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Can you have pneumonia with 98% oxygen saturation?
Hi all,
My first post on this forum. I am suffering from bad health anxiety these days just like many others.
I'm wondering if it's possible to have pneumonia (let's say mild) with a normal oxygen saturation of 98%?
It all started with a fever 6 weeks ago. The fever itself only lasted 2 days but since then I've had a wet cough (not that bad), fatigue, anxiety, feel like I'm short of breath doing light exercises.
I've been sleeping very poorly with many sleepless nights at the start. Now I can manage around 6 hours of interrupted sleep per night with the help of Valerian and Melatonin. The poor sleep certainly isn't helping my recovery. It's only now that the wet cough seems to be going away.
The past 3-4 weeks or so I struggle to sleep more than 2-3 hours at a time. Quite often I would wake up breathing quite heavily or faster than usual.
I'm was concerned that I might have a mild form of pneumonia. Doctor advised me to buy a pulse oximeter which I did today. I tested myself and my SpO2 level is average 98%, reading between 97-99%.
So basically my current symptoms are fatigue, lack of sleep, minor throat irritation with little mucus, and breathing issues. The breathing issues is partly psychological but I'm concerned that there is something wrong with my lungs.
Thanks for any input.
Stay safe!
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Yes I do feel like I have slight more energy each day. Although today I was a bit tired and I think it's due to not sleeping well last night.
Breathing seems to be better, although at night in bed I'm still very focused on it which I think is making it worse.
I went to a clinic today and they again did some tests. The doctor checked my lungs with a stethoscope and couldn't find anything wrong. She said it is quite possible that I did have the Coronavirus and now I'm feeling the after effects.
They did a CRP test and it showed no trace of any viral or bacterial infection which means whatever viral infection I've had is gone now. At least that's a bit of good news.
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1 ReactionHi @mkqq, I am so glad to hear that you are doing better! Thank you for sharing the good news with us – it must be such a relief to know that your viral infection is gone.
If you are still having trouble sleeping, you may be interested in joining this discussion group:
– Sleeping Well During Anxious Times – https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/sleeping-well-during-anxious-times/
It may be interesting to note that many Covid-19 patients are unaware of their pneumonia although their oxygen level may be as low as 50% (normal is generally considered to be between 95% to 100%). The virus, in many cases, does not initially stiffen the lungs an allows deep and fast breathing to "make up" for the impaired lung function and the deficiency of oxygen. It might be wise for those feeling concern to have their oxygenation checked; this would allow their medical team to take preemptive action, and avoid a ventilator.
It sounds very similar to sleep apnea to me. My whole household has sleep apnea and if I'm not wearing my CPAP I wake up breathing heavily with my heart racing. Your body basically goes into fight or flight mode because you stop breathing for 30 second or more and your body wakes you up. It may be beneficial to you to ask your GP if you may need a sleep study.
I think COP is really COPD. Chronic Obstruction Pulmonary Disease.
COPD is cardiovascular obstructive pulmonary disease it’s can rang from mild to severe you take air into your lungs but it’s bared to breathe out you can look 👀 it up on google it will tell you all about it there I have COPD if you smoke it’s bet to quit