Blood oxygen levels of 90 - is the NHS being crap here?

[Predictablenamechange1]

I just spent 7 hours in A&E. I can't get a GP appointment which is the only reason I went to the hospital. I'm sleeping pretty much all day every day, feel really unwell and have been admitted previously due to dangerously low blood oxygen levels.

This time I tested at 90. According to the NHS site that means I need to call 999. Yet I was discharged. What do I do from here?? I can't work at the moment as I'm sleeping practically all day and night. I want to get better but how do I do that? The last time they took me in they gave me an oxygen mask and a drip which really helped.

I'm missing my sister's hen do at the weekend because of this. I'm just so frustrated.

@Predictablenamechange1 I wasn't troll hunting, you said on a post that you had cancer, I see now you've edited it.

Did they mention that hyperventilation can cause low blood oxygen? You mention that you are missing your sister's hen night, and I wonder if you were stressed about that?

It sounds as if they ruled out the worrying potential causes tbh.

To the posters saying 90% isn’t concerning - unless you have long standing COPD etc (even then not all COPD patients) then the following is a good guideline.
https://www.ridgmountpractice.nhs.uk/pulse-oximeters

A quarter to a third of people with cirrhosis have hepatopulmonary syndrome, so will have low sats and the only 'cure' is a liver transplant - maybe this is something that should be investigated for you (be that GP or your hospital specialists) - and for some people with some conditions then 90% is the target and they won't start oxygen therapy unless it goes below that

I wonder if you being admitted previously (and potentially the observations from the 999 call the other day) has led to you being classified as someone whose target is 90% (not saying that you should or shouldn't have been)

OP did that though didnt she. She sought urgent medical advice, was seen in hospital and now discharged.

Honestly, you can hardly complain about the NHS being rubbish when you've called out paramedics and they recommended you go to hospital and you refuse to go because you're 'too tired'! If you've had tests at the hospital and they've decided you're not in a life threatening condition and can contact your GP on Monday, I would try and rest til then.

There are so many things that can obscure sats readings. I’m gathering that yours was taken in a&e as you say they told you it was 90? If you were presenting reasonably well and holding full conversations with staff they may well have written it down to other reasons, being cold, fake/long nails, panicking. The machines often throw out really random scary numbers but just looking at the patient you know it’s not right as they would be showing a lot more difficulty.

hope you manage to get sorted out through the GP. Persistence is definitely key just annoy them until they see you to shut you up I’ve found it can be the best way!!

Hi OP

So sorry that you are feeling unwell and you must be worried especially being treated differently from the previous time.

I became (out of the blue) seriously unwell mid last year. I've never smoked and I'm not an asthmatic and only had a mild sore throat. Within 24 hours I was gasping for air but didn't think much of it. As the evening progressed i got more and more breathless and as a precaution I got my husband to drive me to a&e (got stuck in horrendous traffic).

It progressively got more difficult to breathe whilst driving the 30 minutes to A&E but still insisted that my husband dropped me so he could park and I walked into a&e myself. Got to check in desk and all air was gone and collapsed. When they scooped my up my oxygen count was 61 and I spent 2 days in resus and a further 3 days on the ward. I got discharged with a count of 92 and was told only to come back in future with a count of 90 or lower.

Hope this helps but if in doubt just go back. Wish you all the best.

Hyperventilation does not cause low oxygen saturations.

I absolutely agree that health professionals can make mistakes. I was told i had a cold which had gone to my chest when I was in a lot of pain with a collapsed lung. Luckily I went to a different dr 24 hours later who realised quickly what it was. One month and 5 repeated lung collapses later I ended up having a pleurectomy as my lung wouldn’t stay inflated.

if your oxygen saturation is 90 at rest you will feel awful, it’s really low ime and I think you will feel very breathless. At 93 or below at rest I was given oxygen.

There is no point posting here. All you’ll get is authoritative statements from people with zero idea how a pulse oximeter works, no grasp of what level of hypoxia is concerning and no ability to access essential information such as chest auscultation or assessment of work of breathing. Not knowing any of this doesn’t decrease anyone’s confidence in their posts, however.

Is there a particular disease you’re worried about? Ask about it. Present to your doctor and ask them why they’re not concerned about your sats or why they don’t think you have xyz. An explanation will help you and your doctor to move the conversation towards what the problem may be.

My daughter had childhood asthma and I remember 90 as the magic number we were always waiting for to get us discharged from hospital.
I know it’s below 100 but don’t worry too much, I think above 90 you are probably still ill but not at risk when you are at home. It’s not a new nhs cutbacks thing. You genuinely are safe to be at home.

I am sorry you’re feeling so poorly. What are your symptoms right now? If you’re not sure, go back and get checked out. If you’re struggling to breathe, please seek medical attention.

I edited it within 30 seconds. I meant liver disease.

Autocorrect?

It messes things up horribly.

Did you have a chest x Ray ? What reason did they give for the low sats? Did they do a blood gas ?
Sometimes the monitor reads low either due to monitor error or poor perfusion but they should have persisted until they got a normal reading or confirmed with a blood gas. Sats of 90 % is not normal abd would not usually be discharged with that level but you haven't given a lot of info as to what happened and why you went in etc what they said

Have you got your own sats monitor? If so recheck

Hyperventilation does NOT cause low O2

I accidentally said liver cancer. It's something I was worried about and have been in for tests but don't have. My closest friend died of liver cancer and his anniversary was a week ago so I made a mistake as it was on my mind.

I changed the post in less than a minute.

Yes, I've had ultrasound etc. No blood gas (I think). No reason given for the low sats.

I'm not sure what else I can say in terms of details? I have cirrhosis. I've recently been in hospital for a week with low blood oxygen. I've been sleeping pretty much all day every day and I am worried about this happening again. Any more details anyone needs please let me know!

How can you make a mistake like saying you have cancer when you don’t? And I ask that as an autistic person too. You should go to your GP, it sounds like you need your oxygen levels monitoring. You may have briefly presented at 90 with that raising before you’re discharged. How many times did they put the wrap on your finger to test it?

What was cause of recent low O2 levels on recent admission?

And she got urgent medical advice my hr is always above 131 iv now been told by my cardiologist that it has to be above 200 and sustained for more then 20 minutes before seeking emergency help. The numbers in the chart of for people who are experiencing this for the first time so anything life threatening can be ruled out. The op already spent time in hospital in January for the exact same thing so it's nothing new and anything urgent and life threatening has been ruled out

Are you sure it stayed at 90? It’s unlikely if they didn’t admit you and put you on oxygen. If sats came up and they couldn’t find a reason then not unreasonable but can understand you wouldn’t want to know why it happened. Although pulse ox machines can be unpredictable eg not on right, cold fingers etc so low readings not always concerning. Book in with your gp for the tiredness.

last admission I imagine you oxygen stayed low for a while if you stayed ok oxygen it then gets weaned according to the sats. What was the diagnosis last admission? What was the drip for ? Just fluids or iv antibiotics for chest infection ?

DH recently went to A&E as his oxygen level was 93. He wasn't let go until it was back up to 95+. He was given steroids and monitored for a few hours.