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Oximeter Readings for CFS?

pemone

Senior Member
Messages
448
Has anyone seen any research suggesting lower oxygen saturation for CFS patients? Typically what levels are seen during the acute phase of the post exercise malaise?

I wish I had thought to buy this before, but I just picked up a 24x7 data logger oximeter. You can wear it while you sleep or exercise, and pick up your oxygen levels and graph on the computer. Very nifty little device. I would love to have been wearing this a few months ago when my PEM symptoms were extreme.
 

alex3619

Senior Member
Messages
13,810
Location
Logan, Queensland, Australia
Oxygen saturation is often normal. This not always the case. Its one of the obvious things that has been tested repeatedly. Sadly when docs see it as normal they then infer there is no oxygen problem, which is probably wrong.

Some of the more sick, particularly very severe and totally bedbound cases, don't really have the strength to breath, so they require oxygen.
 

pemone

Senior Member
Messages
448
Oxygen saturation is often normal. This not always the case. Its one of the obvious things that has been tested repeatedly. Sadly when docs see it as normal they then infer there is no oxygen problem, which is probably wrong.

Some of the more sick, particularly very severe and totally bedbound cases, don't really have the strength to breath, so they require oxygen.

Probably the issue is oxygen utilization intracellular, not oxygen saturation in serum.
 
Messages
15,786
Has anyone seen any research suggesting lower oxygen saturation for CFS patients? Typically what levels are seen during the acute phase of the post exercise malaise?
During PEM, my oxygen saturation is pretty normal. But it does get low for me pre-crash, when doing too much or immediately after.
 

taniaaust1

Senior Member
Messages
13,054
Location
Sth Australia
Recently when I was completely collapsed (on ambulance and having near seizures due to not enough oxygen to my brain) they blamed their monitor for the strange oxygen satuation readings they were getting. It was coming up at 75% .. they said they couldnt believe that as if I was at that I wouldnt have been able to speak.

So who knows. All I know is various strange results Ive had with different things in the past, have later turned out to be correct. Im thinking about getting an oximeter now at some point to see if its consistantly strange readings when I collapse.

i did notice in my collapse before this last one, that I had that my oxygen satuation went down 2-3 numbers lower then it usually is. But then that is 96/97% so nothing like 75% (the collapse before wasnt as bad feeling either as my last one).
 

pemone

Senior Member
Messages
448
Recently when I was completely collapsed (on ambulance and having near seizures due to not enough oxygen to my brain) they blamed their monitor for the strange oxygen satuation readings they were getting. It was coming up at 75% .. they said they couldnt believe that as if I was at that I wouldnt have been able to speak.

So who knows. All I know is various strange results Ive had with different things in the past, have later turned out to be correct. Im thinking about getting an oximeter now at some point to see if its consistantly strange readings when I collapse.

i did notice in my collapse before this last one, that I had that my oxygen satuation went down 2-3 numbers lower then it usually is. But then that is 96/97% so nothing like 75% (the collapse before wasnt as bad feeling either as my last one).

This oximiter is expensive, but I am very happy with it so far:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EGL9SC0/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The key feature is the ability to record readings and then play those back on a PC. So you can record during the week and then try to observe any patterns.

I think Alex is probably right on this: our serum oxygen readings will be normal. Our lungs work just fine. The oxygen is there waiting to be used. The cells have metabolic failures that don't allow the oxygen to be metabolized in all parts of the aerobic energy cycle.
 

acer2000

Senior Member
Messages
818
In my experience pulse Ox readings have been normal. So I guess that would suggest that the oxygen is getting into the blood and getting pumped by the heart, but its not getting turned into energy efficiently.
 

zzz

Senior Member
Messages
675
Location
Oregon
Studies have shown that most of the time, our saturation levels are normal (though not always). The problem is that our red blood cells tend to be deformed, so they have no problem grabbing oxygen molecules (hence the normal saturation), but then they hang onto them for dear life, so that a lot of the oxygen never gets into the tissues - it just stays in the red blood cells. The result is normal saturation levels with cellular hypoxia, and cellular hypoxia is one condition that can cause mitochondrial dysfunction, as well as various other problems.
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
There is also the question of how much O2 is getting to the brain.

I have a fingertip pulse oximeter. My SpO2 is usually 95-97. Occasionally it goes down to the low 90s and upper 80s for several minutes. I have not figured out why. I avoid extreme PEM. Once it was as low as 80 for an hour and a half while I was lying in bed. I have not figured out any way to bring it up.

I would like to know what my SpO2 does at night. I try to remember to grab my pulse oximeter as soon as I am half awake. A couple of time I have remembered to grab it when I woke up with a headache that I blame on poor sleep and weird dreams. My SpO2 was in the 80s. Now I wonder if low O2 is causing the poor sleep and weird dreams.

I wonder if something like that could be rented for a medical supply place. I think I will ask.
 
Last edited:
Messages
15,786
There is also the question of how much O2 is getting to the brain.

I have a fingertip pulse oximeter. My SpO2 is usually 95-97. Occasionally it goes down to the low 90s and upper 80s for several minutes. I have not figured out why. I avoid extreme PEM. Once it was as low as 80 for an hour and a half while I was lying in bed. I have not figured out any way to bring it up.

I would like to know what my SpO2 does at night. I try to remember to grab my pulse oximeter as soon as I am half awake. A couple of time I have remembered to grab it when I woke up with a headache that I blame on poor sleep and weird dreams. My SpO2 was in the 80s. Now I wonder if low O2 is causing the poor sleep and weird dreams.

I wonder if something like that cold be rented for a medical supply place. I think I will ask.
That sounds a lot like my experience. Except I'm usually I'm 98-99, and I feel crappy and my heart rate rises if I get to 97% or lower, even though 96%+ is normal.

It should be 95% or higher when sleeping, but I have days-long sessions where I'm about 90% any time I lay down in any position. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it - I haven't over-exerted, I'm not crashing, I haven't forgotten any meds. It just happens.

I take an extra dose of Yohimbe before bed then, which I usually wouldn't do because it's too stimulating. But during a bad spell, it actually make it easier for me to get to sleep as my pulse pressure and oxygen saturation raise a bit.
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
My pulse does not usually go up when my saturation goes down. I am using a fingertip pulse oximeter in ways that were not intended, so I have to question 'odd' readings, but sometimes both my pulse and saturation go down briefly, after my pulse has been up.
 
Messages
15,786
My pulse does not usually go up when my saturation goes down. I am using a fingertip pulse oximeter in ways that were not intended, so I have to question 'odd' readings, but sometimes both my pulse and saturation go down briefly, after my pulse has been up.
Sometimes my heart rate does go up to compensate, but sometimes it doesn't react at all. Typically my heart rate rises if my oxygen saturation is slightly below normal (95%-97%), but doesn't change at all if I'm hitting 92% or lower. Both situations suck :p
 

pemone

Senior Member
Messages
448
I would like to know what my SpO2 does at night. I try to remember to grab my pulse oximeter as soon as I am half awake. A couple of time I have remembered to grab it when I woke up with a headache that I blame on poor sleep and weird dreams. My SpO2 was in the 80s. Now I wonder if low O2 is causing the poor sleep and weird dreams.

I wonder if something like that cold be rented for a medical supply place. I think I will ask.

Earlier in this thread I put up the link on Amazon to an oximeter that is a data logger and can be graphed on a Windows PC.
 

Little Bluestem

All Good Things Must Come to an End
Messages
4,930
My 'something like that' referred to the oximeter you posted. Yea, really precise wording. o_O It is rather expensive and I would only need it short term, so I am going to see if I can rent one.