Carl Doyle92 said:Hi everyone. My mom (63 years old) has lung cancer that has metastasized to her bones. She finished three cycles of chemo, which actually shrank the tumor, but then she developed pneumonia and spent a week in the hospital. She’s been discharged now, but she has to use supplemental oxygen (4L for 18 hours a day) because her levels are too low. When she isn't using the oxygen, the pulse oximeter shows her levels dropping to 80, or sometimes even lower—usually hovering between 80 and 85. The strange thing is, she doesn't even seem to feel it; she isn't gasping for air or struggling to breathe.
As soon as she puts those nasal cannulas in, her levels jump back above 90.
Now, here’s the issue: she uses oxygen all night long, yet she wakes up in the morning with a reading of 80, sometimes even lower. During the day, whenever she uses the oxygen, she stays above 90. Why is her oxygen dropping overnight despite being on the machine? Does anyone know if there's a reason for this?
I was wondering if maybe she’s breathing through her mouth at night, so the oxygen isn't getting into her nose properly? I don't know if that matters. Maybe she should be using one of those masks instead of the nasal tubes, if that even makes a difference. Is there any real distinction between the masks people usually wear and these little nasal tubes?
She probably has sleep apnea (where you stop breathing while asleep). They might want to put her on a CPAP machine at night along with the oxygen—that's the mask that provides both the oxygen and the pressure needed to help her breathe.