Nugget of useful info regarding CPAP

[agoodwinsmith]

So. While I was being prepped for the bronchoscopy, one of the things they had me hooked up to was an oximeter, which measures the percentage of oxygen in one's blood. They had it set for an alarm every time it fell below 90%.

I was practicing breathing in time with an encouraging phrase (I am a grateful being full of light and love), which, because it was 7 freaking o'clock in the morning, kept leading me to drift into sleep. Every time I drifted into sleep, the alarm went off.

As I have mentioned once or twice, I have been very skeptical of the reports about how many times an hour I "stop breathing", especially in a claustrophobic room with lousy pillows and medical equipment bed hogs. I couldn't have slept long enough for anybody to count that many stops.

However, it is obvious now that my ability to wring oxygen out of the air I am breathing when I am asleep is compromised, and who knows how low it goes and for how long?

Okay. This makes more sense to me. I shall pursue the alternative mask.

Comments

[dewline]

This is probably another good reason to stick with the nose-and-mouth mask for my own CPAP purposes.