[Treatment] May be Too Late for Me Too

[Tubaman]

___Dave9:
I think I understood you to request me to comment on the new (Wellue) oximeter after I've had it for a while.  Well, I've had it for one night and it seems to work OK (at least so far).  No problems once I figured out how to print out the charts, etc.  No problems with device display visibility or resolution (only %SpO2 & pulse are displayed).

As one of your other forum members is doing, I am also using a Fitbit to monitor my sleep quality although I get up several times throughout my sleep session (82 year old prostate reigns supreme) ergo the Fitbit struggles (not very accurate because of the multitude of sleep interruptions, I think).

The Wellue printout format is considerably different from my Contec CMS50i but it appears to contain the data I am monitoring.  I think I like the CMS50i printout format better than the Wellue (at least at this early time) but Wellue is OK too.  I don't like the Wellue red color -- it doesn't stand out for me (I am 'color challenged').  I contacted them (chat) and they cannot change it nor can it be changed by the user -- me.  Anyway, here's a sample of my last night's oximeter data (not all of it, just a sample).

The data displayed on my burner smartphone is kind of worthless.  I have been able to change the Wellue's warning vibrator settings but everything else on the phone isn't really worth much.  Maybe I haven't figured it all out yet -- I'll keep trying.  The p.c. computer program is the most valuable to me.

I think the Wellue computer software will still only run on a Win7 / 8 / 10 p.c.  I've heard the Mac is still not compatible.

The 1st graph is the summary plot of the entire sleep session, the 2nd graph is a sample of the plot breakdown in approximately 1 minute x-axis divisions (I didn't include all 8 hours worth for obvious reasons).  The Wellue %SpO2 values look a bit high (too good) compared to what I usually get with the CMS50i.  Maybe I just had a really good night -- happens sometimes.  My %SpO2 average is usually in the 93% to 94%, never 97% as the Wellue measured.  I think Wellue claims +/- 2% accuracy.  I don't know what the CMS50i claims.  I suppose accumulative errors could have resulted in the higher Wellue values (+2% on the Wellue and -2% on the CMS50i could add up to about 4% data shift between the two devices).

When I'm comfortable with the Wellue's functioning, I shall attempt to run it and the CMS50i simultaneously on separate fingers to try to see how their data compares.  Hope I can sleep with both devices on my left arm!

Since I cannot use Oscar because I sleep through the 12:00 noon hour (Oscar splits the sleep session @ noon, at least that happened when I tried it a few weeks ago), I don't expect SH to upload the Wellue data (too ancient SH software).

I just discovered that the forum already has several folks working with / using the Wellue oximeters.  I shall not waste any more of your time with my amateur level comments on it.  I will only remark on its data comparison with the CMS50i oximeter when (if) I get around to simultaneously testing them.

Tubaman/Carl

[SarcasticDave94]

Thanks Carl, the info is helpful on your use of the Wellvue.

[Tubaman]

I ran a quick accuracy test comparing my Contec CMS50i and the Wellue O2-ring oximeters.  To summarize, the Wellue's %SpO2 average was about 1% higher than the Contec.  The Wellue's average pulse rate was about 1.2 bpm lower than the Contec's.

I attached both oximeters to my left hand, the Contec's probe on my ring finger and the Wellue's probe on my thumb.   Both devices were wrist mounted, the Contec on top of my left wrist and the Wellue on bottom.  I placed my left hand, palm down, on my desk while I watched TV on my computer.  I held my hand as motionless as possible with one exception when I walked out into the kitchen for a snack after about 1 hour.  I then returned my left hand to the original position on my desk.  The total time of this test was 1 hour and 46 minutes.  The %SpO2 charts generated by both oximeters were quite flat except for a bump on the Contec's chart (not very obvious on the Wellue's chart) when I went into the kitchen -- as expected.  It was quite dark during the test so light should not have affected the accuracy of either device.  I suspect the test was about as accurate as could be done.

I had expected the Wellue to be higher than the Contec by about +4% so the +1% result was a bit of a surprise based on my 2 night's sleep results with the Wellue.  I shall continue to use the Wellue for sleeping and maybe, eventually, sleep with both of them simultaneously as I originally intended.  At the minute I'm having too much trouble sleeping in general so having both devices on one arm will probably aggravate my sleeping problem(s).

If anybody wants me to post the comparison charts, please let me know.

Tubaman / Carl

[SarcasticDave94]

That is some more valuable info on the oximeters. Thanks Carl.

[gooseegg]

I received my Contec CMS50D+ Oximeter last week and have been using it for 5 days now. It fell on the floor from standard table height yesterday, and I am disappointed to report that 80% of its LED screen no longer works. Fortunately, the part of the screen that still does -- above the hinge -- includes where the yellow dot will blink to indicate it is recording and the "Yes/No" indicator to show you have switched on/off recording. Since I only just received the device, I am not very familiar with its menu, so I won't be able to manage it's alarm functions (I wasn't really planning to anyway)

It seems that for 3.5x the price of this model, I could buy a Wellue O2Ring™ - which is what led me to this discussion via Google. I appreciate Carl's feedback and I hope to see more.

I also hope there is a way to port the data from the Wellue O2Ring™ into OSCAR. I would order one now if I could confirm this. While I have been able to get data from the Contec CMS50D+ into OSCAR in 4 of the past 5 nights, twice the SpO2 data did not align with my DreamStation Go CPAP data even though I specified that I started using both oximeter and cpap at the same time. That's not fatal, but it is disappointing -- maybe as I get the hang of using Oscar and the Oximeter, this will improve.

