I am a 39 yr old woman.  I just had my first sleep study done 2 weeks ago and got my results this week.  My Apnea-hypopnea index is 107 per hour.!!   My overall efficiency was reduced to 64%.   My EKG was normal.  My REM was delayed at 345 minutes and there was no delta sleep observed.  OK so now I am freaking out reading this thinking I am going to stroke out at any minute.  I am set to get my CPAP in 2 weeks.  I am wondering if anyone else is this severe.  ( My doctor said its very severe).   I originally went because of not only being obviously tired all the time, but because I was forgetting things, seeing double vision at times, and pretty much a walking zombie.   Now they suggested I see a Neurologist also to make sure I have no permanant damage I suppose.  any one else this high and if so did the CPAP alone help or did you need further care like surgery????       

I am older than you at 47 but my index is pretty close to yours.  I don't think it really matter so much severe is severe!!  I think I probably had this for 20+ years.  I have been tired as long as I can remember.  I don't think too many people have much success with surgery but certainly that is something that your doctor can discuss with you.  

I have had my cpap since the summer and have to say overall I feel better.  I still have some unresolved issues with SEVERE restless leg.  I take meds for that and it helps.  Before cpap my B/P was consistently around 130/90 and now it runs about 105/70.  I have not gone off B/P meds yet but am hoping to if I can get some of my extra weight off.   Also since starting cpap I went from a resting pulse of 100+ to the mid 70s.  So I do see some benefits from treatment.  

I think the most important thing to remember is everyone is different.  Some see remarkable difference almost immediately and others see gradual improvement.  Just be sure to give the cpap time. It isn't something that is comfortable at first but now I can't imagine sleeping without it.


_________________
~ElleMarie~

"Sometimes it's just a minute at a time."

AHI 100
Diagnosis June 2007
Pressure
June--9
Dec--14
Jan--11

That is so possitive.  Thank You.  I can't wait to wake up and actually feel rested.  I know it must be difficult to get use to the cpap, I remember as a kid having to wear a night cap for my braces and start off wearing it and take it off about an hour into sleep everynight and then finally giving up all together on it.  Of course that was many years ago.  Knowing now as an adult that I NEED the cpap treatment, I hope I have the power to overcome the troublesome first weeks.  
Its amazing how people that do not have sleep problems, have no idea what it feels like to walk around in a daze everyday deprived of sleep.  No wonder I am so overweight, I have NO energy anymore.  I am crossing my fingers that this will gradually change with the cpap.

Hi tiredinOC,

ElleMarie's response was wonderful and right on.  She's absolutely right in saying that everyone is different and it's important to give cpap time to work.  You've got every reason to believe you'll feel improvement with cpap.  And as ElleMarie indicated, you've likely had this condition for some time.  Now that you know about it, it's perfectly normal to freaked out and wonder if you're going to drop any minute.  Two weeks to get your cpap is pretty good.  So good luck.

And don't be surprised if sometimes you wake up only to find the mask was taken off in the middle of the night without you remembering it.  That happens to a lot of people, it sure did to me.  It's normal, it's your brain rebelling against a foreign object on your head.  If it happens, it won't happen often or for long.  

My numbers were high to, and my oxygen levels dangerously low.  And cpap made a world of difference.  It took time to get used to this, but it's well worth it.  So, let us know how things go.  


Linda


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Anything over 30 is severe....it's all bad whether it's 30, 130 or 230.

Like I have said before, it's like comparing how many packs of cigarettes you smoke daily.  

Hi tiredinOC.  I just got my diagnosis of severe OSA, yesterday.  I managed to put down an AHI of 111/hr and an efficiency of 64% during my sleep study and here I thought that I never won at anything. During the 2nd half of my split study they put me on CPAP and I actually had a dream for the first time in years and felt great right after the study although I crashed in the afternoon, probably because i was so stressed out over the test and what was wrong with me and didnt really sleep all that well during the study.  I get my CPAP next week and am hoping for some kind of improvement. Have felt like cr*p for 7yrs and am tired of being tired.

It sounds to me like you will be one of the folks who see great change sooner than later!

Thanks,  I forgot to mention (funny how i keep losing my train of thought and not remembering all that well) to tiredinOC is that I have had some of the same peripheral mental symptoms.  I fall asleep anywhere/everywhere.  I can tell you that my memory, concentration and just plain mental horsepower have all declined in the last 7 yrs, but really headed into the dumper in the last 18 months. (not that i had that much smarts to begin with). In addition, I have had tinnitus (ringing ears) for about a yr, but that may not be related.

