low O2 sats and fainting in pregnancy

[nattiecake]

I'm 24 and 29 weeks pregnant now and was hospitalised last week as i fainted twice while i was at my doctors (I had gone cause i've been feeling generally run down and lethargic for a while and wanted to check all was okay)

the doctor called an ambulance as my sats were low and weren't improving, however over the next few days in hospital they only gave me an ECG and a few basic neurological tests, apart from my obs. its only since being out that i've googled what would cause low sats and found that its generally more lung related.

i've fainted before and been investigated by the heart and brain doctors and they've found all is fine, and im concerned that this isnt being taken seriously by the doctors. whenever i speak to my doctor about it he says that "young ladies are allowed to faint"!

are there any doctors around that could advise me what to do? and possible suggestions of what would cause my low sats that my NHS hospital could have missed??

just in case its relevant, a few years ago i have previously had bronchitus, which the doctor (different one, not my usual) changed his mind when it was no better after antibiotics and decided it was asthsma. however i dont use an asthma pump any more and there has been no suggestion by either my midwife or doctor that this could be asthsma.

plus when i have fainted before, i have been told it was because of low blood pressure.

sorrry for the long post!!!
thanks!

I'm not a doctor but a nurse who worked in A&E for 9 years. Transitory low sats just mean at the time of testing oxygen levels in the blood were low. If you were keeled over on the waiting room floor breathing shallowly they could go low and take a while to recover.

Oxygen also needs a good supply of red blood cells (healthy ones) to carry it round the body. If you are anaemic or have a disorder of red blood cells your oxygen carrying capacity would reduce. If lungs are knackered (middle aged smokers with emphysema) they are unable to transport oxygen from the outside air to the heart and hence the circulation. I am sure your lungs are healthy in that respect. Asthmatics who are in the throws of an asthma attack can also not transport oxygen to the circulation (different mechanism but same result).

It sounds as though your pregnancy combined with low blood pressure caused the faint. Low Sats are not an illness but a symptom and your heart, lungs and hopefully your blood has been checked and cleared.

PS On nights we used to have a competition who could hold their breath longest and make their Sats drop furthest! A graphic illustration of the explanation above.

I'm with Beam on this, it's most likely the low BP (which causes fainting). Low BP can often occur during prgnancy, especially if you're exhausted. Some people are more prone to this than others. It's really unlikely that you have a lung problem. Are you doing too much? Do you need more rest? Your body is telling you to look after yourself