I am brand new here today! I'm actually wife to a suspected sleep apnea victim. I have some questions. We visted the dr. the other day who requested an Oximetry home test. We picked up the unit and did the test on Friday night. I turn it back to the sleep institute tomorrow--question tho that has me really curious is while i was watching the monitor during the test--for a split second it dipped as low as 79 with most of the dips being in the mid to low 80's. I know normal is anything above 95. I know i'll have to wait until next monday when we see the dr. again but is this something to be concerned about or does it even indicate sleep apnea?? I he'll probably be referred for a sleep study or CPAP if it is apnea. Otherwise he's healthy. During the times he was awake, the monitor read in the mid 90's. My curiosity has got the best of me now.
Thanks
Lisa

Hi Lisa, welcome!

Most likely his doctor will order a sleep study to find out what is going on.  The blood oxygen desaturations could be sleep apnea, or something else.  A sleep study is usually the best way to find out.

The doctor appointment is not far away so you will have some answers soon.

In the meantime, you and your husband might have a look at this short flash video, it illustrates four different types of Sleep Disordered Breathing (Obstructiive Sleep Apnea being one of them):
http://www.resmed.com/en-us/clinicians/about_sleep_and_breathing/understanding-sdb-english-640x380.swf

If you cannot get the link to work, or wish further reading, the page that hosts the video link has further information on this subject:
http://www.resmed.com/en-us/clinicians/about_sleep_and_breathing/sleep-disordered-breathing-sdb.html?menu=clinicians

As shown in the above presentation, Sleep Disordered Breathing takes its toll on the body, it is good your husband is seeking treatment.  He has been living with the cause of his O2 desats for probably quite some time, however, so not seeing the doctor for a week or two should not be cause for concern.  Of course if his health changes or if anything causes either one of you to be concerned, please don't hesitate to see the doctor.  

Blessings,
--pseudonym

Hi Lisa, and welcome again!  A normal pulse oximetry reading is 95-100%  People living in high altitudes can have lower readings-like 94%, and considered within normal range.  Cause for concern is anything especially <90%.  Pseudonym gave some great links to view.  Glad you are here and asking questions.  Keep us posted. Lantern4life

Lisa,  pseudonym and lantern4life both have it right, and I would guess if your husbands O2 sats are dipping down in the 70's that they will probably want to get him into a sleep study fairly soon. During my initial sleep study I went down as low and 70%, and after I was on CPAP awhile (several months) they had  me do the at home  over night Pulse Ox thing like your husband, they found that I was still low and I now have supplementary Oxygen along with my VPAP when I sleep, it is a fairly noisy machine that is called an Oxygen concentrator and I have it down the hallway, so it is away from where I sleep!. There is many ways to get his O2 Sats backup to where they should be! The hardest part is waiting for the results and finding out what the next step will be!  Your husband is lucky to have a wife that is interested and is there to support him! Good Luck to the both of you!


_________________
White Beard with a White Beard
Resmed VPAP Adapt SV Enhanced, HumidAire 2i, ResLink with Model 8000 Flex sensor Pulse Oximeter, and ResScan 3.5 software. Respironic EverFlo OPI Oxygen Concentrator 3 lpm
EEP 9.0, min PS 6.0, max PS 16.0

pseudonym wrote:

In the meantime, you and your husband might have a look at this short flash video, it illustrates four different types of Sleep Disordered Breathing (Obstructiive Sleep Apnea being one of them):
--pseudonym

Thanks for that link,  I had not seen that either and enjoyed it .. I learned from it.  At my age that's always a good thing!


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SnowCajun
I'm old, there's no cure!

hey thanks for that link! what an eye opener! Now more than ever i'm convinced!

We have the results and doesn't look good! He's now scheduled for a complete sleep study on Saturday!
lowest desat was at 63% baseline 92% Desat index was at 58.4 per hr.
Time spent at saturation less than 90% was 56.3 less than 85% sat was 15.2%
The interpretation was that he had a severe degree of sleep disordered breathing.
The report even reccommends sup oxygen until the study can be completed but dr. didn't say anything about that so i guess we won't worry.
He was surprised at the results though and so was Dave (hubby)
so what ever these numbers mean--doesn't sound good though

pseudonym, Thanks for the links to the videos. I'm newly diagnosed and am trying to learn all I can as well.

@Lucrenda  I'm glad the video helped.  Take the time to browse the Announcements and Sticky Posts at the tops of each of the forums, there is a wealth of information already here that can help you.  And do make use of the search features, there's one toward the upper right, a google-type search, and one with more options in the navigation bar in the top portion of each page.  And of course, if you can't find the answers or information you seek, please do post, someone here can probably help or point you to more information.

@Lisa  That's great he's going for a sleep study!  Now you'll both have some real answers.

While you were told he has a 'severe degree of sleep disordered breathing', most often a "severe" diagnosis results in nothing more than needing to use a CPAP machine!  Keep a positive attitude and don't let yourself think "this is not good" -- odd are he will be perfectly fine once a full diagnosis is made and a correct treatment, such as CPAP, is established for him.  

