Oxygen Saturaion Level of 37%

[Bacchi]

Could you please explain to me he possible effects of having a pulse ox of 37%? I have the medical records to prove my level was this low due to an overdose of painkiller medication the hospital administered to me, but there is no record of how long it was this low. The doctor who was treating me remains tight lipped about the incident, I guess he is afraid of litigation. I have no intent of suing anybody, I would just like to know what the effects of my oxygen being his low may be. Is it how low the level goes as important as how long it is low? In other words, I have read that over 6 min. of "Low" oxygen levels are potentially catastrophic, but in these writings I found no reference to how low the level must be to be cosidered catastrophic. It would seem that I was deprived of proper oxygen for a relatively long time for it to get so low. In other words, does such a low level put me at rissk for cognitive or behavioral prolems? Any information you can provide is greatly appreciated. Thank you,
Bacchi  

[Dani290701]

Listen my son died when he was 9 days old for 30 minutes. I can tell you that I took him to the ER two days b4. His pulse ox was 80, the nurse told me that that couldnt be right b/c he wouldnt be alive right now and sd that the machine was broken. They never doubled checked it. he now has severe brain damage. He cant even stand up. He is now 21 months old. He need heart surgery. so I think that there is a good reason why they wont tell you. and they know that normal range is between 95 and 100. He was at 80 for at leat 2 days  and he has brain damage in the frontal lobes and that is cognitive and behavior. Also in his basal ganglia which is speech and cordination and balance. My son cant talk and has no idea what i am saying to him. I would look really deep into your issue.
Good luck

[Bacchi]

NOrmally I would be open to this explaination, but my mother was in the room while this all happened and she heard me make some sort of rattle/ garggle sound. When she got the other doctor into the room the doctor paniced, saying "She is barely breathing" and they had to bag me then intubate me. Since the incident I am definitley slower mentally (which I can't afford to be, I am a financial analyst/author and right now especially my clients are relying heavily upon my advice. I was no dummy before this, my IQ is (was?) 167 and I belong to many financial thinktanks. Not that that makes my cognitive abilities more important than anyone else's, but I do rely upon them heavily and so do my clients. If I feel my thinking abilities have been diminished, perhaps the only fair thing to do for my clients is step down to a position where I have less potential to do harm. So, ruling out a cold environment withnormal body oxygenation, what can I do to determine if damage from this occurance exists?

[PaulMD]

Hi there.

A true low oxygen in the blood stream can indeed be detrimental to one's health causing brain injury and generalized tissue starvation of oxygen.  This can be manifested as acute behavioral problems, but long term consequences are still not consistently classified.

However, the pulse oximeter reading can be influenced by a lot of conditions that can cause a falsely low reading.  For example, if the outside environment is cold and this causes constriction of your superficial blood vessels, the reading of the pulse oximeter may be low but in fact, your true body oxygenation is normal.  The most reliable way to measure blood oxygen levels is to measure it using arterial blood gas exam.

Regards.