Sleep study results, help!
Question:
I’m new here, have recently had a sleep study, and I’d welcome any advice about my sleep study results. I’ve done google searches on this NG and internet searches, but nothing seems to address my particular issue. Compared to stories I’ve heard about hundreds of apneic episodes a night, my results are very mild. Still, my symptoms bother me: sleep 10+ hours a night and still having a hard time dragging myself out of bed, falling asleep instantly once in bed, daytime sleepiness, snoring, occasionally waking up with a headache, and a general feeling of "I shouldn’t be this tired all the time." Here’s some results to the best of my understanding: Total sleep time 320.5 mins wake time 134.5 mins # of apneic episodes 25 # of apneic episodes/hr 4.7 Obstructive apneas 20 mixed apneas 2.2 hypopneas 22 wake apneas 1 central apneas 0 sleep efficiency 70% increased stages 1 and 2 sleep, and decreased REM sleep (8 mins), prolonged REM sleep latency, reduced sleep efficiency, and intermittant mild snoring. May consider repeating study utilizing esophageal manometry. So maybe I have a REM sleep problem and not an apnea problem? My doctor’s nurse called with the results, told me I had a few hypopneas, but no real apnea, therefore, nothing needs to be done about it. I replied something really intelligent like "oh, so I’m tired all the time for no reason" and an answer was something like "yeah." I feel like they wanted me to say "oh great! no apnea! I feel so good and rested now!" Not that I want to have sleep apnea of course, and I realize many people have so much worse results and symptoms than me, but I’d like to not feel so tired all the time. Of course I’ve got a call in to my doctor for some follow up. I know that *some* sleep apnea is considered normal, so are my test results just considered normal? If so, I guess I’ll have to just suck it up and deal with the way I am. I’d appreciate any help or advice anyone could offer. Thank you! Kathy
Response:
Did your blood oxygen level drop at all? – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -KEH724 wrote: > I’m new here, have recently had a sleep study, and I’d welcome any advice about > my sleep study results. I’ve done google searches on this NG and internet > searches, but nothing seems to address my particular issue. > Compared to stories I’ve heard about hundreds of apneic episodes a night, my > results are very mild. Still, my symptoms bother me: sleep 10+ hours a night > and still having a hard time dragging myself out of bed, falling asleep > instantly once in bed, daytime sleepiness, snoring, occasionally waking up with > a headache, and a general feeling of "I shouldn’t be this tired all the time." > Here’s some results to the best of my understanding: > Total sleep time 320.5 mins > wake time 134.5 mins > # of apneic episodes 25 > # of apneic episodes/hr 4.7 > Obstructive apneas 20 > mixed apneas 2.2 > hypopneas 22 > wake apneas 1 > central apneas 0 > sleep efficiency 70% > increased stages 1 and 2 sleep, and decreased REM sleep (8 mins), prolonged REM > sleep latency, reduced sleep efficiency, and intermittant mild snoring. May > consider repeating study utilizing esophageal manometry. > So maybe I have a REM sleep problem and not an apnea problem? My doctor’s nurse > called with the results, told me I had a few hypopneas, but no real apnea, > therefore, nothing needs to be done about it. I replied something really > intelligent like "oh, so I’m tired all the time for no reason" and an answer > was something like "yeah." I feel like they wanted me to say "oh great! no > apnea! I feel so good and rested now!" Not that I want to have sleep apnea of > course, and I realize many people have so much worse results and symptoms than > me, but I’d like to not feel so tired all the time. Of course I’ve got a call > in to my doctor for some follow up. I know that *some* sleep apnea is > considered normal, so are my test results just considered normal? If so, I > guess I’ll have to just suck it up and deal with the way I am. > I’d appreciate any help or advice anyone could offer. Thank you! > Kathy
Response:
NormC wrote: >Did your blood oxygen level drop at all?
