Help with sleep results

[Yelhsaox]

have been feeling very off for about a year. I am fatigued, very bad brain fog, trouble concentrating. I did blood tests ruling out lyme, thyroid, vitamin deficiency, etc. I thought sleep would be my issue--specifically UARS. I did one sleep study but woke up and couldn't fall back asleep and then completed a 2nd a few weeks later.

1st study:

93 minutes of sleep.

N1: 28.5%

N2: 45.7%

N3: 25.8%

REM: 0%

4 hyponapeas total

AHI index: 2.6/hr

oxygen: 96%

Periodic leg movement: 54 total, 34.8/hr

Cerebral arousal index: 32.9/hr


2nd study:

264.5 minutes asleep

sleep efficiency: 69.3% (i woke up and took a while to fall back asleep)

REM onset was prolonged at 33.5 minutes

N1: 16.3% midly increased

N2: 29.1% markedly decreased

N3: 48% quite high

REM: 6.6% subopitmal

2 hypoapnas and 20 RERAS total

ahi: .5/hr

RDI: 5 per hour 'borderline'

REM related AHI: 3.4/hr

Period leg movement: 7.5/hour 'minimally increased'

cerebral arousal index: 9.3/hr 'minimaly increased.'

Oxygen around 92%, dipped below 90 for 10 seconds.

Something to note: I took 50 mg benadryl during 2nd test which i never do. not sure if this could affect anything.


Doctor says there is nothing wrong with my sleep and sleep is not my issue. I am so sad that it isn't it but I feel like there has to be something wrong! The stage percentages were very off compared to what's normal.. i mean, i barely had any REM? and My RDI is bordeline..that could be significant for me? Everyone can be affected by things differently.

Any insights? Thank you.

[LSAT]

Sleep study indicates ..No Sleep Apnea

[palerider]

Any insights? Thank you.

If it were me, I'd get a used machine and try self treatment... There's more to sleep disordered breathing than just the AHI. Your sleep is being disturbed, on average, every 12 minutes.

[Geer1]

Doctor says there is nothing wrong with my sleep and sleep is not my issue.

You had minimal sleep in both studies. You may not have an obvious sleep disorder like obstructive sleep apnea based on these results but they do indicate you had trouble sleeping.

The question is why? Was it related to the sleep study (uncomfortable with equipment hooked up to you) or do you normally have insomnia and regularly have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep? Insomnia could be causing your tiredness and if so would be worth trying to resolve.

Your REM sleep was short and also indicated a slightly higher AHI. If you only have sleep disordered breathing during REM and it is keeping you from getting into or staying in REM sleep then that could be an issue that would be affecting you.

If you normally sleep much better at home then one thing you could consider doing is a home sleep study. This would only test for sleep disordered breathing but you might get a lot more data and more time in REM etc.

[Raticate]

Honestly your study seems good. I’m 20s male and oxygen went to 77. Not overweight at all and active but struggle with complex apnea. Myoclonus and REM without muscle atonia every day.

[kteague]

Can't really say if this is your case, but I'll throw it out there just in case. When apneas and periodic limb movements are both present, things can be a little more complicated. Each of these can cause arousals, and each can mask the other. For instance, if not for being interrupted by the movements there would have been more opportunity for apneas to occur and your diagnosis might have looked different. Same on the flip side. If you are borderline on both of those diagnoses, there's always the possibility that resolving either one could allow the other to more fully manifest and be of more diagnostic significance. Based on my experience with these dual diagnoses, I would not accept that the testing up to this point is your final answer. Unfortunately, stopping periodic limb movements can get involved. I personally think it would be easier to treat the sleep apnea and then see what the movements do. Some people's movements resolve with resolution of the sleep apnea. The thing is to stay aware in case they increase once not being interrupted by the apneas. There are some basic efforts one can take if you are interested in pursuing the limb movements issue. Or maybe you want to wait until you know that they are truly an issue. Good luck with things.

[JustBreathe234]

I'm definitely not an expert, but would say the periodic limb movements are significant in the first study and a neurologist would be the way to go.

This is an OSA board so some may not be familiar with other sleep dx unless they have them. I have both OSA and PLMD. The PLMD is new for me, or at least the dx and is apparently treatable.