actually I can't, spontaneous arousal are arousal's of an "unknown" origin, meaning while they can be seen on your EEG possibly found to interrupt the quality of the sleep you get, their exact cause is unknown reason they are referred to as spontaneous. But just like when you have an apnea event that arouses you from sleep, these other type of arousal's can also interrupt your sleep quality, leaving you tired the next day which is the bottom line. They can cause you to leave or prevent you from ever reaching REM sleep. So that means you may spend more time at Stage2 which should be around 50%.socknitster wrote:
Can you describe what a spontaneous arounsal or plm is? I am still trying to get my report. All I know is that I had an AHI of 30, most of which were hypopneas and just a couple of apneas. Thank you for your thoughtful comments, snoredog. I appreciate you watching out for my wallet. I know it is easy to give in to desperation and want to try everything no matter the cost.
This is why so many people with untreated OSA don't have very much (if any) Stage 3/4 (deep sleep) or very little REM.
If you have a PSG these non-OSA arousal's should be noted on that report. The point here is however, if you eliminate all the "obstructive" events with a CPAP machine, dental device or TRD, you can still be left fatigued during the day just as andyo has found out.
While andy's dentist might have looked at his PSG and came to the conclusion he was a good candidate anatomically, he may have had no idea how those arousal's may impact one's sleep. I don't think they teach you that in Dental School. I'll talk to my daughter tonight, I'll ask her, but my guess is no.
PLM's are Periodic Limb Movement Disorder (PLMD). They are like they hypnic jerks you get while transitioning from wake-to-sleep but they happen after you have gotten to sleep. The associated "jerk" or twitch of the leg startles or arouses you from sleep. You can do that a hundred times per night. You can see the PLM's by the physical movement of the limb/leg as you sleep.
SO it does no good to go on CPAP for PLM's or spontaneous arousals. Spontaneous arousals are thought to be caused by almost anything even some by snoring. When you think about all the noise and vibrations that come from vibratory snores and how close your base of the brain is above the palate you can almost guess as to what they can be from. It is even thought medications and muscle-skeletal pains can cause them.
If you had AHI=40 during your diagnostic study and you had 20 spontaneous per hour, you might as well have a AHI=60. The difference however is they interrupt sleep quality but the don't have the associated drop in oxygen like the obstructive events do.
