Guest guest Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 HI! new member here with probably a lot of questions. Background is 40yr old who suddenly has severe persistant asthma that came out of nowhere (OK I believe our home remodel caused it.... my one ENT homeopatic doctor thinks I may have inhaled a fungus and now they are culturing it because the first round of antifungals didn't suceed). I feel like there is a very steep learning curve and every time my allergy/asthma doctor thinks he finally has it under control my body rebels and has a nasty attack which requires me to go back on prednisone (currently on 7th round since Oct). But onto my question. Like a recent poster My FEV (peak flow) is usually pretty good(except for back in Nov before I was on any asthma inhaled steroids and other meds). The one thing I do notice is that my oxygen level decreases significantly whenever I have a big attack coming on -- although my peak flow remains in the 'green' zone. Is this typical? (I have a small pulse and oxygen meter because the albuterol and other asthma meds have caused my heart to remain at an elevated rate) As a side note -- I have cough variant asthma-- I don't wheeze -- rather I cough... alot :-( karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 How far does the pulse ox go down and how long does it stay there? Like down and up real fast or will it stay down for a few minutes? What is the heart rate when the oxygen is low? > > HI! > new member here with probably a lot of questions. Background is 40yr > old who suddenly has severe persistant asthma that came out of nowhere > (OK I believe our home remodel caused it.... my one ENT homeopatic > doctor thinks I may have inhaled a fungus and now they are culturing > it because the first round of antifungals didn't suceed). I feel like > there is a very steep learning curve and every time my allergy/asthma > doctor thinks he finally has it under control my body rebels and has a > nasty attack which requires me to go back on prednisone (currently on > 7th round since Oct). But onto my question. > > Like a recent poster My FEV (peak flow) is usually pretty good (except > for back in Nov before I was on any asthma inhaled steroids and other > meds). The one thing I do notice is that my oxygen level decreases > significantly whenever I have a big attack coming on -- although my > peak flow remains in the 'green' zone. Is this typical? (I have a > small pulse and oxygen meter because the albuterol and other asthma > meds have caused my heart to remain at an elevated rate) > > As a side note -- I have cough variant asthma-- I don't wheeze -- > rather I cough... alot :-( > > karen > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2007 Report Share Posted February 17, 2007 > > How far does the pulse ox go down and how long does it stay there? > Like down and up real fast or will it stay down for a few minutes? > What is the heart rate when the oxygen is low? > My pulse ox has gone down as low as 78% -- but that was for under 5 minutes (and yes I had a major attack within a few hours that required medical intervention) -- usually I know an attack will come on when it goes to 84-90% and stays there for 10 minutes or more. My 'normal' reading is usually around 96% -- but at night and early mornings it goes to high 80's, low 90's. If I regulate my breathing I can get it back up usually within 5 or 10 minutes. The question about my heart rate is kind of funny -- Usually when my pulse ox is low my heart rate is well over 110 -- usually 120's, 130's. thanks for any information you can give me or better questions that I can take to my doctor next week. There is just so much talk about peak flows but not much about oxygen levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 18, 2007 Report Share Posted February 18, 2007 Pulse ox's are good tools however they can be inaccurate at a times. movement of the pulse ox will sometimes make the heart rate high. If the heart is reading high or the heart rate really is high, the oxygen reading can be wrong. If there are blinking lights on the pulse ox, they will blink different colors for good and bad readings. Another limitation with pulse ox readings is they will see carbon monoxide as oxygen. It could be reading 96-100 but really your oxygen level is much less if you smoke, are around a fire or running car for an extended time. I am not sure how to anwer your question, that will need to be for your doctor. Good luck. > > > > How far does the pulse ox go down and how long does it stay there? > > Like down and up real fast or will it stay down for a few minutes? > > What is the heart rate when the oxygen is low? > > > My pulse ox has gone down as low as 78% -- but that was for under 5 > minutes (and yes I had a major attack within a few hours that required > medical intervention) -- usually I know an attack will come on when it > goes to 84-90% and stays there for 10 minutes or more. My 'normal' > reading is usually around 96% -- but at night and early mornings it > goes to high 80's, low 90's. If I regulate my breathing I can get it > back up usually within 5 or 10 minutes. > > The question about my heart rate is kind of funny -- Usually when my > pulse ox is low my heart rate is well over 110 -- usually 120's, 130's. > > thanks for any information you can give me or better questions that I > can take to my doctor next week. > > There is just so much talk about peak flows but not much about oxygen > levels. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 18, 2007 Report Share Posted February 18, 2007 , Have you been checked for Mycoplasma? Don't pick lemons. See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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