The report states Min %SaO2 of 96, and Baseline %SaO2 of 92. I think those numbers are reversed, but that’s what the report says. A baseline O2 sat of 96% and a minimum O2 sat of 92% makes more sense to me. If the report states the numbers correctly then I don’t know what they’re referring to. Kathy
Response:
Why ask us laymen to play doctor here? Wy talk to the nurse and not to the doctor? Why did you go in the first place? Surprised, Maria – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -KEH724 wrote: > I’m new here, have recently had a sleep study, and I’d welcome any advice about > my sleep study results. I’ve done google searches on this NG and internet > searches, but nothing seems to address my particular issue. > Compared to stories I’ve heard about hundreds of apneic episodes a night, my > results are very mild. Still, my symptoms bother me: sleep 10+ hours a night > and still having a hard time dragging myself out of bed, falling asleep > instantly once in bed, daytime sleepiness, snoring, occasionally waking up with > a headache, and a general feeling of "I shouldn’t be this tired all the time." > Here’s some results to the best of my understanding: > Total sleep time 320.5 mins > wake time 134.5 mins > # of apneic episodes 25 > # of apneic episodes/hr 4.7 > Obstructive apneas 20 > mixed apneas 2.2 > hypopneas 22 > wake apneas 1 > central apneas 0 > sleep efficiency 70% > increased stages 1 and 2 sleep, and decreased REM sleep (8 mins), prolonged REM > sleep latency, reduced sleep efficiency, and intermittant mild snoring. May > consider repeating study utilizing esophageal manometry. > So maybe I have a REM sleep problem and not an apnea problem? My doctor’s nurse > called with the results, told me I had a few hypopneas, but no real apnea, > therefore, nothing needs to be done about it. I replied something really > intelligent like "oh, so I’m tired all the time for no reason" and an answer > was something like "yeah." I feel like they wanted me to say "oh great! no > apnea! I feel so good and rested now!" Not that I want to have sleep apnea of > course, and I realize many people have so much worse results and symptoms than > me, but I’d like to not feel so tired all the time. Of course I’ve got a call > in to my doctor for some follow up. I know that *some* sleep apnea is > considered normal, so are my test results just considered normal? If so, I > guess I’ll have to just suck it up and deal with the way I am. > I’d appreciate any help or advice anyone could offer. Thank you! > Kathy
Response:
keh…@aol.com (KEH724) wrote: >Compared to stories I’ve heard about hundreds of apneic episodes a night, my >results are very mild.
Your _reported_ results are mild, there may be something else going on here. >Still, my symptoms bother me: sleep 10+ hours a night >and still having a hard time dragging myself out of bed, falling asleep >instantly once in bed, daytime sleepiness, snoring, occasionally waking up with >a headache, and a general feeling of "I shouldn’t be this tired all the time." >Total sleep time 320.5 mins ># of apneic episodes 25 ># of apneic episodes/hr 4.7
This works out, 25 / 5.3 hours = 4.7 >hypopneas 22
But they usually combine the apneas and hypopneas to get the Apnea-Hypopnea index, that would give you an AHI of 8.9, high enough that Medicare (and thus most insurance companies) would give you a CPAP, provided that you also had "documented symptoms of excessive daytime sleepiness, impaired cognition, mood disorders or insomnia, or documented hypertension, ischemic heart disease or history of stroke". >May consider repeating study utilizing esophageal manometry.
This makes me think they suspect UARS, did they give you a Total Arousal Index or the number of Random Arousals? >My doctor’s nurse called with the results, told me I had a few hypopneas, >but no real apnea, therefore, nothing needs to be done about it.
I don’t think they can conclude that, and it isn’t the nurse’s job in any case. UARS can’t be reliably detected by the thermistors commonly used for sleep studies (it _can_ be detected by esophageal pressure transducers), but it can cause arousals that fragment your sleep just as thoroughly as "classic" OSA. I’d talk this over with your sleep doctor. You seem to be due for re-test at the very least, and the Medicare guidelines might let you go straight to titration. Please keep us posted. Tom
Response:
keh…@aol.com (KEH724) wrote: >I’m finally making some headway here. It was my primary doc who had the nurse >call me to tell me "there was no apnea", and I finally got her to refer me to a >sleep specialist.
Very good, but I have to wonder how many other folks were also brushed off. It sure doesn’t look like your GP, or his nurse, knows much about OSA. 
BTW, have you requested the results of your test? The sleep lab will give it to you if you ask, it may include things like a arousal info. >I have an appointment for a repeat sleep study the end of >July (this time I’m bringing my own pillow!) with esophageal manometry, and my >appointment with the sleep specialist is 2 weeks after that.
