Oxygen level up and down

I am on oxygen 24/7 since 2024. I am also 71 years old. I started nighttime oxygen at 2 liters in 2017. In 2019 I had a major surgery and my nighttime oxygen was increased to 4 Liters. 2024 I had a COPD exacerbation and ended up in the hospital for 2 nights. My oxygen levels kept dropping and I couldn’t get them back up. That is when I went on oxygen 24/7. For me, it was a wait and see situation. I was hoping ideally to get off oxygen during the day. Then I was hoping to reduce my O2 from 4 liters to 3 liters for daytime use. My pulmonologist said there was that possibility of lowering my oxygen but unfortunately it never happened. I 🙏 your husband will have better luck than me. It is a tough road to travel. We are fortunate for all the different kinds of oxygen concentrators that allow us to be mobile and to live life as we want to live it! Best of luck to you both!

You know, it would be pretty simple to make an oxygen concentrator that connects to a wearable pulse oximeter and adjusts the rate accordingly. It would make everything so much simpler and I think automatic adjustments to keep my pulse O2 steady would make me feel better and sleep better.

@jlk12 A year ago I was on 2liters as needed which was not a lot, until last year I was in the hospital for 15 days with pneumonia, put on high flow oxygen 5 liters. I walk everyday I do what I can at home sometimes pushing myself. I went to pulumnary rehab it help a lot teaching me to breath eat better hope important exercise is. I am on 3 to 4 liters now. I noticed y oxygen drops when I exert so I have asked my dr to send me back to pulumnary rehab just for strength training. We have to stay fit. I was also put on dupixent and it has helped me stay out of the hospital. God bless and y the Lord bless.

@snoots well that is good news! My pulmonary rehab location in my area did a terrible job with the patients. They did not monitor your oxygen while exercising, only when you finished. I was actually getting more exercise at home than with the program. My Son and DIL purchased a walking pad for me which I was using religiously, every day. I have a terrible spine with many problems for years. After an MRI in July, it showed multi level severe spinal stenosis plus bulging discs, pinched nerves and yada, yada. My spine has worsened to the point where I now have pain shooting down my left leg and in to my foot. I was advised to only walk 5 minutes at a time and no more than 10 minutes. Exercise has dropped off substantially. I know I need exercise to keep my lungs from declining at a rapid pace. I feel like I am between a rock and a hard place. I am wanting a consult from a spine specialist. Not because I want surgery, I want to know alternatives. The problem is I have tried many things such as PT, epidurals, radio frequency ablation, facet joint injections, and massage therapy. Nothing helped.
I wish you the best with your journey and hope you are able to keep breathing easy!

Could you try aqua exercise? Sone folks find using a swimming pool to really help because it allows exercise without so much pressure.