Do all pulmonary fibrosis patients need high sat numbers? -

My mother in law has pulmonary fibrosis, heart failure, pulmonary hypertension to name a few of her problems. She is on 6 liters of oxygen at home and I know this is a lot oxygen to be on at home. She has been in and out of the hospital, but the last time she was in they took a lot of fluid off of her lungs. The doctor had her down to 3 liters, but on the last night they had to move her back to 5 liters. Before she left hospital the doctor said to just put her back on 6 liters at home, but she was on 5 liters before she left the hospital. Anyway, her oxygen numbers read about 98 all the time which you would think would be good, but she stays real sleepy and does not seem to think as clearly as she once did. At times she can not keep her eyes open and she wears a c-pap at night and sometimes her husband will wake up and she will not even have the mask on. He is blind, so he is a nervous wreck a lot of the time. Something just not seem to be right.

Yes, 98 is very good. It does not explain why she is so tired and is not thinking clearly. There might be something else going on -- not getting enough oxygen at night when she takes off the mask, not getting enough sleep, or some other medical problem. It would be best for her to go back to the doctor to get checked out. I hope the doctor can find out what is going on, and I hope she feels better soon.

Oxygen sat don t tell the whole story. All it can tell you is the percent of red blood cells carrying O2. Not the number of blood cells in the systems. You need to have a complete blood count or CBC to make sure that she has the right number of box cars to carry the oxygen around the body. Also, due to her medical condition she may have developed CO2 retention. This is when a person is used to having such a high CO2 count that when they have higher O2 levels they become lethargic like they are on medication for relaxation. As to her not wearing her CPAP mask I can only recommend that your mom s husband check her when he wakes during the night to see if she is wearing it and have her put it on again if not. Many patients accidentally remove their mask during sleep. It is sad to day that with the list that you have given the prognosis is usually quite poor and quality of life generally degrades rapidly. Prayers for you and your family. May GOD be with you.

98 is actually a very high SAT. I m a medical sales rep who deals with o2 and with CPAPS. I have a nurse on staff who performs pulse oximerty and 100 is thr highest you can get. Medicare/Caid will only pay for o2 if the pt is below 88, so 98 is great! Better than some healthy ppl. As for being tired, that is a good indication of o2 loss. She needs to be wearing a more secure CPAP mask strap so it won t slip off. If she is intentionally taking it off, she needs to talk to a doc who can explain to her how important it is for her to wear it and consequences of not. Hope this helps. I m no doctor!