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Sleep study results inconclusive
#1
Sleep study results inconclusive
Hey all, I recently completed a sleep study and did not receive a clear diagnosis. I thought maybe crowd-sourcing the results might yield some insights, so I'd greatly appreciate any thoughts you all might have. 

The context: I'm a 32-year-old male weighing about 180 lbs and I've become an increasingly troubled sleeper over the past 8-10 years. At first, I seemed to have issues staying asleep but would only remember waking up a couple times each night. At this point, I'm waking up (as far as I can tell) anywhere from 10-25 times per night for very short periods. I can usually fall back asleep, so it doesn't seem to be a classic case of insomnia. But I have all the symptoms of a sleep disorder: never feeling rested, low energy, fogginess, poor memory and concentration, etc.

Anyway, the study found a central apnea index of .9 per hour and REM apnea index of 4.3 per hour, for an overall AHI of 1.7 events per hour. Obviously, this isn't a clear case of OSA by most standards, and certainly nowhere near the number of events many of you have had to suffer through. 

The more significant finding: I had an overall arousal index of 21 (as I understand it based on the doc's explanation, that means 21 "arousals" from a deeper stage of sleep to a lighter stage each hour). They recorded 5.4 "spontaneous arousals" per hour (which, I think, means awaking fully).

No snoring, and minimum oxygen value at 89% (mean saturation was 93.8% with no instances of dipping below 88%).

My doctor wasn't able to provide a clear-cut explanation for what's going on. She suggested my brain might be hyper vigilant about dips in oxygen and is simply pulling me out of sleep more often than it should. But because my REM apnea index exceeds 4.0, I still qualify for a CPAP through my insurance, and she asked me to try it for \~6 months to see if it helps. I've been using one for about a month but haven't adjusted yet and haven't gotten any significant sleep on it—not even enough to post data for.

Anyone else have a case like this? Thoughts or suggestions on treatment? I’m getting a second opinion this week but all roads have led nowhere so far.
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#2
RE: Sleep study results inconclusive
Quote:any significant sleep on it—not even enough to post data for.

Apnea Board doesn't have the same requirements as insurance agencies where you need to sleep for +4h to qualify for assistance. Any data is better then none.
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#3
RE: Sleep study results inconclusive
What I'm sure of is that we can help you optimize your CPAP machine. For that we need you to download OSCAR to your PC and then organize your daily charts then attach them to a post. My signature has links showing how

Good luck
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#4
RE: Sleep study results inconclusive
I see you had some central apnea in your sleep study and a fairly low AHI. Your profile shows you live in Colorado. We have had a number of members from Colorado that presented a mild central apnea index in sleep studies, that lived at much higher elevations where they had their sleep test. These members were issued various CPAP and bilevel machines and found when they returned home at elevations at or above 7500 feed msl, that their mild central apnea blossomed into full-fledged severe complex or central apnea, and that higher pressure and higher EPR or pressure support made the problem worse. If this is your case, then you are not alone. We can help you to identify if you need to change your therapy strategy, and if you need to consider testing at an altitude similar to where you live...Denver is very different from Breckenridge, Dillon or Leadville, and presents a very different environment for apnea testing. How about a chart and some information related to your altitude?
Sleeprider
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www.ApneaBoard.com

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#5
RE: Sleep study results inconclusive
Sure thing. I made it just over 3 hours on the CPAP last night, which is my longest yet. I'll work on pulling some data together so I can post reports.
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#6
RE: Sleep study results inconclusive
Very interesting. I live in Denver and my sleep study was conducted here in Denver as well. I grew up in northern Colorado at a very similar altitude, but lived in LA and DC for college and early career before moving back to Denver. I first started noticing minor sleep issues when I was at sea level in DC and they've only become worse after moving back.

As for charts, I'm downloading OSCAR now and will try to post some data soon, though I think it will be pretty limited.

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts/ideas so far.
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