Pulmonary Embolism Support Group

By far the most common form of pulmonary embolism is a thromboembolism, which occurs when a blood clot, generally a venous thrombus, becomes dislodged from its site of formation and embolizes to the arterial blood supply of one of the lungs. Symptoms may include difficulty breathing, pain during breathing, and more rarely circulatory instability and death.

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jennis465 02/25/2013

I was thinking about buying an oxygen saturation sensor at a pharmacy because when I felt symptoms in the ICU it was reassuring to look over at the monitor and see what my saturation level was........then I knew if my symptoms were from the clots or just anxiety.

Has anyone used one and do the ones you can buy from local pharmacy work?

Thanks!!

John

cave76 02/25/2013

@jennis,

If you mean one of those finger pulse oximeters----- I have one. I think I only paid around $30 for it---- and the brand is the same one my doctor's office uses.

The only thing is---- I remember reading here that one or two people have said that even as they were in the ER for a PE their pulse ox was 'normal'. I don't know what to make of that.

Wiki says:
"Pulse oximetry measures solely oxygenation, not ventilation and is not a complete measure of respiratory sufficiency."----- if that clears things up for you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse_oximetry#Limitations

deleted_user 02/25/2013

I own one - about $30 from Amazon. My hema did tell me a lot of people with PE's will have normal levels so it doesn't add much value. I basically bought it to help with anixety.

lnycrts 02/25/2013

I have one and was using it when I had respiratory complications 3 months out from my PE. Because of my low oxygen level and some symptoms I was having, I headed to the ER and was then hospitalized for 10 days. They checked my oxygen with an oximeter just like mine at the ER and then put me on oxygen.

jennis465 02/25/2013

Thank you everyone for your replies and information......It is greatly appreciated!

orygun 02/26/2013

Yes, your O2 saturation can be normal, even with a big PE, as told to me by my pulmonologist. I use my home O2 sat monitor because I desaturate a lot with activity since my PEs. Right now I check every morning when I come up the steps on room air. Worst has been 82%.

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