Why do my oxygen levels tend to dip suddenly, and when should I be worried?

Dr. Ron Daniels answers the question "Why do my oxygen levels tend to dip suddenly, and when should I be worried?"

[yimmeiwong]

This is big help. I always worry when my mom’s O2 Saturation fluctuates between 89-98. It’s good to know that as long as it increases and not stay below the normal range for too long, it’s still good. Thank you for this. God bless you! 🙏🏻

[mangmiketeamtaiaha]

I feel out of breath walking or light exercise heart quickly raises to 130 beats... feel really hot & my left side lower chest area has a constant ache that gets stronger unless I lay down flat. My legs & feet have started to constantly ache in the muscles and bones. I been Doctors they seem to just not care. I wanna feel healthy....I 💯 hate feeling spoiling everything.

[film]

Glad I came across this video as I was very concerned about my SPo2 levels fluctuating often and I'm not feeling well recently. I hope it's not covid as I'm waiting for my test result.

[nickjoe]

Mine seem to only fluctuate when I try to go to sleep. For the first 3-4 hours of the night I try to doze off then awaken suddenly gasping for air feeling dizzy and weak. I see my O2 stat because I wear a pulse oxometer at night and I see my levels rising from 80 to 82 to 86 to 90 then 95 and back to what I usually am at which is 97-99 range. This happened to me when I had covid, flu, anxiety, and when now apparently 2-3 days after I had drank too much. I never get an answer or help from doctors since they check my stat currently and it is healthy. I show them videos of it dropping to 80 or below then I wake up and within 5 seconds or so goes back to to normal and they glance over the video or just completely do not address it. I am just hoping one day a doctor hears me out and actually identifies what the issue is.

[Cwm]

I freak when I see 96 0r 95 and my lungs are pretty strong. Mostly it's 98 tho

[mikelepp]

I know this is an old thread but... When I sleep my SP02 varies around 6-8% according to my smart watch. My average is around 93%. What I'm confused on is just about every night, usually very early on, there's a spike down to ~83%. It only lasts for a very short time, minutes or less, and then comes back up. What can cause this?

[marcs]

@The UK Sepsis Trust Hey Doc, I have an spo2 finger monitor but I regularly see my spo2 go as low as in the 50s at rest in bed plus my heart beat drops sometimes to around 50 also?? Any suggestions!! It varies greatly? Thanks

[brandlynnyoung]

What if I am not recovering from anything? I am often doing nothing.
Two days ago, I was sitting in my recliner doing nothing but reading and I felt dizzy. I grabbed my pulse oximeter and it showed 68%. It took me HOURS, even with my CPAP on, just to get back up to 90%.

39
Female
History of sleep apnea, heart failure, asthma and hypertension.

[SS-hmjn]

I had covid three weeks ago . My oxygen levels when I am resting go down to 86 and then slowly goes up to 97 after I breath in and out . But what can happen if I am sleeping ? If I don’t notice in my sleep that it’s drooling how do I know it will stay at 86? Can I die in my sleep ?

[idk-roxc]

Recently mine started to randomly fluctuate by large anounts.
Dips down to 82 - 88% for minutes at a time.. then shoots back up to 95 - 97.
Getting intermittent dizziness and sometimes confusion/ forgetfulness.
Had COVID 9 months ago but these symptoms started only 3 weeks ago..
Doctor is quick to dismiss my concerns as of course the oxygen never shows low when they check it.
Getting same results with my Galaxy Watch 4 and wifes Apple Watch 7 (give or take 1%)
Lowest reading I got was 70% when I got up today, only lasted a minute, then back up to 85 - 87..
Low readings can happen when in bed, sitting down or standing up.
Cannot indentify any pattern.
Cant figure out whats causing this and neither can my Doc..

[thequantaleaper]

What about during sleep? Like going from 93 to 78 in like 10 seconds and then climbing back almost as fast?

[zaroonazlan]

Hi Dr Ron .. i was given betta blockers by my new doctor as old GP got retired, used Betta Blockers Prapanol for 2 days and found shortness of breat and swallowing in both feet, i was lying on bed at the heart side found my oxygen level went down to 88 and then back to 95, 95, 96 in 30-40 seconds, i have stopped taking prapanol and on my old blood pressure pill . how long these side effect gonna be there in my body ?.please advise

[Horselo]

A friend has Covid right now (day 3 or 4) and oxygen levels are dropping when he’s doing anything (as low as 82 at one point very briefly??) and at times has been 90-94 while sitting and doing nothing or talking. Other times is normal. He has no insurance or money to see a doctor and I am concerned he will miss something serious. At one point do I suggest he go to the ER?

[raymalilian]

I also had that question and even filmed the oxymeter! I have that experience when walking. But I am not sure how long did it take to recover to normal saturations. I remember I had to sit down and stop for 10 minutes because got me very dizzy and a headache started developing (lasted the all day).
Very clarifying and helpful videos!
Thank you!
BW, Ray.

[johnmontana]

Is this an active channel? I see questions but no answers. I have had covid recently, 6 weeks ago. Symptoms were gone in a couple of days. I live at 7000 feet. I am 80. I have been off oxygen for a week. I get o2 90-92 most of the time, occasionally 95. On exertion, walking or walking uphill i get, readings of 70 to 82. If I stop to rest it goes up to 88-90 in about 1 minute. Is walking with O2 around o2 of 82 OK? Is it harming me or helping me? Thanks, video great, need more on lung recovery after covid.

[uzzgaming]

my sats in hospital were very low 55 is that a problem

[eduardogomez]

Mine goes down to 94 alot sometimes very rare 93 is this normal?

[AutumnPeir]

Mine just dipped to 93 but immediately went back up, is that ok? How about between 95-96 when moving about?

[JasonActualization]

Since recovering from COVID a couple of years ago, my blood oxygen levels drop while both awake and asleep, irrespective of my breathing pattern. I wear a continuouse pulse oximeter that gathere a data point every 2 seconds. I have no medical conditions and am in oerfect health otherwise. Is this cause for concern (my oxygen dips into the low 80s)?

[indiebby]

Hi! I had Covid 34 days ago. Recently diagnosed with atelectasis. Mine keeps doing this! Is this common??