all, what it could mean... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nymph Posted March 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 That's very interesting. I wonder what it means, too. I am hoping that it is part of POTS. I am really hoping that it is NOT autoimmune lung issues in my case. If anyone has seen literature about O2 levels in POTS, I would really love it if you passed it along! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nymph Posted March 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2015 just found this which lists hypoxia as a sign of POTShttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2600095/And this quote from Johns Hopkins on oximetry"Certain factors or conditions may interfere with the results of the test. These include, but are not limited to, the following:Decreased blood flow to the peripheral vessels" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mplocki Posted March 26, 2015 Report Share Posted March 26, 2015 My son (16) was just diagnosed with exercise induced "asthma" and prescribed ProAir inhaler (non-steroidal) to see if this would help improve his POTS symptoms while exercising. By exercising, we mean 5 minutes on a bike at slow pace without triggering symptoms. Hopefully we can get this up to 20 minutes. If not, we will try the steroidal version. Any input on experience with this approach or if it sounds reasonable would be welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amandag24008 Posted March 27, 2023 Report Share Posted March 27, 2023 Mine dropped to 32 this morning rapidly then slowly made it's way back up again to the 80's but can, randomly drop to 80's even when I'm just lay down I am, currently waiting on a 24hr holter monitor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edriscoll Posted March 28, 2023 Report Share Posted March 28, 2023 @Nymph Low oxygen can be related to many things. Most common with dysautonomia/POTS is shortness of breath with exercise. It usually returns to normal ranges while resting. I have dysautonomia related to damage to my thoracic spine. I had shortness of breath with exercise so all of my doctors believed it to be related to dysautonomia. However, the shortness of breath increased over time. That is not common with dysautonomia. In my case, it turned out to be a relatively rare condition related to the arteries in my lungs and I was able to get the right treatment. But my treatment was delayed for more than a year because the assumption was made that it must be caused by the dysautonomia. My point is that it can be dangerous to attribute all of our symptoms to dysautonomia. I think it is a good idea to have your doctor check you out and rule out any breathing issues. There are many tests that a doctor can do to see if you have any lung issues - and none of them are painful. If your doctor can't explain your issues, ask to be referred to a pulmonologist. Keep us posted and best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Tee Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 Dr Nick Gall touches on this in terms of poor circulation to the extremities in this Q&A. It has terrible lighting, but the audio is all that matters. He sounds a little annoyed by it – this is when a lot of people bought finger tip oximeters and he and his colleagues were suddenly overwhelmed with people contacting them about low readings. (He is a lovely chap so please don’t hold this against him, it was just a frustrating situation to be in at the time.) I’m sorry but I don’t have the concentration to find the time stamp for this topic. It is after the 15 minute mark. Given that the symptoms of low blood oxygen are similar to some dysautonomia symptoms, it is a difficult one. I found this info on the Raynaud’s Association website that may be of interest: https://www.raynauds.org/2020/02/15/winter-2020-member-tips/ I wonder if that would work in general for people with poor circulation to the hands? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted March 29, 2023 Report Share Posted March 29, 2023 From my experience my O2 wanes from 92-100. Last summer when i went into the allergy clinic they tried two oximeters and could not get a O2 over 92 but then i was having respiratory issues and was weezing a lot. my norm for quite some time was 92-95. As of late i don't know what changed but i have been hanging out in the 98-100 level. I do know my BP's have been stable and have good heart rates in the clinic 72-76 so guess that is a change. Cold weather can affect readings as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Tee Posted April 2, 2023 Report Share Posted April 2, 2023 I also found this interesting thread on a forum for people with lung conditions: https://healthunlocked.com/asthmalunguk-lung/posts/136277778/poor-circulation-affecting-finger-pulse-oximeter-readings I wonder whether the earlobe monitors would work for us, given that “hot ears” is a common problem. I get incorrect readings at the hospital with ear thermometers because my ears get hot when I wear a face mask. But I know many people get hot, flushed ears at random times. Would that affect oximeter readings on the earlobe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeO Posted April 2, 2023 Report Share Posted April 2, 2023 14 hours ago, Sarah Tee said: I also found this interesting thread on a forum for people with lung conditions: https://healthunlocked.com/asthmalunguk-lung/posts/136277778/poor-circulation-affecting-finger-pulse-oximeter-readings I wonder whether the earlobe monitors would work for us, given that “hot ears” is a common problem. I get incorrect readings at the hospital with ear thermometers because my ears get hot when I wear a face mask. But I know many people get hot, flushed ears at random times. Would that affect oximeter readings on the earlobe? I have seen the nurses take a reading from the ear lobes and get better results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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