So you haven’t actually seen the sleep specialist yet? Do you know if he/she has reviewed your test results? The combination of your AHI and daytime sleepiness might let you go straight to titration. I don’t know what my "real" numbers are, and I really don’t care, the only important number is my pressure level. >I finally feel like I’m getting somewhere.
That’s great, but maybe you could get there a little quicker. >Thanks for all your help and support everyone!
Just part of the service. 
Tom
Response:
"Charles L. Perrin" <c.l.per…@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message news:nh9lhucv5mfib25g706dje68u4sj34vaq1@4ax.com… > On Wed, 26 Jun 2002 18:58:30 GMT, NormC <no…@socal.rr.com> wrote: > >Not only did I bring my own pillow, I told them the room I was in was > >too warm to sleep, with or without apnea. > My sleep lab was wonderfully COLD. > I asked and they commented "we don’t want the patients sweating at all > as it generates artifacts in the data." > — > NEWS FLASH: > Pacifists declare jihad on war toys!
At the sleep lab where I went five weeks ago they went out of their way to make me as comfortable as possible. It helped that they were remodeling so they only were running four tests that night. The only bad part was having to get there at 7 p.m. to be wired up. I work at the newspaper til 1 a.m., so I don’t get to sleep at normal hours. So I sat around til about midnight before I even tried to go to bed. But I got to sleep quite easily. It was really a pleasant experience. They wakened me after every sleep cycle to change pressures and try diffferent masks. Hence, I was able to make an educated choice on my mask when I went to the DME the next afternoon. I had a callback visit with the sleep doctor yesterday; we went over my tape and printout and she was very helpful in explaining things to me. I’m going on too long here, but to suffice it say, after these five weeks on the Bi-PAP noone is going to be able to take it away from me. If someone had ever told me what a difference this machine would make, I wouldn’t have believed them. Hal
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -HSanders wrote: > "Charles L. Perrin" <c.l.per…@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message > news:nh9lhucv5mfib25g706dje68u4sj34vaq1@4ax.com… > > On Wed, 26 Jun 2002 18:58:30 GMT, NormC <no…@socal.rr.com> wrote: > > >Not only did I bring my own pillow, I told them the room I was in was > > >too warm to sleep, with or without apnea. > > My sleep lab was wonderfully COLD. > > I asked and they commented "we don’t want the patients sweating at all > > as it generates artifacts in the data." > > — > > NEWS FLASH: > > Pacifists declare jihad on war toys! > At the sleep lab where I went five weeks ago they went out of their way to > make me as comfortable as possible. It helped that they were remodeling so > they only were running four tests that night. The only bad part was having > to get there at 7 p.m. to be wired up. I work at the newspaper til 1 a.m., > so I don’t get to sleep at normal hours. So I sat around til about midnight > before I even tried to go to bed. But I got to sleep quite easily. It was > really a pleasant experience. They wakened me after every sleep cycle to > change pressures and try diffferent masks. Hence, I was able to make an > educated choice on my mask when I went to the DME the next afternoon. > I had a callback visit with the sleep doctor yesterday; we went over my tape > and printout and she was very helpful in explaining things to me. I’m going > on too long here,
Never. Not on this NG. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> but to suffice it say, after these five weeks on the > Bi-PAP noone is going to be able to take it away from me. If someone had > ever told me what a difference this machine would make, I wouldn’t have > believed them. > Hal
Response:
On Wed, 26 Jun 2002 18:58:30 GMT, NormC <no…@socal.rr.com> wrote: >Not only did I bring my own pillow, I told them the room I was in was >too warm to sleep, with or without apnea.
My sleep lab was wonderfully COLD. I asked and they commented "we don’t want the patients sweating at all as it generates artifacts in the data." — NEWS FLASH: Pacifists declare jihad on war toys!
Response:
Tom wrote: >We’ll be waiting, when do you see your sleep doctor again?
