Posted by ElaineCT on 3/18/2008, 8:28 am, in reply to "COPD and oxygen use"
71.234.181.121
Chris, Thank you for posting this as I, too, was a little confused by the suggestion that high 90s for sats might be too high.
I am Rx'd 3 lpm of O2. I set my Helios at 3.5 because it's the rough equivalent of 3 from my concentrator. I never change these settings except in one situation. If I'm attending an all-day seminar where I'm sitting perfectly still except for breaks and lunch I will turn my Helios down to 2 in an effort to make it last longer. When I get up for breaks or lunch I turn it back up to 3.5. Of course I check my sats and at 2 while I'm sitting I stay in the low 90s.
With a setting of 3 lpm, at rest my O2 sat is 98-100. But as soon as I start moving around it drops. If I forget to pace myself properly it can drop into the 80s in a matter of minutes.
As Starion suggested below, I have discussed this with my pulmo and asked if I should be adjusting it according to activity. I know there is a gadget you can get which will let you adjust it near the cannula but I explained to my pulmo I fear turning it down and then forgetting to turn it back up.
In any event, my pulmo feels there is no reason to adjust the settings ever. And he showed no concern over the high sats at rest; in fact I got the impression he was pleased with that.
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