Help with sleep study results

[Guest guest]

I have Sheldon's sleep study results and need help. Here's what I see:

Final Diagnosis: Moderate to Severe Mixed Sleep Apnea; Periodic Limb

Movement Disorder

192 arousals (25 an hour); 80 hypopneas averaging 14 sec, max 21

sec.; 26 central apneas; ? 0? 6? 8? (can't read fax) obstructive

apneas; Severely fragmented sleep, REM sleep appeared to inhibited by

respiratory disturbance. EKG detected occasional PACs (what are

these?).

O2 SAT only went down to 92%

Here are my questions - What is hypopnea? What are mixed apneas? What

can be done about these? What are PACs? What do I do about all this

and which doctors do I send a copy of this report to? The ENT already

has it.

We've decided to remove his tonsils to see if that'll improve things

(already had a partial adenoidectomy last Aug.). I get the impression

that the recovery from tonsillectomy can take a while.

I don't know what to think about all of this except that Sheldon

isn't getting much sleep. I am so down recently about all that he has

to deal with and go through, I know it's nothing compared to what

other kids on this list go through.

Thanks for your time and any input you might have.

--

----------

Stacey Fleming

flemings@...

[Guest guest]

Here are my questions - What is hypopnea? What are mixed apneas?

Hypopneas are periods where you are breathing but you're not doing it

enough. (Hypo means less than, pnea means breathing.) For example, your

respiration rate should be about 12-20 per minute. With hypopnea, you are

breathing at less than that. There are two types of apnea--central and

obstructive. With central apnea, the brain does not tell the body to breathe.

Meds such as theophylline and caffeine are often used because they can

remind the brain to breathe. Obstructive apnea is caused when there is

something in the way that prevents the body from breathing. Have you

checked to see if the tonsils are really getting in the way? Sometimes people

remove them without real proof that they are obstructing breathing and it may/

may not help. People often end up with cPAP or biPAP with obstructive apnea

and even with hypopnea if sats fall.