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[Diagnosis] Just done SPO2 measurement. Advice on next step
#1
Just done SPO2 measurement. Advice on next step
Firstly, this is my first post so a quick hello from me. I think I may be coming here a bit from the results of a DIY SPO2 study I did last night .

Secondly, the meat of the post, I'm now trying to digest the implications of the results (I used a CMS50E pulse oximeter bought for the purpose). I've ordered a home sleep test with a pulse oximeter, airflow breathing and written report to confirm my findings and give me something to take my doctor if I need a sleep study. However, I may have to wait a time for the results, so, in the mean time, can someone please advise me on how serious my results are and what I can expect next?

As background, I've suffered increasingly from excessive daytime sleepiness and the odd restless leg since I started to suffer from depression a few years ago (I'm in my late fifties now). Until now I thought that the excessive sleepiness was due to my depression, or what's left of it, because I don't see myself as an Apnea sufferer - I may snore and a relatively large neck (my neck measurement is an inch bigger than that of off-the-shelf shirts for my body size) but I'm not overweight, I'm relatively fit and my wife tells me that I seem to breathe OK in my sleep.

Although the sensor fell off my finger for a time during the night, I think I have sufficient data to say that I've got a problem. The results of my study are summarized below (I'll add a link to the report when I've built up 8 posts):
SpO2 Data
Analysis Parameters: drop in SpO2 by at least 4% for a minimum duration of 10 second
Adjusted Index (1/hr) 25.8
Basal SpO2 (%) 94.4
Time (min) < 88% 1.0
Events < 88% 12
Minimum SpO2 (%) 82
Avg. Low SpO2 (%) 91.0
Avg. Low SpO2 < 88% 86.3
Pulse Data
Analysis Parameters: change in rate by at least 6 bpm for a minimum duration of 8 seconds.
Adjusted Index (1/hr) 40.7
Avg Pulse Rate (bpm) 95.4
Low Pulse Rate (bpm) 72

Thanks in advance for any help.
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#2
RE: Just done SPO2 measurement. Advice on next step
You can add an attachment.
http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...ttachments
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#3
RE: Just done SPO2 measurement. Advice on next step
Well, it dipped to 82% which is below the threshold. And your average minimum was 86, also below the threshold.

There's more to sleep apnea than snoring and making choking sounds.

There's hypopneas: that's where the airway is narrowed but not closed all the way. Oxygen level drops but breathing continues. There usually is snoring but won't be any choking/gasping.

There's central apnea: that's where the brain gets its chemistry confused and tells the body "there's no need to breathe right now so just chill out for a while". There's no snoring, no choking, no struggling. And there's no breathing. Oxygen level drops there, too.

And there's obstructive apnea where the airway closes all the way and breathing stops. Oxygen level drops of course. There is sometimes choking sounds. There is no snoring since there's no airflow. The brain is trying to wake the body so there will be jerking of the limbs, the chest will be moving in an attempt to suck in air, etc. But this could happen in mere seconds before you "wake" just enough to open the airway and start breathing again. There usually is a gasping as the airway is opened. It depends on how desperate the body was and how long it lasted.

A person does not need to be obese to have sleep apnea. Skinny people get it too. Neck size works if the diagnosis is obstructive sleep apnea. That's because there's all that tissue the airway has to support when it all relaxes as you sleep.
PaulaO

Take a deep breath and count to zen.




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#4
RE: Just done SPO2 measurement. Advice on next step
Hi ThrownOutTheAsylum,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
trish6hundred
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#5
RE: Just done SPO2 measurement. Advice on next step
Hi Thrown! Welcome.

Your pulse rate indicates to me that you have highly wavering pulse through the night, quite probably reacting to either hypopnea or apnea. That, coupled with excursions of SpO2 (or saturation of oxygen) under 90%, do suggest some form of treatment is necessary/valuable.

QAL
Dedicated to QALity sleep.
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