New member Introduction and questions

[Westerx123]

I just tried using the two devices last night after switching arms. It seems this time they were right in sync with just about all spo2 drops lining up between the two. The only thing I noticed was that the right arm consistently read lower than the left arm by around 2-4%. I’m stating it that way because last night, with the oximeters on opposite arms the right arm read low lower. I guess my left arm has better circulation than my right arm.

I think I’ll try checking up on the sleep doctor today.

[Crimson Nape]

The 4%(+/-) difference is within the stated accuracy of the SpO2 devices.  You might try swapping the sensors to the opposite arm and see if the SpO2 drop follows the device or remains with the arm.  I know my doctor always takes the BP in both arms due to possible deviations.

[Westerx123]

That’s basically what I did last night. I swapped the arms they were on from Monday night. The lower readings followed the arm and not the spo2 devices. The right arm was consistently lower with both devices. I have arthritis and tendonitis in my right arm, so that might be affecting the circulation too.

[ApneaQuestions]

While you kill time waiting for the formal sleep study, this plot might be interesting for you.

It shows me going into a a cyclic breathing pattern where my breathing waxes and wanes.
Notice the effect it has on my SpO2 oxygen levels as they swing up and down

By the way, I'm now using a different machine type (ASV) that cleared up all that cyclic/periodic breathing.



The post is on my thread here http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...#pid325652

[Westerx123]

That looks similar to mine. Here’s 1/2 hour from last night.

[ApneaQuestions]

Coincidence? Who knows.. that's what the sleep study will tell you. :-)

[Westerx123]

It has a tendency to oscillate with larger and larger dips until it wakes me up. I think the last big drop woke me up in this screenshot because my breathing smoothed out. Here’s 20 minutes from last night.

[Westerx123]

I thought I’d continue my ongoing saga. After my experience last night, I don’t think my problem is just sleep apnea, if at all. In the middle of the night, the alarm went off for low spo2 with it in the low 80s. I started taking deep breaths to increase my spo2 level, but I wasn’t able to bring it back up out of the 80s until I stood up and continued breathing deeply. That went on for about 5 minutes. I didn’t feel short of breath or a need to breathe during this. The only way I knew was by the alarm. This was on the arm that usually reads higher. I’m still not sure if it was localized to my arm, a problem with the meter, or represented what was actually happening. I have had elevated hemoglobin and hematocrit for a while now, which could be compensating for the low o2. This might have been going on for years undetected.

I’ve attached a screenshot from the event last night.

[Dormeo]

While you are waiting for the sleep study, you should probably see your doctor about this.

[Westerx123]

I managed to get a sleep dr appointment for early March. I’m starting to think the strange things I saw with my oxygen low for a while were me reducing the circulation to my arm. I started recording myself as I sleep and matching with the log. I checked on a drop without an increased heart rate and saw that my arm was bent at a sharp angle. I then checked on the groupings of spo2 drops and they all corresponded to when I was sleeping on my back. I also noticed that even for some of the deeper drops, my breathing seemed to just slowdown and was a lot weaker until I eventually took deep breaths. So far, I haven’t seen myself struggling to breathe while this is going on.