Blood Oxygen %89

[DJ Colonel Corn]

Hello vapers.

I am a bit concerned about my vaping habits.

I just got back from the doctor, and, after vaping ecigs and herb and hash oil, for about 2 months, my blood oxygen level was down to %90.

I began vaping with the idea it was better for my lungs.

Now I'm not so sure.

While using combustion my oxygen level was always above %95....

Any ideas out there ? Similar stories ? Observations ? I'd like to hear it.

Thanks.

 

[chris 71]

hi there, that's interesting I had a similar experience happen to me. I had a girlfriend that was severely asthmatic I had taken her to the hospital like 7 times in one year sometimes she would be admitted for a couple days. anyway I spent a lot of time at the emerge and in the hospital with her .
many times I would blow into the peak flow meter and take the little fingure thing and check out my oxygen level just out of curiosity after decades of smoking.
and every time without fail I could blow that peak flow meter and smack it right to the end and my oxygen level was always 100 % in this same year I started to worry about my lungs after seeing her suffer with real emergencies. I started to think with all the abuse I had put my lungs through and also work related dust from drywall finishing that maybe one day I may pay a scary price and not beable to breath so good I mean its gotta catch up at some point.
so anyway I got myself a mflb and thought it was great till I started to feel i was having trouble breathing.

I read and resherched about water filtration so I mcgyverd a little setup to run the mflb through a bubbler
.for a while that seemed to help, but the the hacking throat clearing thing started to happen again.
so I took the next step and got a solo.
i ran it through water as well for a while it was great but then the chest congestion and throat clearing thing came back again. in the mean time I had been back to the hospital with her again and to my surprise my oxygen levels wen I put the finger thingy on was like 95% and I could only blow the peak meter thing to around 650 or 700.
anyway I also had not stopped smoking entirely I would sometimes vape for a week or two maybe even 3 but then somke a little just for a bit of a change.
so I also read about how people that smoked for a long time went through this clearing out process as cilla awakened again and started to clear out the crap in the lungs. although im not soo sure this is true and wonder if the vaping also cause the cila to be parilized would be nice to know for sure .
anyway im rambling what im trying to say is I have been vaping for 3 years now. I also have a extreame q

I have had lung function test and they said I was pretty good. but another funny note since vaping for three years now I have also had three diferent chest xrays done and all say I have crohnic brohcitus wth COPD
the funny thing is I had an xray done the year before I started vaping an no note was made as to COPD or cronic bronchitis so after three years trying to belive that vaping is better I cant say as I truly do belive it is.
I mean when I look at the before and after material one would be hard pressed to not think it has to be better for you ,but we are still coating our brohonicial tubes with oil.
and yes I know its not tar is essential oils but well ....all I know is that vaping feels smother while doing it but after a while with the hacking and coughing ..... I really have to say I don't think im really sure it is

 

[lwien]

While what you experienced could have been caused by all of your years of smoking, it does help to point out that even vapor needs to be put on the risk/reward scale as vapor is NOT totally innocuous.

 

[Seren]

Hi @DJ Colonel Corn,

Here's my , for what it's worth:

Smoking involves the intake of carbon monoxide and cyanide. When your oxygen levels are measured using pulse oximetry, the device doesn't actually measure the level of oxygen in your blood, instead it measures the percentage of bound haemoglobin. Normally haemoglobin is bound to oxygen, so this is usually a good proxy. However, haemoglobin actually tends to bind more easily to carbon monoxide. So people with high levels of carbon monoxide in their blood stream, such as smokers, can have really healthy looking sats readings - but this may not be a true reflection of their oxygen levels. The presence of cyanide can also increase oxygen level readings on a pulse probe (although the reasoning behind this is different).

Do you think it's possible that now that you're vaping you're getting true readings, whereas before your smoking was masking the real oxygen levels? If you were a heavy smoker I'm guessing this may possibly be the case.

 

[DJ Colonel Corn]

Hi @DJ Colonel Corn,

Here's my , for what it's worth:

Smoking involves the intake of carbon monoxide and cyanide. When your oxygen levels are measured using pulse oximetry, the device doesn't actually measure the level of oxygen in your blood, instead it measures the percentage of bound haemoglobin. Normally haemoglobin is bound to oxygen, so this is usually a good proxy. However, haemoglobin actually tends to bind more easily to carbon monoxide. So people with high levels of carbon monoxide in their blood stream, such as smokers, can have really healthy looking sats readings - but this may not be a true reflection of their oxygen levels. The presence of cyanide can also increase oxygen level readings on a pulse probe (although the reasoning behind this is different).