If he does need to use a CPAP, he may very well NOT need supplemental oxygen along with it.  A majority of CPAP users no longer desat with CPAP alone.  I would not worry about this if your doctor is not concerned.  The fact that he did not rush to put your husband on O2 while waiting for the sleep study suggests that he is not troubled by your husband's numbers at this point.  

Be sure your husband asks for a copy of the full sleep study report, about 5-6 pages plus graphs, in addition to the 1-2 page summary letter from the doctor, that he will receive anywhere from a week to a month or more after the study.  The detailed sleep study report has valuable details that can be of help later on.  And besides, in the US at least, it is his legal right to have a copy (HIPAA).

Please let us know how the study goes for him, and what the doctor says when you meet with him over the results.  Your husband might even get a split-night study (first half of the night is diagnostic and second half is with a CPAP machine), providing certain details and criteria are met.  If he is destined to use a CPAP, a split-night study is great as it means he does not have to go back for another night just for the CPAP titration.  It is not always possible to do a split-night study, so don't worry if they don't do one.  I only mention it because it's a real convenience if it happens

Blessings,
--pseudonym

What i meant by doesn't sound good was that it sounded for sure like he has SA and levels weren't normal--either way i'm sure a CPAP will mostlikely help--we talked a little more about it at dr.s today. he doesn't like the idea of CPAP but dr. basically agreed with what i was telling him that people wonder how they're ever going to sleep etc. with the CPAP and it becomes their best friend. the report reccommended a split study if he met the criteria i'm not sure what the dr. ordered but they may also go by the report since they're the same people who did the oximetry. On the other hand THis IS good news! now we know what we're dealing with. Dave was shocked with this report! we never realized how "bad" it was!

Exactly right, Lisa, this IS good news.  Since, the lab recommended a split-study most likely they saw enough evidence to suggest that CPAP would help him!  And CPAP is a non-invasive treatment, another plus.  

Almost no one likes the idea of sleeping with mask.  Some people feel ashamed and won't let their loved ones see them.  Others worry about dating and how will it work out to have a romance... the list of why we don't want to wear the mask is endless.  But the concerns are very real, and no different to get through and past than suddenly learning one must have insulin for diabetes, or must have a pacemaker, or... any of the things that lengthen life and improve its quality.  Usually these changes to lifestyle are not easily embraced

If he wants to 'hang around' awhile longer and in the best possible health, especially to be with his family and loved ones, it makes the idea of using CPAP a whole lot easier.  Untreated SDB puts everything he cares about, at risk.  A good attitude toward CPAP is 99.44% percent of the battle won.

Blessings,
--pseudonym

Thank you! I won't have a problem with him wearing it! he doesn't need to worry about that--infact i'll have a problem if he doesn't!! LOL
seriously tho--we were both wowed by the results and i think he's beginning to get use to the idea of having to wear one---if that's what the final reccommendations will be. i just want him to get better! not that i'm not tired of the non-stop snoring I'm so glad i've found these boards! It helps to talk to others and get support! this is so new to us--although i'm sure he's had it for quite some time. Even my daughter noticed yesterday when he fell asleep on the couch that he stopped breathing! I am begining now to understand alot of things including the dreams he sometimes has. He tells me when he dreams (and hasn't lately) but he has dreams of war battles. (he's never served in military--but has watched war movies)
i'm wondering if it's the battles for life going on inside him to breathe?? I heard someone say--that SA is like raging a war within you to breathe--how interesting

karassamom I am glad your husband got his results, the sleep study will give you so much more information, what type of apneas he is having, that will also determine what type of machine he will need, CPAP and BiPAP work well for Obstructive apneas, but not so good for Central apneas, VPAP works better for them and sometimes also with O2. I do hope he will get his sleep study done soon, his O2 Sats were really low! So he probably should get it done relatively soon! Do keep us all informed. Good Luck to you both White Beard


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White Beard with a White Beard
Resmed VPAP Adapt SV Enhanced, HumidAire 2i, ResLink with Model 8000 Flex sensor Pulse Oximeter, and ResScan 3.5 software. Respironic EverFlo OPI Oxygen Concentrator 3 lpm
EEP 9.0, min PS 6.0, max PS 16.0

I thought i mentioned in post that he goes in on Saturday for his sleep study--sorry he'll go back to dr. on the 28th
We found out because of our insurance, they had to do the oximetry first before they could schedule the other so that's why. If it had been up to dr. they would have gone straight to the full night sleep study. but the insurance required the oximetry done first

Just keep us posted on how he does! They are doing the same thing on my oldest daughter, they want her to have the home oxtimitry first!


_________________
White Beard with a White Beard
Resmed VPAP Adapt SV Enhanced, HumidAire 2i, ResLink with Model 8000 Flex sensor Pulse Oximeter, and ResScan 3.5 software. Respironic EverFlo OPI Oxygen Concentrator 3 lpm
EEP 9.0, min PS 6.0, max PS 16.0