[breezeonby]

I saw my sleep doctor today to get my results from my sleep study done on 10/4/10. I wasn't really surprised that my Ox levels were 80 during sleeping with no oxygen. When I wore the CPAP nasal mask my Ox levels were 88. My doctor said "I might have apnea" but there was no mention of any time that I stopped breathing". With apnea, don't you stop breathing for periods of time? He asked me what I wore during my hospital stay and I told him that I was on BiPAP and he mumbled that he would need extra documentation to get my insurance to approve it. With apnea, you either do or you don't have it, right? Correct me if I am wrong. I have an appointment to get my mask on Wednesday and I feel like calling it off, I wasn't given any kind of reading material on CPAP and I don't want to wear this at all, let alone, not knowing if it is helping or not. I might ask for another opinion, but I barely have enough energy to walk across a parking lot. I had a 9AM appointment and was seen at 10:15AM, which really disturbed me. I woke up extra early to be on time and for what, to wait for over an hour.

 

[Shanny]

I hope this doc is up on everything else that's been going on with you . . . I'd think he might want a consult with your pulmonary specialists before he comes to any final conclusions about OSA.

And one of our kids had a sleep lab that says he doesn't have OSA, and yet his wife has watched him literally stop breathing. So we're trying to figure out whazzup with that!

 

[breezeonby]

I hope this doc is up on everything else that's been going on with you . . . I'd think he might want a consult with your pulmonary specialists before he comes to any final conclusions about OSA.

And one of our kids had a sleep lab that says he doesn't have OSA, and yet his wife has watched him literally stop breathing. So we're trying to figure out whazzup with that!

Well, I had an appointment with my pulmonary doctor after my appointment with the sleep doctor. The pulmonary doctor really wasn't interested in what the sleep doctor said....My pulmonary doctor said the my hypesensitivy panel came back all normal. I did have one test that came back low, some type of immune test, which he wants to repeat and wants another cat scan of my lungs. If those are both normal, then we wait for all of this to happen again and then we will do a open lung biopsy. I don't want to go through this again and I am meeting with an attorney to get my healthcare power of attorney and my advance directives put on paper. I hate when a bunch of different doctors are ordering tests, I don't know who get what. I furious that the pulmonary doctor didn't do the lung biopsy while I was in the hospital, but I was told that I wasn't strong enough.......I am not too fond of doctors right now,

 

[Adjitater]

When I had mine done they told me I had apnea and that I quit breathing 28 timed an hour. I am on a cpap but dont sleep a whole lot better.

 

[Philly Bud]

I'm a snorer, not a schnorrer

I just saw my sleep doctor this afternoon. I had my 2nd sleep study two weeks ago. My first sleep study was 2 years ago and I was diagnosed with OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea), and very severe at that.

My AHI is actually worse than the first time: 106!!!

(for those of you who don't know what AHI is, that indicates how many "apneas" or stop breathing events one has per hour: 0-4 normal, 5-15 mild, 15-30 moderate, over 30 severe. In my case, over 100 - you better make out your will and buy a cemetery plot!!!). Just kidding

The good news is that I'm 100% compliant and whilst using the CPAP my AHI drops down to 0.7 ... that's right, less than 1 per hour! :bounce:

 

[RobertIA]

breezeonby, Ox of 88 is still not normal, 92 to 97 is more the range you should be at. This might explain the constant tired feeling. Did your doctor give the results of the sleep study? You should know that Philly Bud's answer is basically correct, the numbers can be slightly higher depending on the doctor and the numbers that the sleep study lab uses. The most current that I have seen are what Philly Bud lists, but I have seen other numbers slightly higher. My last sleep study was 96 AHI and the first time was 108. So in reality, if you doctor and lab are using a different set of standards, you may have mild to moderate and the doctor is not recognizing them. Some doctors do not stay as current with changing technology as they should.

I agree that the doctors should confer, but some just won't.

 

[breezeonby]

breezeonby, Ox of 88 is still not normal, 92 to 97 is more the range you should be at. This might explain the constant tired feeling. Did your doctor give the results of the sleep study? You should know that Philly Bud's answer is basically correct, the numbers can be slightly higher depending on the doctor and the numbers that the sleep study lab uses. The most current that I have seen are what Philly Bud lists, but I have seen other numbers slightly higher. My last sleep study was 96 AHI and the first time was 108. So in reality, if you doctor and lab are using a different set of standards, you may have mild to moderate and the doctor is not recognizing them. Some doctors do not stay as current with changing technology as they should.

I agree that the doctors should confer, but some just won't.

All that the doctor told me was my ox numbers. I thought that 88 was still low, but I didn't know what to ask. I feel as if I am not getting what I need. What else do I need to know?

 

[RobertIA]

That is a difficult question, I can only go on my research for sleep apnea and what I have learned. It is a little disconcerting that all he was interested in was the ox numbers. My doctor was interested in that as well, but mine was 88 without mask and average of 94 with mask. He also laid out the chart from the sleep study showing the interruptions and how much rem sleep I was getting, both without and with the mask. Then he showed me the pressures that were used by the auto-titrating feature of the machine and why he wanted the upper and lower limits that he prescribed for the VPAP he wanted me on. He told me why he wanted the VPAP so that it would adjust to my needs. He took the time to explain things to me and answered my questions. I do use mine every night and have nasal mask liners that I use to stop the air leaks from around the mask.

So either the doctor does not know what he is looking at, does not understand sleep apnea, or you don't have sleep apnea. You do need to find out for sure from the doctor. So you will need to ask what you AHI reading was (sleep interruptions). If you have more questions, PM me and I will do some more researching.

 

[breezeonby]

Off CPAP

Well, I complained and complained about how I hated wearing my CPAP, and my doctor DC it. He didn't go to battle since my apnea is mild. He does want to do a monthly oximetry. Oh what a relief this is for me.

 

[Shanny]

Finally you can sleep in comfort again! Yay!!!