Hypoxemia

I’m learning so much about medical disorders that I can be a doctor soon… just kidding.

I bought a pulse oximeter several months ago at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown. Since price gougers already hit Amazon by that time, I went and bought it directly from the source on AliExpress. Items are cheaper but you have to be patient; my order for two oximeters took 40 days to get here from China.

Normal readings for blood oxygen content is from 95% to 100%. Readings below 90% could mean hypoxemia, or below-normal levels of oxygen in blood. I just measured my oxygen levels and got a 93%. I guess that’s not unexpected since I’m experiencing shortness of breath. I tried breathing deep but it didn’t help very much. Maybe since we’re stuck inside the house with the air conditioner on 24/7, I need to try breathing deep outside.

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Ugh, I just went out to the backyard and the reading go worse.

Actually, the reading drops down to 80% and comes back up repeatedly. The meter beeps when the oxygen reading drops below 85% so it was beeping constantly. That’s not good. I know things made in China may not be super accurate, but I “tested” everyone in the house when I received them and all were reading 98% to 100%, even me. So something definitely happened in March, probably to my heart as I was recovering from bypass surgery. Whatever it was may have also triggered the a-fib that took forever to fix, and now is making me breath hard.

I hope it’s not serious. I’m tired of hospitals and surgeries. At some point, UCLA transplant center will probably drop me again as a candidate if this continues.