Finger Oxymeters were made to indicate the Oxygen Saturation in your blood and your Pulse Rate..It was not to determine your Carbon Dioxide as that in itself depends on whether you have a Gas Exchange Issue or not.

Without getting into details, basically there was a time when a SpO2 of 90-88% or less was considered bad, and if you could stay above 89% one was considered “OK”, and whatever liters per minute you were prescribed – was chiseled in stone. Like all medical ‘sea changes’ there have been published doubts for years, but it takes a while before anything becomes widely understood and accepted.

Today - The new bare minimum number is 92%. The old number of 88% (which is still used by MediCare and many Insurance Companies) came about because it is normally at or below this point anybody will begin to demonstrate obvious symptoms of distress. This made the results of a 6MWT easier to observed and record (quantify using a Borg scale) by “less-qualified medical personnel”.

a blood test to measure your blood gas , is done to find your co2 level. I am a co2 retainer, this happns if you are a very shallow breather, you don'd take in enough 02 and don't exhale deeply enough to get rid of carbon dioxide .This was my problem at night and was causing very bad headaches at night, Now I use a bipap at night and it has helped immensly

@A MyCOPDTeam Member Your information on the new level moving from 88 to 92 on the O2 is good news for me. I've been checked a few times, exercising without my O2 to see how low the oxygen dropped. 91 was common -- heck, I see that at home a lot when I push myself too hard. 90 happens occasionally. But getting down to 89 or 88 is scary, feels painful and makes me wonder if an ambulance should be called.

If 92 is the new standard, I feel greatly relieved!

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A MyCOPDT...

I’m a little late answering this. and I have to say what I got from my doctor when I asked him the same question went like this:

Some people, not all, are “CO2 retainers”, meaning that their lungs hang onto the CO2 and the Oxygen has a hard time getting into the bloodstream as a result. So the person looking at their meter sees low O2, and when they kicked up their O2 feed level, nothing happens.

That’s the key that you’re retaining.

He told me what I need to do is to FORCEFULLY empty my lungs, blowing thru the mouth like you were blowing out a candle, to exhale down to what feels like the bottom, then push it further, straining until as much air is expelled as you can get out. Inhale, then repeat a couple more times. If you feel yourself getting dizzy or hyperventilating as a result, relax and breath normally for a few breaths, then do it again.

If you watch your O2 levels, after about that second breath, you should start seeing your levels rising up again. This has worked for me regularly, and its never taken more than about 4 exhalations to straighten things out. Usually 2 is enough.

Important note: This applies mainly to home, where I have my Concentrator set for 2.5 LPM and it is continuous flow. When I am on the road, on the tanks, they’re set for intermittent flow. The results can also be good, but it may not be as quick in coming with that kind of feed.

Hope that helps...

I have the same problem and I help the problem by sleeping in a very comfortable lazyboy that lays almost down flat and I recline to accommodate my breathing and I practice inhaling deeply and exhaling for as long as possible......doing much better than years ago.....breathe easy.