I’m finally making some headway here. It was my primary doc who had the nurse call me to tell me "there was no apnea", and I finally got her to refer me to a sleep specialist. I have an appointment for a repeat sleep study the end of July (this time I’m bringing my own pillow!) with esophageal manometry, and my appointment with the sleep specialist is 2 weeks after that. I finally feel like I’m getting somewhere. Thanks for all your help and support everyone! Kathy
Response:
> I’m finally making some headway here. It was my primary doc who had the nurse > call me to tell me "there was no apnea", and I finally got her to refer me to a > sleep specialist. I have an appointment for a repeat sleep study the end of > July (this time I’m bringing my own pillow!) with esophageal manometry, and my > appointment with the sleep specialist is 2 weeks after that. I finally feel > like I’m getting somewhere. Thanks for all your help and support everyone!
keep us updated — Beth in Australia =================== FAQ for alt.support.sleep-disorder can be found here http://www.anchorweb.com.au/sleepdisorders this site is a work in progress – feel free to submit info/articles
Response:
KEH724 wrote: > Tom wrote: > >We’ll be waiting, when do you see your sleep doctor again? > I’m finally making some headway here. It was my primary doc who had the nurse > call me to tell me "there was no apnea", and I finally got her to refer me to a > sleep specialist. I have an appointment for a repeat sleep study the end of > July (this time I’m bringing my own pillow!)
Good for you! Not only did I bring my own pillow, I told them the room I was in was too warm to sleep, with or without apnea. And the windows (in a high rise) were not openable. So they put me another room. (There was one thermostat in the clinic, but several rooms. The closer the room to the thermostat, the cooler the room, because the thermostat was set to a reasonable night temp.) When I returned for my second night a week later, there was nighttime remodeling work going on in a nearby hallway. I told the tech it was difficult enough to sleep with all the wires, but it was too noisy to sleep at all. And I rescheduled. When I returned, the tech had remembered and saved coolest room for me, even though I was the last one to arrive. Even with all that, my first titration was marginal because I couldn’t sleep. So, darn it, do whatever you have too. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> with esophageal manometry, and my > appointment with the sleep specialist is 2 weeks after that. I finally feel > like I’m getting somewhere. Thanks for all your help and support everyone! > Kathy
Response:
NormC wrote: > KEH724 wrote: > > I’m finally making some headway here. It was my primary doc who had the nurse > > call me to tell me "there was no apnea", and I finally got her to refer me to a > > sleep specialist. I have an appointment for a repeat sleep study the end of > > July (this time I’m bringing my own pillow!) > Even with all that, my first titration was marginal because I couldn’t > sleep. So, darn it, do whatever you have too.
At a suggestion I read several times here, I got my doctor to prescribe Ambien for my retitration. _And_ I took my own pillow. And I slept pretty well, after popping the Ambien. Mildly amusing sidelight: My doctor gave me a prescription for two 5 mg[?] tablets. Today I was throwing the bottle away and actually read the extra little labels my pharmacy stuck on — you know, the stuff like ‘do not drink alcoholic beverages while taking this medication’. Well, the Ambien had a little label on it warning me that it ‘May Cause Drowsiness’! Imagine my surprise! ;-) I’d have been pretty annoyed if it _hadn’t_, I can tell you.
Response:
KEH724 wrote: > Mike wrote: > >Have you had your thyroid checked? Check out > >http://www.endocrineweb.com/hypo1.html and look > >at the symptoms (about half way down the page). Some are very similar to > >sleep apnea. Mike > I only have 3 of the symptoms on the list, and I have had my thyroid checked a > few times and it’s always been normal. Good thought though, thanks.
The big trick is: what are they checking? If they’re checking actual thyroid levels, that’s not good enough. They need to check your TSH, or Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. This will tell them how hard your thyroid is having to work — that is, if your TSH is high, it means your thyroid is working very hard to get out enough thyroid. You should be at the low end on TSH ….
Response:
Mike wrote: >Have you had your thyroid checked? Check out >http://www.endocrineweb.com/hypo1.html and look >at the symptoms (about half way down the page). Some are very similar to >sleep apnea. Mike
I only have 3 of the symptoms on the list, and I have had my thyroid checked a few times and it’s always been normal. Good thought though, thanks. Kathy
Response:
KEH724 wrote: > Mike wrote: > >Have you had your thyroid checked? Check out > >http://www.endocrineweb.com/hypo1.html and look > >at the symptoms (about half way down the page). Some are very similar to > >sleep apnea. Mike > I only have 3 of the symptoms on the list, and I have had my thyroid checked a > few times and it’s always been normal. Good thought though, thanks. > Kathy
Kathy – FWIW, the standard TSH test didn’t find my thyroid problem. The more extensive (and expensive) T2 test did. So I suggest you don’t rely on the TSH test.