[Tubaman]

Mr. gooseegg,
I have been using the Wellue O2-ring oximeter since March 7, 2020 and am satisfied with its performance.  I use both the Android 'Vthealth' ap on my cellular phone and the 'O2 Insight Pro' on my Win7 computer.  Since my Android cellular phone is getting old (obsolete operating system), the 'Vthealth' ap frequently crashes when I try to bring up the graph for the previous sleep period.  That's OK because the 'O2 Insight Pro' software works fine on my aging computer and I can see the graphs just fine.

The Wellue does have a quirk in that you should not try to recharge its battery until its display has turned off.  I found that plugging in the charger before the display turns off may result in the battery not getting charged even though its display indicates it is charging.  FYI.  That's a minor issue, however.

As I said in my previous posts, I think the Wellue oximeter's average %SpO2 levels are running about 1% higher than I was getting on the Comtek CMS50i oximeter.  Unfortunately, the display on my CMS50i has become so dim that I cannot use it anymore so I've been unable to run an entire sleep session accuracy comparison with both oximeters as I had planned on doing.

I don't use OSCAR because the version I have splits the sleep sessions at 12:00 noon into two session dates and I have been sleeping through the noon hours pretty much every day now (I've been going to bed around 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM -- insomnia reigns supreme).  SleepyHead does not split the sessions at noon and can be set to split the sessions later in the afternoon which works for me.  FYI.  I am still using the final version of SleepyHead and I don't think there is any way I can upload the Wellue data into SleepyHead.  I don't know if this can be done with OSCAR -- there are other folks in this forum who know Wellue->OSCAR information much better than I.

I'm sorry I have nothing more to offer regarding using the Wellue oximeter.  I do think it's much more comfortable to use than the Comtek CMS50i was.  The Wellue mounts on your wrist and the finger probe fits comfortably around your finger, at your finger's base, and I hardly know I have it on.  The Comtek, also a wristwatch configuration, has a fingertip sensor that occasionally came off during the sleep period and was more uncomfortable (to me, anyway).  The Wellue's sensor doesn't come off, period.

For what it's worth...
Carl (Tubaman)

[Crimson Nape]

Tubaman - The easiest way around the noon day change for you is to set you CPAP to 12 hours from actual. That way 6AM will be read as 6PM. No more split days.

[Tubaman]

Mr. Nape,
Call me stubborn and old fashioned but I prefer keeping everything running / displaying the current correct time.  Changing the xPAP's time from 12:00 PM to 12:00 AM will not work for me.  Especially since SleepyHead still works fine for me with the current times.  I don't care if the Wellue data cannot be uploaded to SH, I can always overlay the graphs on my computer if something questionable comes up that I want to study more closely.

Thank you for your suggestion.
Carl (Tubaman)

[Tubaman]

General questions:
Over time my AHI level has been gradually climbing.  Last sleep period it was 5.77, the highest since 7/21/2019.  I have also been going to bed later and later (yesterday about 0800) and sleeping through the day.  Today it's already 0638.   I've been up all night and I'm not tired yet.  I have just about shifted my sleep time 12 hours.  Makes it kind of tough to mow the lawn unless I force myself get up 'early'.  My %SpO2 does not seem to be affected, it's still averaging about 95% to 96%, as usual.  That's not unusual for me since I started with the CPAP therapy with oxygen assist.  Increasing or decreasing AHI levels do not seem to affect my %SpO2 levels as they allegedly do for other folks (at least that's what I've been told).

I am working on a 14 day sleep log*** to submit to a sleep psychologist in hopes he can get me back to a more normal sleep cycle.  I don't have a lot of hope.  The medical people won't let me have sleeping pills -- might cause me to hallucinate they have told me.  Never did before but I was younger then.

***
I'm using Excel for the log and getting the information of sleep starts, stops, sandbox breaks, periods of non-sleep, etc., from SH.  I think my log will be a lot more accurate than most people submit.  Excel does a decent job of calculation of stop - start times making the log a lot easier to complete.

Anyway, my questions are:
1) Does anybody have any thoughts regarding my AHI levels gradually increasing over time?  Can it have something to do with my screwed up sleep times?  Could it have something to do with books I sometimes read right before going to bed (sometimes horror types)?
2) Does anybody have experience with a sleep psychologist?  What do they ask/tell you do do?

Please let me know, anything might help.
Thank you, Carl (Tubaman)

[Tubaman]

Today I had a strange result on my %SpO2 chart.  I've never seen this happen before since I started using oxygen assist from an oxygen concentrator (back in July-August 2016).

See attached chart -- %SpO2 chart overlaid on SH chart:
My %SpO2 level had been running @ ~96+% (typical for when I'm sleeping) and then (at about 1530) suddenly dropped to ~89.5% and stayed there for about 27 minutes.  It then quickly rose back to its usual ~95% level and stayed there until I awoke @ around 1700.  There was no indication on the SH charts that anything happened.  Not that unusual for me since my apnea data and oxygen data have never correlated very well.

We had an electrical storm in the area around that time (1500 and later) -- I slept through it (sometimes my crummy hearing has its benefits).  My wife said she heard lots of thunder and the lights flickered at one point but the power did not go out.  Could an electrical surge have caused my oxygen concentrator to temporarily stop generating oxygen for that ~27 minutes while continuing to run?  The concentrator was still running normally (usual noise, etc.) when I awoke around 1700 (after the storm had passed) with no indication of anything amiss.

Thank you!
Carl (Tubaman)