I'm 18 years old and just started college. I am living in a dorm where luckily we have seperate bedrooms otherwise I'd probablly sleep deprived for the next four years since I do not like using a cpap machine in front of others. I was diagnosed with moderate sleep apnea about a year and 4 months ago. My doctors were not helpful at all in understanding the test results. My doctor discouraged me from getting tested in the first place she tried to scare me out of it by saying that I would be in a room with a bunch of people watching me sleep through windows and if I did have it I would spend the rest of my life with a huge mask on my face connected to an oxgen machine. I remember feeling exhausted while talking to her and told her I still wanted to get tested. She was completely wrong about my sleep study not that it would have mattered I have always been able to sleep anywhere and through anything. Unfortunately she wasn't wrong about spending the rest of my life wearing a machine while I sleep. However, the cpap machine has helped soo much. We believe that I have had sleep apnea from the time I was born and it was amazing to me to feel truly awake after a couple weeks of playing catch up with my machine. I had never remembered feeling that awake! Also, I was always sick from the time I was born to the time I began cpap I would get sick very frequently like atleast every other month. That stopped after cpap treatment I havent had anything other than the common cold two or three times in the last year and a half. Based on my results I just kind of took the machine and decided to ignore both doctors and do my own research. One told me oh it says you have moderate SA so basically mild (after a little bit of research I saw she must not have known much about SA) anyways she told me that the cpap machine would barely help but if I wanted I could get it. Another doctor the one who reviews the sleep studies at the sleep clinic called my mom telling her she was amazed that I had lived 17 years without treatment but I needed a cpap machine as soon as  possible because I could die any night. I did some research and saw results from the machine but still don't really have any clue what my sleep study means. Will it get worse? Also my mom is very against surgerys and medicine in general but I am now 18 and would like to start trying to discover if there are any options for me besides as the first doctor put it "wearing a huge mask hooked up to an oxygen machine for the rest of my life." Where should I start and is it worth it, obviously the first doctor was not very supportive of fixing sleep problems but she did say there were like 7 or 8 surgerys I could try but they probablly wouldn't work. Sorry I didnt mean to make this so long. Here's my sleep study results if anyone can actually help I'd love some information.


total time in bed=411 minutes
total sleep time=374 minutes
sleep efficiency= 91%
Latency to stage 2 sleep was 37 minutes and latency to REM sleep was 91 minutes. The patient slept in the supine and right lateral positions. (guess that's not really that important). The technician noted mild snoring. Baseline oxygen saturation was 98% dropping to a low of 88%. Sleep architecture showed 95% stage 1, 35.6% stage 2, 39.9% slow wave and 15% REM. During the night, there were 10 obstructive, 4 mixed apneas, and 188 hypopneas. Periodic leg movement index was 0.6 EKG showed an average heart rate of 58 beats per minute.
CONCLUSION: Abnormal study demonstrating moderate obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome. A trial of CPAP could be considered. Other conservative measures could include weight loss and avoiding sedatives/alcohol at night. ( I was wearing a size 3 or 4 jeans then so I don't think weight, sedatives, or alcohol was an issue)

I've got the CPAP titration study too and it says successful study at 11 cm water and the machine has worked great. I just always thought it was weird that my sleep efficiency dropped to 87% and I had a 14% REM wtih the machine why would it be higher before? Alright I think I've asked enough. Any help would be great!

Hi lisarae06,

I am no expert on sleep studies, but I'll give it a shot at what I know (or sorta know).
Did your study give an AHI or RDI number?  I don't see it here.  That would be how many apneas you experienced per hour.
I was never very good at math, but it looks like you had about 32 apneas per hour (apneas ans hypopneas are considered the same with this), if I did the math right.  If so, that puts you in the low severe category, but you might want to look at that report again and see if it gives a different AHI or RDI.
(5-15 is mild; 15-30 is moderate; 30 or more per hour is severe)

I really don't know enough to know why the differences during your cpap titration study.  Sorry.

I am really impressed that you perservered and didn't let your doctor's poor advice keep you from getting a sleep study.   You should be darn proud of yourself for taking a pro-active role with your health.  Most sleep apnea sufferers are older but there are many affected by it who are young like you.  We've had a number of young people like yourself here discussing their sleep apnea.  I am also impressed how well you have taken to using cpap.  It can be a daunting prospect for anyone but especially someone your age.  But accepting cpap has as much to do with results as anything (in addition to a mature attitude which you seem to have), feeling better makes a world of difference.  But I understand that it's not so easy and I understand your need to research surgeries.

Yes, there are various surgeries.  Your mother is wise to be cautious against surgery.  And these surgeries have certain success rates, and those rates apply to those who have milder apnea.  If you ever do seriously consider surgery, I strongly urge you to stay away from the UPPP surgery, which I refer to as the "roto rooter" surgery.  There has been some success for some people, but too many times there have been no successes and often horrid results.  Some of those results would be awful to have to live with the rest of your life.  But do read up on these.

I don't know what all those surgeries are that were mentioned, but some may not be for the purpose of eliminating sleep apnea.  For example, removal of tonsils may help with breathing but not eliminate apnea.  I had my tonsils removed when I was young and obviously that didn't help me in the long run, even though I developed sleep apnea later in life.  There are some surgeries to correct problems in the nose; those can help improve breathing, but not improve apneas.  

Here is a link to a topic of compiled discussions and info on various surgeries and procedures:
Click here for link to topic

There is also some information about surgeries in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.
I urge you to be extremely cautious before accepting any surgery, to read up on it.  And if you ever do go for surgery, get the best doctor for the job.
But given the severity of your apnea, surgery may have little or no success.  But whatever you do, read up on it, as much as possible.  I have a hunch you will, you seem like quite a responsible person.


Linda

Thanks so much. I just saw that I left a sentence off it says a respiratory distress index was 31.6 with a REM RDI of 58.9     Do you know which one is supposed to be used for the severity because 58.9 sounds scary on that scale. Thanks for the link to that topic I'm still going to see if I can find someway not to be attached to my machine when I first start living with a guy, or am on my honeymoon( if a guy could deal with it), or several other events coming up, but based on how awake I feel without it I feel like I can't do anything and knowing that's not how it's suppossed to be makes me use it most of the time. When I decide I'll be ok I'm back on it a week later and definitely playin catch up. Thankks again!

Hi lisarae06,

I believe the RDI of 31.6 is what they consider for severity categories, for it's an average of total sleep time.
I'm not positive, but I believe REM RDI is the average number of apneas you had during the REM sleep stage and yes, that's high.
But keep in mind, we've seen people with much more severe apnea.  That doesn't mean they suffer any more than anyone else with sleep apnea.  But it does mean that what you've experienced many others have experienced as well.

Do not give up on the cpap, at least not for now.  And try to use it consistantly, that will make it much easier in the long run.
If you find a serious loving partner, be sure to be honest and tell him about your condition.  Even if you have surgery, there's no guarantee that the sleep apnea won't come back.  It may be best that you are up front with him about your condition and let him know all about what it entails.  Easier said than done, I know.  Then again, it's just my opinion.


Linda

lisarae06,

If a man is really interested in you, the CPAP and mask are not going to scare him away.  Just be ready to answer his and your other friends questions when they ask. and they will ask.

Mark

I just want to say thanks to both of you! It's been interesting and I'm sure it will stay interesting but hopefully it'll all work out somehow or another.