Another Step Down

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

12:34 AM

Over the past several days, I have been going through another noticeable decline in my ability to process oxygen.

Very simple movements, getting up from a chair, crossing the room to turn on a light, are now leaving me out of breath and low in blood oxygen level.

The photo with this post is my portable blood-oxygen monitor or oximeter. It also measures my pulse rate. This little device has become an essential tool for me throughout the day. I clamp it over the end of one of my fingers, wait a few seconds, and a blood-oxygen percentage flashes up on the screen. It truly is a modern medical marvel. The biometric feedback is critical in telling me to slow down, and breathe, breathe, breathe (in through the nose, out through pursed lips). This helps me bring my oxygen level back up.

Here are the ranges that I work with:

Anything over 90% is good; the higher the better
85-90%: I need to slow down and breathe
80-84%: I must sit down and seriously concentrate on building up the oxygen level and bringing the pulse rate down [yin/yang]
75-79%: lie down or do whatever I can to stop any further exertion
70-74%: if I’m this low, I’m on the verge of panic, with heavy panting that makes me forget to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth
65-69%: this level can only be reached when I’ve tried to outrun a mosquito
60-64%: haven't been this low yet or if I have been there I was likely unconscious, i.e., I fainted

On another front, I continue to push towards a lung transplant. There will be bloodwork this week and a walking/breathing test next week. The tests on my heart are done, but I don’t know if they meet transplant status.

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