Response:
keh…@aol.com (KEH724) wrote: >>But they usually combine the apneas and hypopneas to get the >>Apnea-Hypopnea index, that would give you an AHI of 8.9, high enough >I didn’t realize they combined the two to come up with an index. I’ll >be sure to bring that up.
It’s also known as the Respiratory Disturbance Index. The standard for treatment has shifted over the years, here’s an interesting, if lengthy, report on the history and the current criteria. http://www.talkaboutsleep.com/news/sa_Medicare_OSA.htm >The study does not mention arousals at all, another item I intend to bring to >my doc’s attention.
Please do! FWIW, my AHI was only 10.4, barely enough to qualify for treatment at the time, but my total arousal index was 46.9. So I was getting yanked out of deep sleep almost once every minute, small wonder that I went around acting like a zombie. >I was able to find some info on UARS by doing some research, and your info is >helpful, so I’ll push for the retest with the esophageal manometry.
It’s also known Respiratory Effort Related Arousals, and PTAF sensors can also spot it. I’m convinced that UARS/RERA were at the root of my problem, but we never did a re-test to confirm it, I just went on to titration and got my life back. >I felt very brushed off when the nurse called with the results. All they >saw was "doesn’t meet the criteria for sleep apnea," call the patient, >check me off the list of phone calls for the day, NEXT!
Do you know if your sleep doctor actually made the decision? You simply can’t go by the sleep tech or office assistants. >I’m working on this, and it’s nice to have a place to vent where >people understand.
Agreed. >>Please keep us posted. >Will do, thanks!
We’ll be waiting, when do you see your sleep doctor again? Tom
Response:
Thanks Beth, for being supportive. After all this is alt.SUPPORT.sleep-disorder, not alt.flame.sleep-disorder. 
I’ll be sure to check out the FAQ. I did a google groups search on this ng and sleep study results, and there were lots of postings where people were asking for advice on sleep study results, so I thought this was an appropriate forum to get some practical advice. I’ve been really impressed with the helpful responses I’ve gotten, Thanks to all of you. Kathy – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Beth wrote: >Message-id: <af9d4p$cbk3…@ID-148111.news.dfncis.de> >> Why ask us laymen to play doctor here? >> Wy talk to the nurse and not to the doctor? >> Why did you go in the first place? >> Surprised, >well….maybe YOU have been really lucky and had an easy problem that was >easily diagnosed and easily treated with a competent doctor >Most of us dont’ have that luxury and have to take charge of our own medical >care – doing our own research….and what better place to start than with >other people who have the same symptoms? >– >Beth in Australia >=================== >FAQ for alt.support.sleep-disorder can be found here >http://www.anchorweb.com.au/sleepdisorders >this site is a work in progress – feel free to submit info/articles
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Tom wrote:
Response:
Tom wrote: >But they usually combine the apneas and hypopneas to get the >Apnea-Hypopnea index, that would give you an AHI of 8.9, high enough >that Medicare (and thus most insurance companies) would give you a >CPAP, provided that you also had "documented symptoms of excessive >daytime sleepiness, impaired cognition, mood disorders or insomnia, or >documented hypertension, ischemic heart disease or history of stroke".
I didn’t realize they combined the two to come up with an index. I’ll be sure to bring that up. >>May consider repeating study utilizing esophageal manometry. >This makes me think they suspect UARS, did they give you a Total >Arousal Index or the number of Random Arousals?
The study does not mention arousals at all, another item I intend to bring to my doc’s attention. >>My doctor’s nurse called with the results, told me I had a few hypopneas, >>but no real apnea, therefore, nothing needs to be done about it. >I don’t think they can conclude that, and it isn’t the nurse’s job in >any case. UARS can’t be reliably detected by the thermistors commonly >used for sleep studies (it _can_ be detected by esophageal pressure >transducers), but it can cause arousals that fragment your sleep just >as thoroughly as "classic" OSA.
