Sleep Study Results...help! Im scared.

Well I have received my sleep study results. I was told that at this point
I have Moderate Mixed Apnea. My average oximetry was 96.5%. That breaks
down to 96.8% of the night I was in the 90-100% range. 14.5% of the night
I was in the 80-89% range and 1% of the night I was in the 70-79% range.

The Mean/Min range of my oxygen was virtually the same for all stages.

My sleep efficiency was 88.5% with 50 minutes total spent in REM.

Not a lot of limb movements.

Snor = Soft Moderate

All of my low oxygen readings below 90% were while I was on my back.

I had some "true central" apneas that seemed to occur during REM sleep.

I noticed that on the graph for respiratory that it was broken down into 8
catagories....
Ap C
Ap O
Ap M
Hypopneas
AP C+Ar
Ap O+AR
Ap M+Ar
Hypopneas+Ar

I had a lot of tick mards under the AP C+R. These all went to my Central
count, but when I asked the sleep Dr. about it he said that often these
are acutally obstructive and will disappear with treatment. Can someone
explain this to me????


Here is the breakdown...I will show the amount and the index. This test
was 7.9 hours in bed with 7 hours sleep.

Apneas
Obstructive 47/6.7
Mixed 16/2.3
central 133/19.0 This included the few true centrals along with the Ap C+Ar
hypopneas 17/2.4
events 213/30.4
AHI Arousals 181/25.8
RERA Total 48/6.8
RERA NREM 47/7.6
RERA 1/1.2

Events NREM 192/31.1
Apneas NREM 179/28.9
Hypopneas NREM 13/2.1
Events REM 21/25.2
Apneas REM 17/20.4

Apnea Duration Mean/Max 23.4 sec/46.6sec
Hypopnea Duration Mean/Max 25.6sec/39.0sec
TST% in Apnea/Hypopnea 18.2%/1.7%


Heart rate Mean/Min/Max
wake 64/55/85
NREM 59.4/51/87
REM 58.4/50/84

My blood pressure is good and my heart is good. There were no Cardiac
Arrythmias or EEG abnormalities.

Alpha Intrusion was noted. I think that this was due to the wires and the
ideal that I was being watched.

Sleep Quality: Very Deep

I spent 141.5 minutes in Stage 1. 215 in Stage 2. 14.5 in Stage 3. 0 minutes in Stage 4 and 50 in REM. I am a 45 year old male.

I should get fitted tomorrow with a machine and start treatment and go in
for a follow up in a couple of weeks.


Well. I feel better now that the supense is over. I asked 115 different
ways if my life was in immediate danger and he answered no each time. I
asked also if I still had a chance of hitting 90 yrs old and he said that
he didnt see why not if I was compliant with treatment. I asked also if I
should see a neurologist because of the centrals and he said that the
specialists looked my charts over real well with that in mind and didnt
see any correlation that would make that necessary.


Still....Im scared, but know in my heart that I can eliminate a huge
percentage of the events by not sleeping on my back. The centrals bother
me....I hope that he is right about them.

Any thoughts out there????? Your time is much appreciated.

Welcome Iwondered,

I was scared at first too. OSA can be very bad -- WHEN UNTREATED -- you are taking the first steps on a journey to get the treatment and change the things that need to be changed to learn to live with this thing called OSA. I found that the more that I learned, the easier it was to accept the reality and move on with the treatment. I have spent a LOT of time here on this forum learning about the twists and turns and ups and downs. There are some very bright, helpful, wonderful and funny people here -- my best advice is to learn, learn, learn and then make educated decisions about your treatment.

The treatment works. I have severe OSA -- AHI 78/hr, with significant desaturations and very long apneas (almost 2 minutes). I have been using CPAP/APAP since 1/10/05 and am 100% compliant since then. I recently had a overnight pulse oximetry done and had no desaturations below 90%. My AHI now is usually less than 2. I am still tired, but I no longer fall asleep at work or even nap much. I believe that I have at least 15 YEARS of sleep debt to work off, so it will take time, but I will get there!

I have some other health issues that I have learned to live with, and this is just one more. You are probably not going to get over this -- you need to learn how to live with it. The surgeries for this condition have a very poor success rate and have some permanent and serious side effects. You need to find the correct combination of machine and interface that works for you and that you will use and use it faithfully, every time that you lay down to sleep -- even naps!

I have found, like many others on this board, that having an APAP with software reassures me that I am getting the treatment that I need and that I can see if there are any problems and move to address them. IMHO an APAP is also more comfortable, as it only raises the pressure when you need it. I didn't see a pressure in your post -- were you titrated also?

I was titrated at 14cm/H2O and believe that that is a little low. I have my APAP set from 10-17, and it generally averages between 11-12, but I also go up to 16 or 17 for several periods each night and my 90% pressure is usually 15-16. I think that it is optimistic to think that a true titration is achieved during 1 night of horribly uncomfortable sleep while being watched, listened to and monitored in every way. My APAP titrates me every night.

I think that most on this forum would encourage you to learn as much as you can and fight to get an APAP with software so that you can be involved in your treatment. If you have read much on this forum, there are many docs and DME's who think that this is not right -- it is incumbent upon you to find a good doc too. Many of us have had to change docs and fire our DME'S -- and many of us have purchased our hardware from our hosts for this forum -- CPAP.COM. I would strongly urge you to check the prices on the internet, so that you know what the machines can be purchased for -- BEFORE you go to visit your DME to pick up your machine and ask them about the pricing and compare to what you have learned. Look at the interfaces on line also and see what appeals to you. Ask to try them on, and be sure to bring your pillow and lie down -- on the floor if necessary -- to check the fit. Your face changes when you lie down -- you cannot fit a mask sitting up!

I hope that this reassured you and didn't scare you more. I truly believe that the more that you learn, the less scary it will be.

Welcome to the wonderful world of OSA! Let us know how you are doing!

I think there is medication for the central apnea, I THINK. CPAP works for the OSA.

Good luck, and keep posting.

I haven't studied my tiration so all the numbers you posted means nothing to me, I remember my Doctor saying that out of 1 hr, I stopped breathing 100 times and the longest was 46 seconds. That scared me. I feel a whole lot better now after a month and a half. Am thinking about seting up a video when I sleep to see how it has changed. Good luck.

Toby