Happy holidays everyone!
First-time poster and before I begin, thank you all for your input. Many-a-time you've given me hope and peace as I care for my mother who's been battling this awful disease for a long time. I appreciate you all and always wish and pray for the best for all of you.
My mother has COPD and CHF. She's 79, been battling cardiac and pulmonary issues for a decades, but the past few years have been difficult. That said, her baseline sats are 88-92 without O2 and she only uses O2 at night when sleeping. Her quality of life is pretty good, all things considered - no wheezing, no struggling for breath, just moderate activity and maintenance.
She was just hospitalized for low-sats. Her sats dropped into the upper 70's, low 80's overnight. However, there was no distress, no fever, no cough, wheezing and no mental distortion.
In hospital, a chest X-ray showed a tiny touch of pulmonary edema. It was addresses with extra lasix and she was discharged. However, when she returned home, her sats were still low and she had to be rushed back. This time, the attending physician said there was nothing that could be done and they didn't seem concerned about her sats. Her ABG didn't show anything concerning, etc. She was in no seeming distress. During this second stay she's been in good shape - but her sats are not what they were just a few weeks ago.
She's coming home and there's been no talk of using oxygen 24/7. In fact, a diagnosis and clear information from attending, cardiologist, pulmonologist and all has been hard to come by.
My question is this - anyone have experience with low-sats from pulse-ox but it not be a sign something is wrong? I've read people with skin issues and blood issues may give inaccurate readings, but I'd love to hear of your experiences with SPo2 accuracy and avoiding hospitalizations due to what may or may not be actual emergencies.
And furthermore, is this how elders change? Do their ability to saturate change quickly and without anything gradual?
Thanks everyone. Stay healthy, stay hopeful and stay together - the support here is special and makes a big difference in the battle against this terrible, terrifying disease.
Cheers,
Helping Mom in NYC