My Doc just wants me to get started on CPAP as quickly as I can, but feels most of these problems will resolve themselves with CPAP treatment.  He's not making this out as any kind of crisis, just strongly encouraging me to not fiddle around and do something expeditiously.  I live/work at 5500 feet MSL and my O2 stats are normally at 92-94% because of the altitude, but have were dropping into the high 70's% at night.  What even got the Doc and I to figure out I had OSA was our attempt to try and figure why I couldn't lose any weight, the tiredness/lack of wakefulness, and an increasing BP for no apparent reasons.  Good Luck

it wouldn't hurt to be checked by a neurologist, to check if there is an additional problem in the brain by ordering an mri of the brain; the neurologist then might prescribe something to help you with the memory problems.

I can't wait.. tonight is my 2nd time and this time I get to use the CPAP to determine my airflow numbers.  I hope I wake up feeling a little bit rested.  I am taking some nyquil tonight ( they gave me the OK).   I will let ya know how things progress.  
oh and do i say congrads for beating my score. haha.

Sounds like you are going to feel a lot better once you get started.  I know i can't wait.  But then I can't blame the weight gain on anything else anymore. haha.  Seriously I can't wait to get back to my old self , well my old old self.  I still feel like I am 18 inside. haha.  
I am not looking forward to all the wires again tonight though, I have to laugh because of friend of my sisters is the lab tech.  SO now, she has seen me at my worst and heard me at it also.   I figured she is use to it. haha.  
well bigsky, let me know how things go... thats a pretty high altitude, not sleeping in a plane everynight are ya?? at least hopefully not behind the wheel ( do they call it a wheel on a plane??)

See bad memory here also..   My doc seems to think my problems are related to all this apnea.  ( but to check other things to be sure).  But like she said.. try pulling an all nighter for 2 nights and you feel drunk.  makes sense.  If you aren't getting sleep, you will feel that way.  I do about 3 days out of the week.  Thank Goodness for spellcheck.  I own a caregiving business for seniors and sometimes I want to nap right along with my clients.  so sad. haha.

Well, I've been on CPAP for almost a week, about 7hrs/night.  As I noted in one of the other threads, while there have been no brass bands or B2 flyovers, I think I'm feeling better, but not great. Still tired, but I haven't nodded off at work, at home, anywhere for a week.  Getting used to the pressure was not a big deal (13.0), getting the nasal pillow "just right" has taken most of the week to get adjusted. Still waking up a couple of times in the night to adjust all the new plumbing. I suspect that my waking up to fix my gear is what is making me tired now, because otherwise I feel like I'm sleeping better (I know that I'm dreaming, but am not able to recall much detail)

The acid test is that I'm taking an MWT test next week,  Before starting CPAP, I knew flat out there was no way I could stay awake during the MWT after reading the test protocol.  After a week of CPAP, I think its going to be a piece of cake. I feel that different.  Stay tuned

I suspect that I am one of those folks that will see a gradual return from where I was to a new "normal".  Having been feeling run down for so long, "normal" is going to be something new.

My Doc has the same opinion as yours, that treating the OSA is going to resolve many of my "unexplained" health complaints. Since I seem to be adapting to CPAP reasonably well, he wants to see me go for 30-60 days and see what symptoms are "left over", and then go figure those out.

well i used both the nasal plug looking thing ( no go , ripped that right off I felt like I couldn't exhale).  and then used the nasal mask the rest of the night.  IT wasn't so bad except for the feeling when they put it on of being on the operating table when I had my tonsils out, of course the sleep didn't happen right away.  ( and no stiches when i woke up).  
I did feel like I slept well, but I got up a few times after dreaming of a badger leaping on my face, only to find the mask there.  They had me up to a 12 because the lower pressure felt like I couldn't get a good breath.  I can't wait to use it all without the wires attached.  The one thing about it that i had to complain about, they ask you questions while its on, and forget answering because  I felt like I was trying to talk into a turbo jet fan.

i am about to go for my first sleep study on the 19th.  are the masks that bad? I am a firefighter i wear scba (self contained breathing apparatus) masks all the time.  hopefully this will help