Blood Oxygen Level %89

[DaveP]

If you parked and walked a long way into the building and were taken in right away, the sudden exercise could cause O2 sat to drop temporarily. Some deep breaths should have returned it to 95+, though. Did they wait and take it again?

40 years of smoking followed by 4 years of vaping including 2 years dropped from 40 a day down to 6 a day, then 2 years not smoking and I see O2 sat in the 95% to 99% range depending on whether I breathe to match my exercise level. If I exercise and don't breathe to match it, mine drops until I start to take in more air. Then, it rises to 98% and 99%.

You haven't been long not smoking, so it will take some time for your lungs to heal. Within a year, you should tell a remarkable difference. That said, most of the sites that list the time line for positive results from no smoking say that it takes 10-15 years for your lungs to return to those of a non-smoker. 5 years should be enough time to make a marked difference. All of us notice big improvements in the first year.

Decades of smoking take time to erase. buy your own pulse oximeter. I bought this one for under $20. If you read the reviews, there's one where a physician compared the readings to his professional equipment and they matched to well that he bought more and uses them in his examing rooms.
Amazon.com: CMS 50-DL Pulse Oximeter with Neck/Wrist cord: Health & Personal Care

Check out the time line for recovery here. It's not instant, but the early benefits are worth quitting.
http://whyquit.com/whyquit/A_Benefits_Time_Table.html

 

[DJ Colonel Corn]

If you parked and walked a long way into the building and were taken in right away, the sudden exercise could cause O2 sat to drop temporarily. Some deep breaths should have returned it to 95+, though. Did they wait and take it again?

40 years of smoking followed by 4 years of vaping including 2 years dropped from 40 a day down to 6 a day, then 2 years not smoking and I see O2 sat in the 95% to 99% range depending on whether I breathe to match my exercise level. If I exercise and don't breathe to match it, mine drops until I start to take in more air. Then, it rises to 98% and 99%.

You haven't been long not smoking, so it will take some time for your lungs to heal. Within a year, you should tell a remarkable difference. That said, most of the sites that list the time line for positive results from no smoking say that it takes 10-15 years for your lungs to return to those of a non-smoker. 5 years should be enough time to make a marked difference. All of us notice big improvements in the first year.

Decades of smoking take time to erase. Buy your own pulse oximeter. I bought this one for under $20. If you read the reviews, there's one where a physician compared the readings to his professional equipment and they matched to well that he bought more and uses them in his examing rooms.
Amazon.com: CMS 50-DL Pulse Oximeter with Neck/Wrist cord: Health & Personal Care

Check out the time line for recovery here. It's not instant, but the early benefits are worth quitting.
http://whyquit.com/whyquit/A_Benefits_Time_Table.html

Thank you, DavP , however, I'm curious....
Does cillia regrow during a vaper's life ? I mean, does vapor not also destroy them ?
Also, I wonder how many of these health benefits are from the cessation of nicotine, not just smoke.
I do know nicotine itself is a poison.
I'm using 18mg e-juice right now (%100 organic & VG) , and I'm just wondering what you think about this, whether the cessation of nicotine itself is what's recommended , or, like, how much vaping affects the lungs.
My doctor, when recommending using a water-pipe for my herbs, told me the point was to cool the smoke, which would have me avoid cillia destruction. I feel the vape cloud as warm. Do you think cillia survives heavy vaping ?
Again thanks for the info, I've read the 1 site and will probably but the oximeter, ty.

 

[Katmar]

A question for the ages, DJ. When I google it, I get mixed messages. I really don't think anyone knows for sure, yet, but maybe someone else will come along and be able to answer your question better.

 

[DaveP]

Thank you, DavP , however, I'm curious....
Does cillia regrow during a vaper's life ? I mean, does vapor not also destroy them ?
Also, I wonder how many of these health benefits are from the cessation of nicotine, not just smoke.
I do know nicotine itself is a poison.
I'm using 18mg e-juice right now (%100 organic & VG) , and I'm just wondering what you think about this, whether the cessation of nicotine itself is what's recommended , or, like, how much vaping affects the lungs.
My doctor, when recommending using a water-pipe for my herbs, told me the point was to cool the smoke, which would have me avoid cillia destruction. I feel the vape cloud as warm. Do you think cillia survives heavy vaping ?
Again thanks for the info, I've read the 1 site and will probably but the oximeter, ty.

I don't know whether they regrow, but I've read articles that described them as "paralyzed" by cigarette smoke and they don't do the wave action to bring things back up to your throat where you can cough them out. After years of not smoking, I do the short cough to clear instead of the hack, hack, hack that it took while I was smoking.

