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Pulse Oximeter Recommendation

Sparrowhawk

Senior Member
Messages
514
Location
West Coast USA
I am frustrated that I can't "even" sit meditation any more. I feel great when I do it but it costs me too much in energy. So I do meditation lying down at night.

Back on topic. Since I received the finger pulse meter, I've been interested to see that if I stand still, my pulse slowly climbs from the high 80's into the nineties and then over 100. If I walk around slowly, it drops down into the 80's again. Weird! Now I know why I've been pacing the kitchen in the morning, it "feels" better.
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
Lying down to standing up. It will jump up somewhere between 50 and 80bmp pretty quick, usually within a minute. Start having problems standing still and upright more than 2 minutes.

J

That's classic POTS, I believe. Or some kind of OI. Tell your doc about it and get a referral to an autonomic specialist or cardiologist. Treatment for POTS could make you feel a lot better. :)

See this article about OI here at PR.
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
Strange. We do some wild and strenuous things in a pilates equipment class but as long as it doesn't raise my HR (and few of the exercises do and for those I rest for every other rep) I am muscle-tired afterwards but don't get PEM.

Sushi

I really like that idea -- exercise without raising my HR. I won't be able to afford a Pilates class or gym for a few years, though. :( I'm hoping I can get Dr Rey/Dr Sol to prescribe some rehab exercise with those kinds of limitations, but I don't know if they do that. We'll see.
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
That's great! I wish I could find anything that works for me like that, but right now it's all I can do to shower, walk to and from kitchen, cook, eat, repeat. I have a Qi Gong DVD, and Rodney Yee yoga DVD, but neither one are doable right now.

I was there about a year ago. It's hard to have any kind of life when even showering is major exercise, isn't it?
 

SOC

Senior Member
Messages
7,849
I am frustrated that I can't "even" sit meditation any more. I feel great when I do it but it costs me too much in energy. So I do meditation lying down at night.

Back on topic. Since I received the finger pulse meter, I've been interested to see that if I stand still, my pulse slowly climbs from the high 80's into the nineties and then over 100. If I walk around slowly, it drops down into the 80's again. Weird! Now I know why I've been pacing the kitchen in the morning, it "feels" better.

I think that's indicative of some kind of OI, too. The walking around makes your leg muscles pump blood back up into your upper body. If you stand still it pools in your legs and you start to feel weird. I didn't think I had POTS until I tried the Simple Test for OI. It was SO hard to stand absolutely still. I wanted to move, even if it was just to wiggle my toes.

Might be worth looking into.
 
Messages
2
I had a ablation for a fib Nov the 8th 2013, however my Dr said I'm still in a fib which I knew would be a possibility.
I'm n a heart monitor for another week.
While experiencing an a fib episodes I use my finger pulse oximeter. My question is, how significant is the movement of the graph bar and what does it actually show?
 

CFS_for_19_years

Hoarder of biscuits
Messages
2,396
Location
USA
I found these very difficult to research, and ended up buying one based one comment from a nurse in a chat room and the fact that this is supposedly professional accuracy. I've compared the pulse reading to my blood pressure device and they are the same. I have not made other comparisons. I got the Nonin Onyx Vantage 9590

I'm resurrecting this old thread because I found test results that compared several different brands of pulse oximeters to a Nellcor N65 which is used in hospitals and clinics. Two pulse oximeters that didn't perform well were the SantaMedical SM-110 and ContecCMS50DL. I ended up buying the O2HEALTH DB12 for $49.99 after watching the first video below. A review from a buyer on the Turner Medical website said the O2HEALTH DB12 was as accurate as their Nonin, which is also hospital grade, but costs $89.

I would have loved to find something under $100 that had alarms, could be worn on the wrist, could be worn continuously with the capability for downloadable reports and was also proven to be accurate. There are pulse oximeters that fulfill all the above except my concern about proven accuracy of the oximetry measurement, i.e, going head-to-head against a medical device.

If you want to read more about cheap pulse oximeters here ya go:
http://www.turnermedical.com/Articles.asp?ID=244


This test compares a Nonin, two other pulse oximeters and a medical grade pulse oximeter:

 

Andrew

Senior Member
Messages
2,513
Location
Los Angeles, USA
I think that's indicative of some kind of OI, too. The walking around makes your leg muscles pump blood back up into your upper body. If you stand still it pools in your legs and you start to feel weird. I didn't think I had POTS until I tried the Simple Test for OI. It was SO hard to stand absolutely still. I wanted to move, even if it was just to wiggle my toes.

Might be worth looking into.

This is interesting because a nurse told me something similar. He said that when I get out of bed to not stand right away, but sit on the bed and move my legs around as I sit there, to get the body ready for the fact that I'm going to stand up. He told me this in reference to OI.
 

CFS_for_19_years

Hoarder of biscuits
Messages
2,396
Location
USA
My O2HEALTH DB12 compared within 1% to a Nellcor during a home visit by an MD. We discussed that when I wake up after using my BiPAP for 2 hours and my O2 is 89, that's OK. I had put the O2HEALTH DB12 on a few seconds after I woke up. I think had it gone a bit lower it might have been a concern.
 
Messages
11
I am on my 3rd pulse oximeter over several years.

I strongly recommend that, for anything other than casual checks, people spend the extra for one with a good downloadable recording system that fits on the wrist with a lead to a finger sensor. The recording system allows you to download to an analysis program, thus giving you a permanent record and opening up a whole series of invaluable analysis summaries. I find that the cheaper single-block units that fit over a finger are uncomfortable, need tape to stop them falling off during sleep and get in the way when trying to do anything; some of them are also fiddly to use and one I tried all-too-easily deleted my data when stopping recording.

My current unit, a CMS50I, is around $100/£90 if you shop around.

Also, when looking, be careful to check the specifications. I came across several cheap single-block units that advertised a recording function without saying that it couldn't be downloaded to a computer.