I was able to find some info on UARS by doing some research, and your info is helpful, so I’ll push for the retest with the esophageal manometry. I felt very brushed off when the nurse called with the results. All they saw was "doesn’t meet the criteria for sleep apnea," call the patient, check me off the list of phone calls for the day, NEXT! I’m working on this, and it’s nice to have a place to vent where people understand. >I’d talk this over with your sleep doctor. You seem to be due for >re-test at the very least, and the Medicare guidelines might let you >go straight to titration. >Please keep us posted. >Tom
Will do, thanks! Kathy
Response:
Hi Kathy, I have gone thru 2 studies, and both showed no Apnea (yet I only slept a total of just under 2 hours for each study. Seems to me my results could possibly be inconclusive. Maybe you have a Thyroid issue. There are alot of people out there that think they have normal thyroid (because the blood test said they were normal), yet the blood tests don’t always show it. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -KEH724 wrote: > I’m new here, have recently had a sleep study, and I’d welcome any advice about > my sleep study results. I’ve done google searches on this NG and internet > searches, but nothing seems to address my particular issue. > Compared to stories I’ve heard about hundreds of apneic episodes a night, my > results are very mild. Still, my symptoms bother me: sleep 10+ hours a night > and still having a hard time dragging myself out of bed, falling asleep > instantly once in bed, daytime sleepiness, snoring, occasionally waking up with > a headache, and a general feeling of "I shouldn’t be this tired all the time." > Here’s some results to the best of my understanding: > Total sleep time 320.5 mins > wake time 134.5 mins > # of apneic episodes 25 > # of apneic episodes/hr 4.7 > Obstructive apneas 20 > mixed apneas 2.2 > hypopneas 22 > wake apneas 1 > central apneas 0 > sleep efficiency 70% > increased stages 1 and 2 sleep, and decreased REM sleep (8 mins), prolonged REM > sleep latency, reduced sleep efficiency, and intermittant mild snoring. May > consider repeating study utilizing esophageal manometry. > So maybe I have a REM sleep problem and not an apnea problem? My doctor’s nurse > called with the results, told me I had a few hypopneas, but no real apnea, > therefore, nothing needs to be done about it. I replied something really > intelligent like "oh, so I’m tired all the time for no reason" and an answer > was something like "yeah." I feel like they wanted me to say "oh great! no > apnea! I feel so good and rested now!" Not that I want to have sleep apnea of > course, and I realize many people have so much worse results and symptoms than > me, but I’d like to not feel so tired all the time. Of course I’ve got a call > in to my doctor for some follow up. I know that *some* sleep apnea is > considered normal, so are my test results just considered normal? If so, I > guess I’ll have to just suck it up and deal with the way I am. > I’d appreciate any help or advice anyone could offer. Thank you! > Kathy
Response:
there are a large number of illnesses that can cause fatigue… it may be that you don’t have apnea…. (althought that’s not guaranteed….sleep studies aren’t infalible) unfortunately, a lot of differnet problems have essentially the same symptoms.. so it can be hard to figure out what’s going on sometimes. keep persuing the sleep disorder diagnosis for now though, it’s best to completely rule out anything there first. I’d take the recommendation to repeat the study with the "esophageal manometry" it may show up what the problem is… Try and stay positive…..it really does help….i know just how you feel, having to sleep more than ten hours a day and still feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck…… I wish you luck..and please, keep us updated on your progress. Beth in Australia =================== FAQ for alt.support.sleep-disorder can be found here http://www.anchorweb.com.au/sleepdisorders this site is a work in progress – feel free to submit info/articles "KEH724" <keh…@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020624132608.26081.00000933@mb-mq.aol.