My brothers oximeter report

[JohnTor]

Hi,

My 65 year old brother was diagnosed with sleep apnea about 10 years ago (he had a sleep study). He tried CPAP for a few months and didn't like it, so instead he lost 40 pounds (neck size went from 17.5 to 16.5) and trained himself to sleep on his side. His snoring went away and he therefore assumed his sleep apnea went away. I began CPAP two months ago (and am very happy with the results) and recently lent him my oximeter (CMS50F) to check his blood oxygen while sleeping. The results showed 38 minutes of blood oxygen below 88% during his 9 hour sleep. I think this means he would benefit from CPAP (his blood oxygen would be higher which would be better for his brain). My brother still thinks he doesn't have sleep apnea because he doesn't snore. He's going to ask his doctor if maybe his low blood oxygen is because of anemia, a possible side effect of a blood thinner he is on. I think this is unlikely given that his blood oxygen was 96% when he first tried on my oximeter while sitting at the kitchen table. And I suspect his doctor has been measuring his blood iron at his regular checkups.

I've attached his oximeter report. One thing that surprised me is the greater volatility of his readings (both oxygen and pulse) compared to mine with the same device. I'm not sure what this means. Maybe the sensor was loose on his finger? He does have shaky hands sometimes, maybe that's it. I'm going to lend him my oximeter again in May when we have our next family get-together. I think he should get more readings.

Is it possible my brother has sleep apnea even though he doesn't snore?

Thanks,

John

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[Pugsy]

Is it possible my brother has sleep apnea even though he doesn't snore?

Yes. It is very possible. From the looks of that report...extremely possible to very likely.

The absence of snoring doesn't mean no sleep apnea....and conversely just because someone snores isn't a 100% certainty that they do have OSA.

[HoseCrusher]

John, it looks like your brother had some obstructive events. Check the summary data. You want Basal SpO2 to be above 94%.

I see several breaks in the data. That indicates movement of the finger inside the oximeter. This may show up on the summary report as artifacts. If they are large you would need to throw out the data just before and just after the artifact and see what is left.

Overall, the O2 levels seem low...

[ChicagoGranny]

And I suspect his doctor has been measuring his blood iron at his regular checkups.

Probably not. Medicare does not cover iron or serum ferritin testing as a matter of routine. It is covered if the patient has a history of low or high iron or has been diagnosed with anemia.

[JohnTor]

Thanks for your replies. It sounds like my brother may well have sleep apnea. He's a conservative guy and will wait until he talks with his family doctor before taking action. In my case, five nights of low blood oxygen revealed by my oximeter prompted me to buy an apap. I'm sleeping better and my blood oxygen averages over 94% every night. Fine tuning my cpap therapy was pretty easy thanks to this website.