Lately, I've had an allergy thing going on that causes a little post nasal drip to the throat, but I picked that up while at the beach last week. For all practical purposes I"m cured of the lost sense of smell and the constant hack. It gets better with time. You get many of the benefits early on, but it may take 6 months to a year for your sinuses and lungs to exhibit definite improvement. You will notice gradual relief the longer you don't smoke.

 

[patkin]

My experience vaping has been the opposite of yours. My saturation levels have increased pretty dramatically.

 

[DJ Colonel Corn]

Well.
I guess the question would be, how much are you guys vaping ?
I'm using about 1-2 ml per day of 18mg ejuice, on heavy day 3ml.

How about you ? Am I using it too much ?

 

[rolygate]

Just some quick points:

1. Someone with O2 sats below 90% would probably find they want to be hospitalised due to a feeling of drowning. Someone I know whose sats dropped to 89% thought they were dying and had to be hospitalised immediately. Therefore, if you don't have a feeling of being very short of breath, then maybe the readout is wrong for some reason.

2. It might be a good idea to check with different equipment, perhaps that specific device gives an anomalous result for you. Or it didn't work well on the day, due to paint on your hands or something.

3. There is absolutely no reason that all types, brands, and variants of refill liquid will be well-tolerated by all individuals. Indeed, this is impossible. It is certain that there are products which are well-tolerated by tens of thousands of people that present problems for some individuals. What this means is that if someone experiences any kind of lung issue when vaping, they must investigate the use of alternative products.

Vaping is unlikely to cause lung problems except for the one in a million cases that cannot be manufactured for or legislated for; but vaping Brand X, Flavor Y, Base Type Z is an entirely different matter: you need to try alternatives if problems are experienced with it.

4. There could be issues with your vape gear that you do not mention. For example if you are using an RBA. What you might need is low-volume, cool, moist vapor - and some RBA builds or usage modes will generate the opposite of this. With vaping queries it's often a good idea to specify what products are involved: vaping 2ml of ecopure from an eGo daily is not the same as vaping 10ml of custard cream special from a sub-ohm RBA daily. They are not even in the same category as regards health impact / risk elevation.

 

[Speedsix]

I don't have figures to prove it but for me it seems like vaping is actually more constricting than smoking. I was a light smoker 1/3-1/2 pack a day. I'm a light or medium vaper now. I find when I pushed the cardio while,smoking, I was able to clear out my lungs after 20 mins or so of heavy exercise. Now I find that there seems to be a upper limit on my ability to process O2.

I do a bike race every year with the same training regime. I have been vaping exclusively for 3-4 months without any real cigs. This year I can't seem to get clear. I've had allergies worse than normal this season but they have subsided.

I actually think that vaping may be worse for O2 intake than real cigs. That being said, if I don't vape for a day, I feel fine. If I didn't smoke for a day, I would still feel crappy. I think the neg effects of vaping are short lived. I'm going to quit the week before the race and see if I suddenly get a boost. My guess is, I will. I will never go back to real cigs however and I'm not bashing E-cigs. That there may be a specific effect that is slightly worse than analogs does not mean E-cigs are worse. They are FAR FAR better than the tar sticks.

 

[DJ Colonel Corn]

Just some quick points:

1. Someone with O2 sats below 90% would probably find they want to be hospitalised due to a feeling of drowning. Someone I know whose sats dropped to 89% thought they were dying and had to be hospitalised immediately. Therefore, if you don't have a feeling of being very short of breath, then maybe the readout is wrong for some reason.

2. It might be a good idea to check with different equipment, perhaps that specific device gives an anomalous result for you. Or it didn't work well on the day, due to paint on your hands or something.

Hi.....

First of all, in regards to point #1, when my O2 level was at %80 and lower, I only felt a bit tired and the only symptom for me was inability to smoke analog cigs without choking and coughing extremely bad.

In regards to point #2, I've had my O2 level tested 3 times since the original post here, 1st time %89, 2nd time %95, 3rd time %90 again. So no, it's not due to paint, ink, or any other residue on my clean fingers.

So... the ideas keep flowing, and I love it ! Thank you guys, ECF is the best.
I WILL say my lungs FEEL better, I no longer wheeze at night as I lay down, and, I have more energy.
My ONLY complaint is the result of the tests, which, for many reasons i've learned, could be incorrect.

My only option is to get the more precise O2 test to see what it really is, one that isn't testing the hemoglobin ....

Still vaping, cuz I can FEEL that it's better.
More to follow.......

