Most people with COPD experience hypoxia at some point(s) in time. Essentially hypoxia occurs when your O2 saturation levels fall too low (under 88 in the US is usually the cut-off point for supplemental O2). For some people that only occurs when they exert themselves to their maximum; for some folks it happens even when they are sitting. The danger of hypoxia over time can be right heart and brain damage as well as damage to other organs, so it's important to know when your saturation levels drop and under what circumstances. That's why we encourage people to get an oximeter so they have some way of measuring their O2 saturation and know when they need supplemental O2 or need to turn their O2 up. As long as your saturation levels are within good parameters (above 88 at the lowest), turning up your O2 may not make a difference in your being really sob; if your O2 sat levels are below 88, definitely turn the O2 up. You may wish to talk with your doc to see if you can come to agreement as to where your O2 levels should be under most circumstances. Mine is that I keep my O2 levels between 92 and 97 and he doesn't care how. I find that I function best when my levels are in the 95 range, so that's where I typically try to keep it.

Yes it is , lately i have been only getting a few treadmills a week as i recover from an injury , but tomorrow i should be able to get back to my usual 5-6 times a week of getting after it .

@A MyCOPDTeam Member i walk or treadmill about 2 miles a day 4-6 days a week , sometimes i only get 1 mile but try to at least do something daily , i also keep a set of dumbells near my recliner and pump some weights while watching the propaganda on TV . I have been using 500 mg pure spectrum cbd oil for about 18 months , i don't know if it helps my lungs directly , but i do know that it helps my joints so for sure it makes more exercise possible . A Chinese friend sent me fresh Reichi mushrooms to make a tincture that i have not tried yet but plan on trying this spring or summer .

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A MyCOPDT...

@A MyCOPDTeam Member we had several mean nasty people in my family but the undisputed winner was named Harold , so we have had a saying when referencing oneself as having a bad spell as " i showed them Harold " or " Harold lives " unfortunately a few years ago after being on mass quantities of prednisone i encountered someone who was illegally parked in a handi-capped zone and introduced her to Harold lol . She of course gave me the excuse that she was only parking there for a few minutes , and my response was that i could not find where it said that it was ok to park there for a few minutes without a placard demanding for her to please educate me , afterward i sort of felt badly as it was the prednisone talking .

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A MyCOPDT...

Sometimes an antibiotic is paired with a good few days of Prednisone to assist the steroid in the inflamation going on...
It isn't ALWAYS used for infection. I keep a current Z-pac and Prednisone on hand "just in case" so I am prepared should an exacerbation occur on a holiday, weekend or while my Dr. is on vacation. Now this is a 5 day (Pred/3day antibiotic) recipe and if I am in MORE SERIOUS trouble, phoning for emergency ambulance instead, would of course be the solution.
I have only utilized this "just in case" scenario 3x since 2007 and after my 2nd time, I saw Dr in Oct and then again for follow up Nov. 2016 and I got an xray only to discover possible lung cancer...which was confirmed 2 days later.
We caught it quite early and I am cancer free since February 2017! So, listen to your body! Talk to your Dr.! If he or she doesn't listen or is dismissive, get a NEW Dr!