COPD question?

Question

I am on oxygen, as needed. How can my oxygen level be at 97 and I am still having a difficult time breathing? My machine is set at 2.50.

I need to clear up my question. I meant if my oxygen level is 97 shouldn't I be able to breathe easy? Like a normal person that is not sick? No matter if I am using my oxygen or not? I should not be short of breath.

TSOLOLI TSALAGI: No, I do not smoke. I use the machine that sits on the floor. You can see the meter on the front that shows you what it is set at. There is also a meter of sorts that moves like an electric house meter.There is a name on it that says,"invacare platinumxl" for whatever that means. I had called the company where it came from and they said they check it every 90 days. If an alarm sounds I am supposed to call them asap. I can go hours without it sometimes. But it is a must to sleep with. I have about given up on figuring all this out.

Answer 1

I saw your question and wanted to give my input. I'm a Respiratory Therapist and understand how it makes sense that with a saturation of 97% your breathing should be just about perfect. But all oxygen saturation measures is how saturated your red blood cells are with oxygen. It's not an indication of how well your lungs are functioning. However, with COPD, your breathing is never perfect even with a good sat. But breathing can be improved. You have diseased lung tissue that makes it difficult to breathe and I assume you are on breathing treatments for this. You probably need more frequent breathing treatments or different medication. Another possibility is that you might need something to relax you more, especially if you are so focused on your machine and worried. COPD patients often have a high level of anxiety that may make it seem like you are having more difficulty breathing than you really are. I mean, I believe you are having difficulty but anxiety may be making it even worse. So, check with your doctor about increasing or changing your breathing treatments and look into the possibility of getting something to lesson anxiety. Good luck!

Answer 2

As a respiratory therapist I have been taught to always check the patient first and go from there. Do you smoke?? If so then unfortunately you are getting false readings. A pulse ox measures hemoglobin content in your blood. But, it CAN NOT determine what is bound to the hemoglobin. Carbon monoxide loves hemoglobin a lot more than oxygen and therefore it binds more readily to hemoglobin. Carbon monoxide is also a byproduct of smoking. So if you're smoking and you have a spO2 of 97%, your O2 is probably much lower than that. STOP SMOKING! Or more importantly, don't smoke with your oxygen running into you. You'll blow yourself up, I've seen it happen. She died.
But assuming that you are fine and your sats are 97%, you may be a CO2 retainer meaning your body has become used to low levels of O2 and high levels of CO2 and 2.5 lpm may be too much for you. Your body doesn't like that much. Believe it or not, alot of O2 is not a good thing. Do you use a concentrator or an O2 supply (tank or liquid)? You may need to check your machine and make sure it is properly functioning. If it's the machine, although you are 97%, you may not be getting the 2.5 lpm and your are working for that extra O2.

Answer 3

This can be that you are just working harder to maintain that 97% for a number of reasons. You should notify your doc if your work of breathing is increased. Also, For someone with COPD, 97% is kind of high. Maybe a more realistic O2 sat would be 92% and might keep you from running into problems with your CO2, which can wipe out your drive to breathe completely.

Answer 4

people with copd often use a different mechanism to trigger respiration were people with out copd use O2 levels a copd'er will use the CO2 level to trigger the sympathetic nerves system to make them breath. the mechanics behind this are complicated but it happens. if some one with copd has a O2 level is to high it will decrease the CO2 level which will decrease the nerves systems drive to breath. but the body still needs the O2 so you have the increased stress on you body. you need to ask you doc about this. this happens in later stages of the disease and would not be present in early copd

Answer 5

Pulse ox reading measures the saturation of hemeglobin with oxygen. The alveoli in your lungs are able to allow adequate amounts of oxygen to diffuse across the membrane to your red blood cells. Your shortness of breath is probably caused by diseased airways that are chronically inflammed and cause a lot of resistance to airflow. Which leaves your breathing exertional upon inhalation and exhalation (which is not supposed to require muscle energy). Inhaled steriods and bronchodilators are the building blocks to effective management of the symptoms.

Answer 6

This is called compensation. Your body has learned to compensate for your lower O2 intake. It becomes more efficient at utilizing what O2 is being brought into it. When you get a cold or the flu you can quickly decompensate and your O2 saturation can quickly drop if not monitored and taken care of properly. The body is a wonderful thing and can take care of itself quite well.

Answer 7

I assume you have chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Your breathing is probably labored because of pulling air through consticted bronchi, but enough is getting into your blood with O2. If breathing was normal you would not need the O2.

Answer 8

I'm borderline COPD and use O2 at night - prescribed at 3.0. My last test showed an average of 98. There is no reversal of our situation - it can be stablized but it is likely to get worse. See your doctor - best bet for an answer. I forget if you said you were on inhalers - they do help !!!

Answer 9

one reason is u could be anemic. if u don.'t have enough red blood cells to carry the o2 to ur cells. you will short of breath. ur spo2 may be 97% but it might be 97% of a reduced number. it's called hypoxemic.

Answer 10

There are filters on your oxygen machine that may become dirty . My husband is on oxygen and he knows when his filters are just a little dirty, I clean them 2 times a week.