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I’m new here, have recently had a sleep study, and I’d welcome any advice about > my sleep study results. I’ve done google searches on this NG and internet > searches, but nothing seems to address my particular issue. > Compared to stories I’ve heard about hundreds of apneic episodes a night, my > results are very mild. Still, my symptoms bother me: sleep 10+ hours a night > and still having a hard time dragging myself out of bed, falling asleep > instantly once in bed, daytime sleepiness, snoring, occasionally waking up with > a headache, and a general feeling of "I shouldn’t be this tired all the time." > Here’s some results to the best of my understanding: > Total sleep time 320.5 mins > wake time 134.5 mins > # of apneic episodes 25 > # of apneic episodes/hr 4.7 > Obstructive apneas 20 > mixed apneas 2.2 > hypopneas 22 > wake apneas 1 > central apneas 0 > sleep efficiency 70% > increased stages 1 and 2 sleep, and decreased REM sleep (8 mins), prolonged REM > sleep latency, reduced sleep efficiency, and intermittant mild snoring. May > consider repeating study utilizing esophageal manometry. > So maybe I have a REM sleep problem and not an apnea problem? My doctor’s nurse > called with the results, told me I had a few hypopneas, but no real apnea, > therefore, nothing needs to be done about it. I replied something really > intelligent like "oh, so I’m tired all the time for no reason" and an answer > was something like "yeah." I feel like they wanted me to say "oh great! no > apnea! I feel so good and rested now!" Not that I want to have sleep apnea of > course, and I realize many people have so much worse results and symptoms than > me, but I’d like to not feel so tired all the time. Of course I’ve got a call > in to my doctor for some follow up. I know that *some* sleep apnea is > considered normal, so are my test results just considered normal? If so, I > guess I’ll have to just suck it up and deal with the way I am. > I’d appreciate any help or advice anyone could offer. Thank you! > Kathy
Response:
KEH724 wrote: > NormC wrote: > >Did your blood oxygen level drop at all? > The report states Min %SaO2 of 96, and Baseline %SaO2 of 92. > I think those numbers are reversed, but that’s what the report says. A baseline > O2 sat of 96% and a minimum O2 sat of 92% makes more sense to me. If the report > states the numbers correctly then I don’t know what they’re referring to. > Kathy
Either way, 92 is considered within the normal range. But it would be nice if the doctor responsible for the report, got it straight.
Response:
> Why ask us laymen to play doctor here? > Wy talk to the nurse and not to the doctor? > Why did you go in the first place? > Surprised,
well….maybe YOU have been really lucky and had an easy problem that was easily diagnosed and easily treated with a competent doctor Most of us dont’ have that luxury and have to take charge of our own medical care – doing our own research….and what better place to start than with other people who have the same symptoms? — Beth in Australia =================== FAQ for alt.support.sleep-disorder can be found here http://www.anchorweb.com.au/sleepdisorders this site is a work in progress – feel free to submit info/articles
Response:
Have you had your thyroid checked? Check out http://www.endocrineweb.com/hypo1.html and look at the symptoms (about half way down the page). Some are very similar to sleep apnea. Mike "KEH724" <keh…@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20020624132608.26081.00000933@mb-mq.aol.com… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I’m new here, have recently had a sleep study, and I’d welcome any advice about > my sleep study results. I’ve done google searches on this NG and internet > searches, but nothing seems to address my particular issue. > Compared to stories I’ve heard about hundreds of apneic episodes a night, my > results are very mild. Still, my symptoms bother me: sleep 10+ hours a night > and still having a hard time dragging myself out of bed, falling asleep > instantly once in bed, daytime sleepiness, snoring, occasionally waking up with > a headache, and a general feeling of "I shouldn’t be this tired all the time." > Here’s some results to the best of my understanding: > Total sleep time 320.5 mins > wake time 134.5 mins > # of apneic episodes 25 > # of apneic episodes/hr 4.7 > Obstructive apneas 20 > mixed apneas 2.2 > hypopneas 22 > wake apneas 1 > central apneas 0 > sleep efficiency 70% > increased stages 1 and 2 sleep, and decreased REM sleep (8 mins), prolonged REM > sleep latency, reduced sleep efficiency, and intermittant mild snoring. May > consider repeating study utilizing esophageal manometry. > So maybe I have a REM sleep problem and not an apnea problem? My doctor’s nurse > called with the results, told me I had a few hypopneas, but no real apnea, > therefore, nothing needs to be done about it. I replied something really > intelligent like "oh, so I’m tired all the time for no reason" and an answer > was something like "yeah." I feel like they wanted me to say "oh great! no > apnea! I feel so good and rested now!" Not that I want to have sleep apnea of > course, and I realize many people have so much worse results and symptoms than > me, but I’d like to not feel so tired all the time. Of course I’ve got a call > in to my doctor for some follow up. I know that *some* sleep apnea is > considered normal, so are my test results just considered normal? If so, I > guess I’ll have to just suck it up and deal with the way I am. > I’d appreciate any help or advice anyone could offer. Thank you! > Kathy