DJ Colonel Corn's Blog | Welcome To​

 

[rolygate]

I don't have figures to prove it but for me it seems like vaping is actually more constricting than smoking. I was a light smoker 1/3-1/2 pack a day. I'm a light or medium vaper now. I find when I pushed the cardio while,smoking, I was able to clear out my lungs after 20 mins or so of heavy exercise. Now I find that there seems to be a upper limit on my ability to process O2.

I do a bike race every year with the same training regime. I have been vaping exclusively for 3-4 months without any real cigs. This year I can't seem to get clear. I've had allergies worse than normal this season but they have subsided.

I actually think that vaping may be worse for O2 intake than real cigs. That being said, if I don't vape for a day, I feel fine. If I didn't smoke for a day, I would still feel crappy. I think the neg effects of vaping are short lived. I'm going to quit the week before the race and see if I suddenly get a boost. My guess is, I will. I will never go back to real cigs however and I'm not bashing E-cigs. That there may be a specific effect that is slightly worse than analogs does not mean E-cigs are worse. They are FAR FAR better than the tar sticks.

What you are describing is the exact opposite of the general experience, and there must be a reason for this. If you could detail your consumption profile than perhaps we could help? Otherwise, you are heading for a problem. It's important to point out this is anomalous - highly anomalous in fact - and there is probably a solution, if you are prepared to seek it out.

hardware
refill type
refill brand
refill flavor
ml per day consumed
any other info

 

[Bernard Marx]

I have enjoyed swimming my whole life. I started vaping in December and for the first time this year started swimming again. Wow! There is a very noticeable improvement in my holding my breath and swimming underwater this year. I'm not getting older etc...

 

[Claire Ambrose]

my o2 sats have gone up from 91% to 100% after just 6 weeks of vaping can't get any better than that but they were constantly low when i was smoking, when i had a minor op a few weeks ago they were normal except i had an issue when falling asleep, but that's down to possible sleep apnea rather than anything else,

 

[DJ Colonel Corn]

Hello all vapers.

So , I heard an interesting thing about our e-liquid, you probably know this already , but,
There are 2 types of tobacco. Cigar and cigarette, and the cigar kind is forumulated to where the nicotine is absorbed thru the mouth and sinal stucture.
The cigarette kind, the nicotine is absorbed thru the lungs.
So it turns out almost all commercial e-liquid is made from the CIGAR type of tobacco. Which means, you don't even need to inhale to get the nicotine.
So this may be another factor in why it's such a relief to the lungs.
I've heard of people making 'alkaloid' ejuice, and i suppose they mean the lung kind, made from cig tobacco. However only heard of this being home made in small bathes for a high cost.
Any input on this ? Know which thread I should post this in ? I'd like some input on this, and some data if possible, or links.
Thanks! Long live ECF! (oh but I did like the previous forum theme (design) better )

P.S. My oxy levels remain at 95 and I have not yet been able to test them with the more accurate method.

-DJ CC

 

[rolygate]

Ecig refills aren't made from tobacco, although they usually contain nicotine extracted from the tobacco plant as it's the cheapest commercial source. The nicotine could come from any viable source, though the cheapest alternative might cost about 100 times as much.

The nicotine is added to a PG or glycerol base, which chemically are alcohols though not similar to the 'alcohol' we drink.

Flavourings are then added to make the end product palatable. Some people who are really concerned about their health vape unflavoured base, as concern about inhalation of flavourings is the main issue with regard to health. Of course, some might say that ex-smokers could be wasting their time in this regard - but people have a right to change their opinions and their lifestyle.

Regarding your suggestion that vaped nicotine can be absorbed better in the buccal or nasal membranes (mouth and nose) than in the lungs, this may be related to the PH (acidity/alkalinity); but this has not been researched for vaped nicotine as yet, so it may be best to just say that the mouth, nose and lungs all play a part in the absorption in vaping. It is certainly true that, given a strong enough refill, a cigar mode of operation can be used successfully, as sufficient nicotine will be absorbed without inhaling fully. On the other hand, the lungs do absorb nicotine, so a deep inhale will provide more nicotine delivery.

In case anyone would like to argue against this, here is a test you can carry out.

1. Fill an atomiser with a very strong refill for you yourself (it differs for all, since there is a factor of 10 difference in individual tolerance to nicotine). For example if you normally vape 6mg or 12mg then use 36mg for this test. If you normally vape 36mg, then you will need 60mg or 100mg. The idea is to simply get a fast and incontrovertible result.