Do you think it's possible that now that you're vaping you're getting true readings, whereas before your smoking was masking the real oxygen levels? If you were a heavy smoker I'm guessing this may possibly be the case.

... interesting.
Yes I was a heavy smoker for many many years until getting COPD and switcing to vaping just a few months ago. I suppose , according to you, the readings were elevated due to the carbon monoxide....which is odd bcuz when I got h1n1 my oxy blood level went down to %75 and I was put into ICU Quarantine in the hospital 5 days. So apparently my readings were right at that poiint ? Does vapor also contain carbon monoxide, I thought it didn't.
Medicine and its field are very confusing. So many contributing factors , it just gets more and more like we don't know anything and our instruments are giving us false readings, to me.

Thank you for your input, and I'm gonna run this by my doc....
Peace.

 

[Seren]

Well, I'm just supposing that that could be the case - but I'm no doctor!

The best measure of oxygen saturations is via arterial blood testing (this method is very accurate) - which you would have had in ICU. With regards to your levels dropping with swine flu - well, that's not surprising - as your lungs were probably consolidated as a result of the virus - and any consolidation on your lungs impairs your ability to absorb oxygen into your bloodstream, hence your need for intensive care. I'm pretty certain 75% would not have been your usual reading prior to infection - as you would not have been able to function normally with sats that low. But I wouldn't be surprised if your smoking notched your sats reading up by a couple of %.......... but as I say, I'm no doctor!


EDIT: I'm also now wondering if hash oil can influence oxygen saturation levels - if it has been made using butane and hasn't be purified completely - but that is just me thinking out loud - it's not based on any facts that I've read.

 

[chris 71]

that's interesting point you made Seren, in my case though it doesn't make sence.
as the times when i was messuring 100% I was not smoking any Tabaco and there would have been some hours from the last time I had smoked cannabis maybe even a day . although I smoked almost daily it wasent constant all day and night use. I really seemed to have a drop in both my ability to get a good reading on the peak flow and my oxygen levels after starting vaping

 

[Seren]

The act of smoking herbs also produces carbon monoxide, even if no cigarettes are involved.

I guess until more research is undertaken we won't know for sure the full effects of vaping. For me personally, I've only felt benefits from making the switch - I used to have a terrible smokers cough in the morning and was starting to find it more difficult to catch my breath when trekking up hill. Since switching to vaping I no longer have either of those problems. I guess everyone is different though.

 

[DJ Colonel Corn]

Well, I'm just supposing that that could be the case - but I'm no doctor!

The best measure of oxygen saturations is via arterial blood testing (this method is very accurate) - which you would have had in ICU. With regards to your levels dropping with swine flu - well, that's not surprising - as your lungs were probably consolidated as a result of the virus - and any consolidation on your lungs impairs your ability to absorb oxygen into your bloodstream, hence your need for intensive care. I'm pretty certain 75% would not have been your usual reading prior to infection - as you would not have been able to function normally with sats that low. But I wouldn't be surprised if your smoking notched your sats reading up by a couple of %.......... but as I say, I'm no doctor!


EDIT: I'm also now wondering if hash oil can influence oxygen saturation levels - if it has been made using butane and hasn't be purified completely - but that is just me thinking out loud - it's not based on any facts that I've read.

.... interesting... we don't know if hashish binds to hemoglobin for sure.... um.. in response to your question, yes of course my normal level was not %75. As I said, my normal has always been between 95-98 , but since quitting cigs and combusting flowers & oil , it's now dropped to %89.
Also, the oil I'm vaping is Winterized , and has absolutely no butane residue. Been on the same oil for a month. I personally know the cook, who takes great care with his oils.
So, wonderful for all of you to contribute to the thread, looking forward to more input !

 

[DJ Colonel Corn]

Just an update here folks...
A week after my %89 reading, I came in at %95, and was happy.
However just a few days ago its back down to %90.
Stlll vaping.

 

[VaporsVaporizer]

Just an update here folks...
A week after my %89 reading, I came in at %95, and was happy.
However just a few days ago its back down to %90.
Stlll vaping.

If you're really concerned, you could always buy a portable Pulse Oximeter. I have one for home use since i have Lung issues. They aren't that expensive, about $25-40.

 

[Gnomebe]

You've asked a good question. Vaping better than smoking but too much might be bad.

