Unsure what to make of this reading?

[symmit]

I'm up for that!

And for adding random text to make 25 characters...

[Solphist]

If I'm sat awake with it it sits at 93-96, rarely hits 100. Need to stick it on someone else and see if it's me or the meter, or borrow another one and compare the two

Mines the same 93-96%, though it's person dependant, also checked it with an uber fit and healthy person 98-99%, but then I'm not exactly fit.

For me 90% is the magic number to set the alarm for, over time I found that if I let it go to 88% I'd get my CO2 headaches, sometimes full migraines. That means I'd get woken up on even the 'good' trace above.

[symmit]

Whats reassuring me about the therapy is seeing the improvement not night on night but week on week. Last night for example my average pulse rate was 78.6, still probably a little high but I'm told weight loss and fitness is a key thing there, only a week ago it was 87.8, which is significantly higher.

Average spo2 has gone from 92.1 to 92.8, not statistically significant in my mind but looking at the graphs and the trend is for a much more even level of oxygenation, and far fewer drops in saturation.

AHI according to the APAP is now 1.4 averaged over the last four days, 0.2 last night with the minimum pressure at 10! A week ago that was 2.1 average 1.2 on the lowest night, minimum was at 8 then but I agreed with my provider to increase it.

I'm now happy both with the therapy (not fighting it to get to sleep or feeling apprehensive every night) and the results (yesterday out at 0600 and get in at 2200, drive 500+ miles and work 6 hrs for the first time in years, and for the first time ever without redbull or excessive coffee) and the statistics (AHI and ODI below 4 for the last four nights etc)

Three more nights of this and I'll be posting a long and detailed success story post.

[Tigers Fan]

I give in!

Hi Symmit and Solphist

I'm able to resist anything except ...........

Would you PM me or post details of the oximeter you use, please? I assume it has a finger clip so you can sleep with it on and recording - as opposed to a rectal probe or transponder under your skin or anything else invasive?

This could be my fifth or sixth Xmas present to myself already - and I don't even 'do' Xmas. Hmmm! Grandchildren and myself excepted!

TF

One to go.

[symmit]

TF - Mine is a CMS 50F from Contec in China. It's wristworn with a rubbery finger bit, very comfortable and unobtrusive. Friend of mine has the slighty cheaper one with the integral display and clip - it's quite heavy on the finger.

It runs for ages on a charge, charges via USB so no batteries to buy. Download to PC using USB, the software isn't brilliant and can be a pain to make work but there's an american website with an older version of the software that works well.

[Solphist]

Hi Symmit and Solphist

I'm able to resist anything except ...........

Would you PM me or post details of the oximeter you use, please? I assume it has a finger clip so you can sleep with it on and recording - as opposed to a rectal probe or transponder under your skin or anything else invasive?

This could be my fifth or sixth Xmas present to myself already - and I don't even 'do' Xmas. Hmmm! Grandchildren and myself excepted!

TF

One to go.

Not a PM
CMS-60C Hand-held Color Pulse Oximeter - CE certified (Finger clip style, not wrist worn)
USB to PC, charge lasts ages. Has it's own software that I've had no problem with, but PCs are all different.

I bought this one because of the alarm, and it connects to the PC without any problems for me. The alarm is great and due to the 'man flu' cold I have, woke me up multiple times last night, but no headaches this morning so I'm happy.

The pulse ox has probably been updated by now since I bought mine a while ago. It was around £200 , maybe there are cheaper and better?

Anyways I felt a lot better after working out stuff from the readings, no more guessing if I'm tired because I had a bad night or from just not enough sleep

Good luck with the search

[Tigers Fan]

The 50F or the 60C?

Thanks, guys! symmit and Solphist

You've both bought Contec models and both find them good - one like a clunky wristwatch and the other with a long cable to get tangled with. I shall have a sleep and a think about which way to go - both models seem to do their stuff in much the same way.

The cost is what has amazed me! I had expected to have to pay a couple of hunbred Pounds minimum for a pulse oximeter, but at £66 and £70 some more stats chasing becomes very affordable. (They certainly have come down in price since you bought, Solphist!)

You each have the honour of being one of the addressee of my 1000th post. I'm very pleased it is one of thanks and one of hardcore (as James calls it) CPAP subject matter.

Thank you to 'all my readers' for lots of fun and good advice. May your masks not leak and may your AHIs be low. I wish you all a good night's sleep as often as possible.

Tigers Fan

Now let's press the button and see if anything happens! Maybe I'll get to Scunthorpe, after all!

[Sparticus]

More!!!!

Can we have more of this please, maybe it should be given a seperate place on the forum and call it hardcore. Love being able to see the charts and graphs on whats happening when we sleep. Its time the NHS felt the same way and stopped being a pain in the cpap about data reading.

[Tigers Fan]

There was a time, not long ago at all, Sparticus, when the whole forum was hardcore - like wot it's intended for except the 'whatever wiggles' section.

Oh! happy days!

[James @ Intus]

The more poeple sign up and the longer we go, indeed the more spread we get in terms of newbies on one end and experts on the other end. Whilst we'd encourage the experts to help the newbies, some of the hardocre stuff you guys talk about can be over newbies' heads so a separate area isn't all that bad an idea.

I'll have a brainstorm and sort something out as indeed we'd like to see more of this. If you want to see killer stats by the way, look at Symmit's latest post inthe SleepWeaver thread. Great stuff!

[Barely Awake]

Having started on the stat trail the graphs on this thread are really useful and some individual help kindly given by pm has been priceless.

Lest anyone else is deciding between a cms60E and the wrist worn cms50 pulse oximeter I eventually went for the former as it was said to be easier to use and the battery is readily removeable, but I am not now sure the advantages are all I imagined and there was some attraction of a wrist worn kit. I solved this by buying what I think is (but may not be) a mobile phone arm belt (a pouch and velcro belt)from the market. The cable is still a little long but I made a loop out of the spare after taping the cable to my finger and arm. The important thing of course is not to kink the cable or you will have to likely buy another probe.

[Tigers Fan]

Velcro cable tie is another solution - the stuff that sticks to the back of itself, a few pence a meter on eBay.

I use a band of it around my wrist then a short length of it to hold the oxymeter probe cable to the band - easy removal for loo breaks. Another length passes around the probe finger with sufficient overlap to hold the cable in place there - stabilizes the probe on the end of my finger.

The oxymeter then looks after itself, mainly under my pillow.

TF

[Berneta]

Velcro

Hi TF--Velcro is amazing stuff but be careful--it can stick to hair in places you don't want it to. LOL XOX Berneta