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← Return to Wildly fluctuating O2 levels
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Wow, that's quite a fluctuation - I am very surprised you were able to stand with O2 sats athat low. Did you look at your fingers or lips at that point? What color were they? Have you ever seen those readings in the doctor's office or ER?
I am going to make a semi-educated guess here. My husband does a blood pressure clinic weekly in our winter home, and for most people it includes a pulse oximeter reading as well. Just before Covid struck, we started seeing some "wonky" readings on the meter, especially mine. Now, pulse ox readers have often been an issue for me because I have small arthritic fingers, fluctuating breathing issues and occasionally tremors. But then he saw it on others as well. Changed the battery and it didn't improve. Got a new one and began to compare readings - it was obvious the meter was failing.
So unless the docs are seeing these readings as well, or you are actually turning blue, maybe you could try a different meter.
Replies to "Wow, that's quite a fluctuation - I am very surprised you were able to stand with..."
Infact, I bought two oximeters, different brands, to be sure one was not failing. Reading customer comments I saw that they do fail. Also, one should wait a few seconds for the reading to stabilize.
I have my oxygen levels checked during cardio rehab, and even their more sophisticated oximeter must be held correctly. And we have to wait a few seconds for it to normalize and I need to take deep breaths. Oxygen levels go down with more exertion because using muscles takes more oxygen obviously. In my case, it is acceptable for me to keep at 88 or above during exercise. If it goes below 88 then I have to ease up. When I am just sitting, I am low to high 90s
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Infact, I bought two oximeters, different brands, to be sure one was not failing. Reading customer comments I saw that they do fail. I have my oxygen levels checked during cardio rehab, and even their more sophisticated oximeter must be held correctly. And I need to take deep breathes. Oxygen levels go down with more exertion because using muscles takes more oxygen - my problem is that it goes down too much