 

[Wizsteve]

you all ever thought about using air purifiers(hepa ,charcoal, electric cell) and air sanitizers? (UV,Ozone,tio2 )

your o2 levels would also be affected by the air quality in your home even pollen may play a part did you all check the pollen index ? i bet you find it was higher than it is now(spring time everything blooms)

 

[grokit]

I've been starting my day with a few drops of food-grade peroxide in a glass of distilled water (pre-coffee) as a substitute for prescription anti-fungals, I would think that this is very oxygenating for the blood.

 

[syrupy]

Korean ginseng has been known to increase oxygen absorption. Also if it were me, I might stick to edibles and tinctures and give the lungs a chance to heal more.

 

[FishFish]

Maybe doctor helps?

 

[Gnomebe]

Ya, your suffocating.

Low oxygen blood levels is indicative of a problem. Vaporizers could/can be responsable for "consolidating" lung tissue/alvioli.

Being able to breath is good

 

[DJ Colonel Corn]

I SO appreciate everyone's input !
Thanks so much, everybody.
Just so y'all know, I have been diagnosed with the beginning stages of C.O.P.D. (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder) .
This is no doubt from my 30 years of smoking herbs and tobacco.
Not much of a mystery there.
However, I still expected to see my oxygen level rise with the cessation of smoking. So far that is not the case, but I've stayed at a sold %95 now for the last few visits. So, any number of factors could've contributed to my levels going down for a while.
I'll keep you all posted as to how it's going, and , encourage others to get tested and monitor their bodies for improvement/degradation concerning vapor. I understand the test I take may not be completely accurate for a number of reasons, most of which, is how the thing actually works.
They have better testing equipment that can be used to determine exactly what's going on.
Cheers !

Vaping happily,

DJC

 

[biohacker]

I sometimes wonder why my spo2 is under 100%....i'm also an athlete so I figured even with my vaping habit I should be at 100%. Not sure on the accuracy, but I seem to range from 95-98% which I assume is pretty normal based on my research. I have noticed ill effects from concentrates (coughing, sleep issues, night sweats) but since stopping and going strictly flowers that as seemed to go away. I blame it on concentrates that weren't purged properly.

 

[Gnomebe]

Look... I really don't need the credit but the beginings of COPD is a problem...maybe it's a really big deal but people who inhale vapor are encouraging disease and malaise.
Suffocating is real slow. Staying active is the best advice I can give. I too have been diagnosed with (slow) suffocation problems to trip out on!!! "Communication matters" (quote) Richard Simolari.

 

[biohacker]

Look... I really don't need the credit but the beginings of COPD is a problem...maybe it's a really big deal but people who inhale vapor are encouraging disease and malaise.
Suffocating is real slow. Staying active is the best advice I can give. I too have been diagnosed with (slow) suffocation problems to trip out on!!! Communication matters (quote) Richard Simolari

Hmmmmm, I would be dead right now without inhaling vapour, so I feel that not vaping for me personally encourages disease and malaise. To each their own.

 

[Gnomebe]

Hmmmmm, I would be dead right now without inhaling vapour, so I feel that not vaping for me personally encourages disease and malaise. To each their own.

Not true. You would not be dead. Period.

 

[DJ Colonel Corn]

Look... I really don't need the credit but the beginings of COPD is a problem...maybe it's a really big deal but people who inhale vapor are encouraging disease and malaise.

@Gnomebe :Um.
I have to strongly disagree with your statement, saying people who inhale vapor are encouraging disease and malaise ? Why are you participating in a vapor forum if this is how you feel? Are you on an agenda to "save" all of us ?
In my opinion and the opinion of most here on this forum, vaporizing our herbs and concentrates is a MUCH safer, smarter, and healthier way to ingest such things. Sure, in a perfect world, no one would smoke/vaporize, or need to. However I live in the real world where there is real pain, and I choose to use the most efficient and healthy way possible to administer these medicines.
I could suggest a host of links, proving to you that vaporizing is the safest way to ingest my herbal medicines. If pressed, I will. However I find your statement in direct contrast to the mood and opinion of this forum, and would suggest some sort of vapor-hate website/forum somewhere.

 

[biohacker]

I'm starting to wonder if he just meant to say, vaping weed isn't healthy or inhaling anything but air isn't healthy, but that's all subjective.

 

[Gnomebe]

http://m.ntr.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/05/14/ntr.ntu078.full

Learn the truth.