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How can vitals fluctuate so much
I am curious if anyone has any concrete answers on how you can go from normal oxygen saturation to low oxygen saturation or dizzy to not dizzy so quickly and randomly without exerting yourself (just walking or sitting around at home)?
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8 Replies
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Fluctuating oxygen levels could be caused from an inaccurate reading in your monitor but if it is accompanied with a change in how you’re feeling and noticeable symptoms then this is something to bring up to your doctor. My oxygen levels are perfectly fine when sitting around but the second I stand up and begin moving, it drops to the low 80s and sometimes 70s. The doctors gave me a few tests in the office before putting me on oxygen and used different pulse ox monitors and ways of measuring oxygen (on the fingers and on the forehead they placed sensors and on my ears) all of the monitors showed the same low reading and then I was given my oxygen which really helped with my symptoms. I have exertional hypoxia which basically means that when I move around my oxygen levels drop but they go back to normal as soon as I rest. Do your levels go back to normal at rest or do they take awhile to recover? I would compare the doctor’s pulse ox to yours when you are in the office next time and see if the same thing happens when you’re moving around especially because it seems like your symptoms are bothering you and I don’t blame you for that! What you experience is real and should be mentioned to your care team for sure.
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Yeah my oxygen levels return to normal upon sitting back down after about a minute!
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Libby,
I’m the same way. We have so many members here that sometimes it’s hard to keep track, are you on oxygen right now? It may be beneficial if you’re not, especially with your symptoms to ask about a 6 minute walk test to check your oxygen levels upon exertion or even to walk some stairs to simulate everyday life and tasks you find difficult and they can see if your levels are dropping enough where you would qualify for oxygen. There’s also home tests they can give you, but sometimes the 6 minute walk test testing oxygen levels is all you would need to get oxygen as needed. It has helped my symptoms tremendously when I use oxygen. Before that, I would “see spots” and have blackout spells frequently!
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Libby, I would agree with Brittany! She’s a wealth of information!
I, too, have exertions hypoxia, but also need it to sleep as my sats drop when I’m sleeping . Sometimes I have issues with medical staff of my sats come back good, but I tel, them, I’m lying in a hospital bed, doing nothing ! I can get up to go to the bathroom and they’ll tell me my heart monitor levels as well as oxygen levels change !
This is not uncommon Libby , but as Brittany replied , so many things that could be causing this.
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So true Jen! This happens to me when I get up in the hospital too. When I’m laying there I’m fine but then the second I get up to go to the bathroom “dropping sats!” They come running in and I’m like “it’s not a five alarm fire I’m just trying to pee in peace here!” hahahah!
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Haha …Brittany , I so get that and have had that happen ! It’s gappened to me trying to pee and once I was actually trying to shower lol 😂 I was like Hello ….can I get a little privacy here , lol
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LOL!!! This one will make you laugh too Jen: One of the nurses new me by the time I was in the hospital and had her as a nurse for a few days and one of the other nurses saw my monitor on the heart rate spike up and started to rush into the room and they were like “that’s just Britt, she probably just rolled over in bed or something” Nurse yells out “Britt, you good ?” I was like “yea girl, just trying to find the remote for the TV!” hahahaha!
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Thanks for the info ladies! I am glad I am not nuts. My ox reader was voted one of the most accurate so I’d like to think it is. Just recently I went to the doctors and just from standing up in the waiting room and walking into the actual office, my levels dropped to 88 but then I sat back down and it was at 93. Just as you described, the doctor was like “oh your oxygen is fine now” bu but I told her that the slightest movement changes is and I don’t think she believe. Thankfully my cardiologist took me more serious and I am going to see him. Any logic behind what causes “exertion hypoxia”?
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