My 2 3/4 year old son has obstructive sleep apnea. He had a sleep study done and the only thing I was told was that his oxygen level dropped to 77 during the night. I saw all these other numbers on people's topics and am wondering what they mean. Can anybody tell me?

Some people w/apnea do not experience a drop in oxygen, some do.
The numbers most people post about are about the apnea itself--how many times the person stops breathing, or has shallow breathing, and for how many seconds those episodes last.  I think you want to ask the doctor for more specific info about the apnea so you'll know more about your child's breathing....ask him for a copy of the report.

What was the dr. say  about the drop in oxygen?  Ask the doctor how much time (seconds, minutes, hours?) is his oxygen below 90?  below 80?  Did the dr.  mention trying a cpap, or using oxygen?

You also want to find out if the apnea is obstructive or central, or a mixture of both.

good luck and keep us posted about what you find out.

mommy2mkg wrote:

My 2 3/4 year old son has obstructive sleep apnea. He had a sleep study done and the only thing I was told was that his oxygen level dropped to 77 during the night. I saw all these other numbers on people's topics and am wondering what they mean. Can anybody tell me?

mommy2mkg,

Get the reports. Get the graphs. Get everything you can. It will all mean something to you very soon. Ask the Dr to explain everything until you are satisfied. If that doesn't happen, then ask about those numbers through this site. Others can help you understand. Someone here has been through all of this and can help interpret and fight your way through. It's important to learn as much as you can. Keep coming back and asking questions. This site is the best thing that's happened to me since I was diagnosed. Good luck and hope to hear from you again.


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Knowledge is empowerment. Take back your life by researching and learning how to deal with this stuff. At least one of these people has already been through what you're struggling with.

yeah, you definately need to find out more. An important number to ask the doc is the AHI. You need to know how many apnea/hypopneas are occuring per hour.

What did the doctor say might be the course of treatment? Are there any other underlying conditions? Is the doctor that went over your son's results an ENT, sleep specialist, etc?

Let us know what you find out.

kim

Yes, need to find out more so doctor can have the right treatments on your son.  Let us know the update.


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Informations on Sleep Apnea & Snoring & Insomnia

Trust your instincts. Ask LOTS of questions. A good doctor (nurse practitioner in our case) will stay with you as long as it takes to help you understand everything that is going on and what all the magic numbers mean! We have hit a point that we have determined "I don't know" isn't an acceptable answer anymore.  Moms and Dads generally have a gut feeling that is stronger than any medical test or interview.

Keep us posted...And remember...No question is too simple or too weird to ask...If you want to know, ask!