Hello Everyone.
i'm not exactly sure what to do or where to go with my Sleep Apnea.  My symptoms arn't all there i.e i do not snore at night, or gasp for breath, but i have been tested for sleep apnea and i have a AHI of 30(with !@#!) and 35 without it.
my Without the !@#! i had a snore index of 0 and with the !@#! i had a snore index of 0.2
  My oxygen levels are on after 95% throughout the night.  
Without the mask i had 8 Apnea a night and 211 Hypopnea (AHI of 35.5), and with the !@#! mask (at the overnight clinic) i had 30 Apnea and 135 Hypopnea (AHI 30).  So with the mask my throat actually closed 3x as much.  
On average i am spending 75(without mask) 79% (with !@#!) of my night sleep in stage 2 and 2.0 (without mask) and 0.8 (with mask) in stage 3, and no sleep in stage 4.  I am not entering REM sleep until around 4 hours after i fall asleep. my REM is an average of 16%, my stage 1 sleep is 6.5 (no !@#!) and 3.3 (!@#!)

I just had a meeting with the docter about my result for the sleep clinic.  I didn't get the same docter as last night so this docter asked me basic questions like do i go to sleep regularly (yes 11pm-8am) I also sleep talk sometimes (can be 3-4 times a week or 1 time in a 2 week period, very irregular)  Sleep walking started around 4 years ago with the onset of University.  
That was basically the meeting with the docter.
He then stated that he was going to put me on medication.  I told him i would refer not to go on medication so he told me he would give me an alternative sheet on helping my sleeping pattern.

This sheet basically consisted of telling me to exercise, eat right, go to sleep on time, reduce alcohol and reduce light in room.... Not very helpful.
My next appointment is not for another 7 months.

Anyways, i am just wondering if anyone has as suggestions about my problem of not getting enough sleep.
I do not think i have an increased chance of heart problems because my oxygen levels do not get below 92% anywhere during the night and stay an average of 95%.  But if i am wrong i wouldn't mind someone telling me.  

I am also wondering if my sleeping patterns are abnormal, the sleep clinic docter i last saw did not explain or tell me anything about my results, i have spent numerous hours on  the internet trying to figure out what all the figures mean.

I would suggest for everyone to get copies of their sleep clinic results.  I have found it much more comforting to be able to understand more about my sleep Apnea.

thank you
any info is appreciated.

Stephanie

Hi Stephanie!
Need a few more things.
The AHI total you have for CPAP probably includes the whole night, including pressures that were not effective.  There should be a table in there somewhere with all the different CPAP pressures, find your pressure and the corresponding AHI.
What do you mean "not enough sleep"?  Are you tired?  Still tired on CPAP?
Any medications whatsoever?
Also the table of arousals.
Write back.
sleepydave

Sorry Stephanie, but it is more than the O2 levels that affect your heart.  A big strain on the heart comes from the increase in blood pressure during every apneic event.  Also, your CO2 goes up, which messes with blood pH (increased CO2 makes blood more acidic).

Vicki


_________________
That which does not kill you makes you stronger-Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich must of had apnea.

Hey Stephanie!
BTW, the acronym is "Continuous Positive Airway Pressure" and not "Continuous Required Airway Pressure".  A common oversight.
sleepydave

HI Sleepy Dave
Thanks for your help so far.
I didn't get all of my sheets of my results.
I do have something on one of my sheets that says !@#!/Bilevel on the Y axis is 0-5 and on the x axis there is IPAP, -EPAP, and O2.
I also have a 5 charts that are put ontop of each other, on the y axis the charts are called UNS, HYP, MX.A , Cb.A, Cn.A

I'm not exactly sure what else to tell you.
 without CPAPmy Apnea per hour was 1.3 (average duration 12.9) and my hypopnea was 34.2 (18.8)
With CPAP my apea was 5.4 an hour (average duration 16.3) and my hypopnea was 24.5 (12.1)

My heart rate average for both sleep tests was 64.

Do you know of any alternatives to the CPAP since the CPAP didn't seem to work? should i try CPAP again even though it actually seemed to make me stop breathing more and for longer times.?  Should i try and get another appointment with the sleep clinic and see if i can talk to another docter?


Stephanie

Hi Stephanie
Why do you think you failed CPAP?  Did the doctor say you failed?  Did he order a CPAP for you?
Speaking of doctor, yeah, grab him by the throat and say "explain this to me and where's the rest of my reports!"
While you're there get the CPAP titration table. It looks like this:



The only AHI number you need to worry about in a CPAP titration is your ideal pressure, and if there is one, it's in there.  If they're all no good, then, yeah, there may be an issue.  What pressure is prescribed?

Then grab the arousal table.  Such as like this one:



This will help to explain sleepiness.
And are you sleepy?  What sleeping problem is he trying to fix with medications?  Are you on medications now?  That disrupted REM period got booted out there for some reason.

Explain "not enough sleep."  With 9 hours of sack time, that's certainly enough quantity-wise, but based on this other info, it could well be lacking quality-wise.

See another doctor?  Sure, sounds like you you have no answers so far, or at least ones that you're satisfied with, so you either get what you need from this guy or try someone else.

Write back with the other info, I'll help as much as I can.
sleepydave