2. Line the mouth well and block the mucous membranes by sipping some Paraffin, USP (from a pharmacy, for constipation) and swilling it well, all around the mouth, under the tongue, into the back of the throat. Swallow a little, to line the throat and top of the gullet. Try not to inhale while doing this as the fumes are bad for the lungs.
Note: do not do this regularly because paraffin fumes must not be inhaled on a regular basis

3. Immediately take a heavy draw on your ecig with its ultra-strong refill and inhale it deeply. Take a long inhale to ensure the atomiser heats up well. Then, do the same again.

4. Immediately rinse out the mouth with more paraffin so that any nicotine in the mouth will be flushed out.


Within 30 seconds you will see the effect of inhaling pure, unbuffered nicotine, direct to the lungs and with no involvement of the mouth/nose. Sit down if your head starts to swim. It is harmless and will soon pass. This is also the perfect way to test the speed of the effect of inhaled nicotine as the result cannot really be argued with - use a stopwatch if you like.

We also know this is 33% to 40% more efficient than cigarette-smoked nicotine, as vaper's plasma nicotine levels are, on average, that amount lower for exactly the same effect.

 

[Katmar]

Hello all vapers.
P.S. My oxy levels remain at 95 and I have not yet been able to test them with the more accurate method.

-DJ CC

Hey, DJ, glad to see your O2 levels are at 95. That's a nice change from 89-90. They will most likely get even better with time. Don't forget to stay hydrated and do deep breathing exercises.

 

[Nana Gail]

Did they only take the reading once? The prudent thing with that reading would have been to retake the O2 sat again with another device and if still low to check it again before you left the office. The next thing should have been to refer you to a pulmonologist. If you are concerned about your trend ask them what your readings have been on other visits prior to this one. You can get a pulseoximetry unit for about 15-18 dollars on ebay and then you can keep track of your sats yourself. Take a reading whenever you feel unusually tired, during and after excercise, and just when sitting around. Keep track for about 2 weeks and if you are not above 93-95% consistantly insist on a referal to a pulmonary specialist. Do you by chance have Asthma, or emphysema. I might opt for a chest Xray soon too. Hope it's just a fluke or that the equipment was faulty. Just don't ignore the issue, catching some problems early makes all the difference in the world. No one can take better care of YOU then YOU! Wishing you all the best.

 

[DJ Colonel Corn]

Did they only take the reading once?

... not sure if you've read all of this thread, but, to re-iterate, my levels have been 89-96 for a while now. Noticeably dropped when I made this thread down to %89.... so, to answer more, I have been diagnosed with COPD, resulting from my many years of analog cigarette smoking and smoking herbs as well.
So, I've seen all the experts I can at this time, there is no treatment or reversal for COPD according to them, and I am monitored monthly. Pulse Oximetry units, I've been told in this thread, aren't as accurate as the other type. Also, it may be confused by the fact I also vape herbal concentrates, and the hemoglobin attaches to the CO2 more readily than O2, something like that, I'll copy/paste what was told to me in another forum.
So I appreciate your concern, and decided to give you some more info.
To counteract my COPD, I have switched to vaping everything I used to combust, get exercise, and live in a place with fresh air. Normally. My neighbor burned his garbage last night and it filled my yard with toxic plastic fumes. Woke up with yucky throat and nose. I am very upset with my neighbor over this.
So, in closing, I wanna say I really appreciate what everyone has to say, and the quick replies !
Thanks also to Rolygate, don't know what to say to such an expert reply ! Nothing more can be said !
However much appreciation for the explanation !
Take care everyone, and I'll keep you all posted on how things progress.....

-DJ CC

 

[four2109]

Here is another option for a recording oximeter. It isn't wireless, just connects with a mini USB. It uses aaa batteries. There is a 50-H that is rechargeable. Dhgate used to have the best prices but I didn't go through all the listings on their site.
If you have COPD, it might be a good idea to see how low your O2 is going while you sleep. It also has an alarm you can set at whatever level you want. It take a bit to get used to sleeping with it on your finger, but it works.
If you are moving around the readings get flakey so I wouldn't spend the extra money on wireless.

CMS 50D Plus Fingertip Pulse Oximeter with 24 hour flash memory

 

[Nermal]

This has been an interesting thread, though getting a meter of my own hasn't fit the budget. Just for what's worth, my readings have been consistently around 92%. After a year of vaping I had a single reading of 95%. I'm happy about that, but don't really feel any different than I remember feeling this time last year. It seems like however I feel, or wherever I hurt quickly becomes my perception of normal.

 

[LoveVanilla]

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