IGot a copy of my sleep study results from my Dr. on the 3rd. Anyway, I can read the findings yet I don't know which of the 5 pages of charts and AHI's,nonrem and rem I should be looking at to know what my AHI is. From what I can understand this is what they found.

My sleep efficiency was 86%.
Spent 7% in stage 1, 71% in stage 2 3% in stage 3, and 18% in REM
Had 1 Central Apnea, 5 Obstructive Apneas, 90 Hypopneas, ~a total count of 25, index of 7 events an hour w/ an RDI of 17 events per hour~
I had 83 arousals w/ index of 12.6. No awakenings


I have lots of other illnesses, one being a type of arthritis called Ankylosing Sponylitis. It is a progressive disease in which my vertabre fuse together. I am totally fused from my very lower back up including my neck and ribs. So I can't move my head and only have 40% lung function because of my fused ribs. I also have Crohns, Heart, and Kidney Disease to name a few! I am 37 y/o and feel muuuucchh older! lol!

Anyway, just thought I'd share. Any info on understanding the rest of this would be appreciated! Hope everyones having a good one!

~Jules~



_________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Respironics BiPAP Auto M-Series
M-Series Remstar Heated Humidifier
Pressure 18/12 with 2 lpm Oxygen
Small Comfort Gel Nose Mask
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You are going to have 3 important AHI values on your sheet, somwhere:

REM AHI : This is a value telling you that for every hour of REM you sleep you had X amount of events.

NREM AHI : This is a value telling you that for every hour of NREM you sleep you had X amount of events.

Total AHI : This is NOT an addition of the above. This is the total number of events you had per hour regardless of stage.

--

I cant quite get the information out of what you typed in. (~a total count of 25, index of 7 events an hour), what does this mean? Total count of 25?

Was this a baseline test or a split night study? 83 arousals (index of 12.6) sounds awfully high.

How time did you sleep in REM? How many minutes did you sleep total?



Last edited by RAM_Sleep on Mon Jul 07, 2008 4:40 pm; edited 1 time in total

Quote:

My sleep efficiency was 86%.
Spent 7% in stage 1, 71% in stage 2 3% in stage 3, and 18% in REM
Had 1 Central Apnea, 5 Obstructive Apneas, 90 Hypopneas, ~a total count of 25, index of 7 events an hour w/ an RDI of 17 events per hour~
I had 83 arousals w/ index of 12.6. No awakenings

86% efficiency isn't too bad, as it can be hard to sleep during a sleep study.

Your AHI is 7, which is mild apnoea. Your Respiratory Disturbance Index is 12.6.

More importantly, you have a very fragmented sleep architecture. Stage 1 of Non REM is OK at 7% (usually about 5%). The average norm for Stage 2 is about 55%...........at 71% you are above this. You effectively have almost no Stage 3 & 4 of Non REM Sleep (3%).........normal would be about 20%. Your REM Sleep at 18% is close to the 'norm' of 20%. I suspect you suffer from Excessive Daytime Sleepiness as a result of the lack of Stages 3 & 4.

Quote:

I have lots of other illnesses, one being a type of arthritis called Ankylosing Sponylitis. It is a progressive disease in which my vertabre fuse together. I am totally fused from my very lower back up including my neck and ribs. So I can't move my head and only have 40% lung function because of my fused ribs. I also have Crohns, Heart, and Kidney Disease to name a few! I am 37 y/o and feel muuuucchh older! lol!

I have only recently heard of this condition. One of our (Irish) International Rugby Players has it (John Hayes) and he is actively advocating for this condition on our national radio. He seems to be one of the lucky ones, who was diagnosed early, and seems to be coping well (he is still playing..aged about 32/33).
Anyway, just thought I'd share. Any info on understanding the rest of this would be appreciated! Hope everyones having a good one!

I see that you are BiPAP and oxygen, which should be helpful with your reduced lung function.

Hope this is of help.

Daniel.


_________________
The untreated Sleep Apnoea sufferer died quietly in his sleep.......
Unlike his three passengers who died screaming !!!!!!

(Anon)

The AHI cant be 7, can it?. If it were 7, then the patient would have slept for 822 minutes.

96 total events.

Assuming she was hooked up for a total of 8 hours, 86% efficiency would put her at 417 minutes slept ( or about 7 hours). IF the AHI was 7, then that would account for less than half her events.

Her real AHI is 25 something, I think, but I cant tell from what she typed in.

Maybe i'm missing something. I havent slept in a few days.

Also, while the fragmentation isnt helping, she has serious medical conditions and possibly a laundry list of medications. Even on a good day, her SWS percentage might be half of what is expected. The arousals are not helping, but 3% is better than 0%. Im surprised that she got into 3/4 at all, considering the arousal count.

RAM_Sleep wrote:

The AHI cant be 7, can it?. If it were 7, then the patient would have slept for 822 minutes.

96 total events.

Assuming she was hooked up for a total of 8 hours, 86% efficiency would put her at 417 minutes slept ( or about 7 hours). IF the AHI was 7, then that would account for less than half her events.

Her real AHI is 25 something, I think, but I cant tell from what she typed in.

Maybe i'm missing something. I havent slept in a few days.

Also, while the fragmentation isnt helping, she has serious medical conditions and possibly a laundry list of medications. Even on a good day, her SWS percentage might be half of what is expected. The arousals are not helping, but 3% is better than 0%. Im surprised that she got into 3/4 at all, considering the arousal count.

You are indeed correct..........I only saw 7 events per hour and looked no further. The fragmented sleep architecture caught my eye and I didn't look much further............good spot.

AHI would in fact be closer to 25.

As stated by you, 3% in Stages 3/4 is better than nothing, but still not good.

It's a very complex case, and with the numerous other conditions I think it important that the sleep doctor liases with the other medics involved in the case.

Daniel.


_________________
The untreated Sleep Apnoea sufferer died quietly in his sleep.......
Unlike his three passengers who died screaming !!!!!!

(Anon)

Hi groovy girl,
You do have a bucket load of illnesses to live with don't you?  It's good you're able to maintain your humor.  

Isn't there a summary page that lists things simply?  Try to find where it says AHI or apnea / hypopnea index and tell us that.  (not the REM or nonREM ones).  An AHI (includes both REM & nonREM stages--the whole sleep time) is what is used to determine if the apnea is mild, moderate, or severe.  5-15 is mild.  If think 25 is moderate, if the guys posting are guessing right.
The AHI is not the number of episodes of apnea, but the average.

I didn't know that Ank.Spond. would fuse the ribs too, and affect lung function.  that stinks.  i'm sorry you're going thru all that.  I hope the treatments provide some relief.

take care....

Hi guys! I was too tired last night to figure this out. This was a split-night sleep study I spent 448 minutes in bed. I had a total count of 32 apneas + hypopneas. My AHI is 4.8

As for my Ankylosing Spondylitis I was dx'ed at age 10. Now days there are great biologic meds out that take away the pain plus protects the joints and vertebre from fusing so your Rugby player is very lucky to have great meds avalible to treat it.

Anyway I appreciate all your help! Hopefully I gave the right info! Take care!
~Jules~


_________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Respironics BiPAP Auto M-Series
M-Series Remstar Heated Humidifier
Pressure 18/12 with 2 lpm Oxygen
Small Comfort Gel Nose Mask
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~