Is this a positive sleep study?

[ilatruman]

SLEEP PROFILE:
Time at lights out w as 9:55 p.m. Latency to initial sleep onset w as 25 minutes
and follow ed by 5 1/2 hours total sleep time. A moderately fragmented sleep
pattern w as seen w ith 32 separate
aw akenings observed and sleep efficiency reduced to 74%. Architecturally REM
sleep w as reduced to 10% total and sleep stages otherw ise distributed as follow s:
stage 1 - 5%, stage 2 - 41%, slow w ave -
44%. Arousals from sleep w ere moderately frequent and typically respiratory in
origin.
RESPIRATORY PROFILE:
Snoring w as audible during this study and described as soft in volume. She
slept consistently in a supine position and w ith this a mild to moderate degree
of sleep disordered breathing w as seen.
Primarily hypopneas w ere observed during this study but a small number of
obstructive and central apneas seen. These events w ere largely unrelated to
sleep stage and produced a total RDI 18, apnea
index less than 1 and arousal index 13. Oxygen saturation w as generally w ell
maintained at a baseline level approximately 95%. There w as no cardiac rhythm
abnormality seen.
PERIODIC LIMB MOVEMENTS:
There w ere no significant leg movements demonstrated during sleep.
CONCLUSION:
Mild to moderate sleep disordered breathing/sleep apnea. Snoring w as observed
w ith hypopneas primarily and w ithout significant oxygen desaturation. Acceptable
subjective sleepiness score.
Moderate sleep fragmentation although consistent w ith the foreign laboratory
environment.

[TASmart]

Kind of how you define "positive" The report clearly states you have mild to moderate sleep apnea.

What is the question? If it is do you have sleep apnea, the answer is yes.

[Julie]

My take? If you can stop yourself from sleeping on your back even while asleep (something behind you that works) you may well not need more but will need to be checked again professionally to be sure. I'd try it.

[jnk...]

Your breathing is affecting your sleep enough that you may want to try CPAP to see if it has a positive effect on your overall quality of life.

[ilatruman]

Thanks everyone. I came across this in my medical records.

I've been having worsening sleep problems lately and asked for a sleep study and received a referral the other day. I figured I’d look through my medical records and see if I could find my old sleep study results (which had never been mentioned as abnormal, so I assumed everything was fine).

Those were the results a posted above, a test done several years ago when I was fourteen and thirty pounds lighter than I am now. I am now in my early 20s. I am shocked I was never told the results of this sleep study. I was never treated nor told to stop sleeping on my back. I have been dealing with depression, anxiety, exhaustion, concentration and memory problems, serious migraines and other problems. I needed ten hours of sleep in my teens and still dealt with unrefreshing sleep. I need less sleep now but still feel tired everyday. These issues have been debilitating in my life and I was told they were due to depression. I am shocked and thought maybe I was misreading the report.

[chunkyfrog]

Apnea misdiagnosed as depression---(this is a THING)
The more we learn . . . the less we should blindly trust our doctors.

[Lucyhere]

Thanks everyone. I came across this in my medical records.

I've been having worsening sleep problems lately and asked for a sleep study and received a referral the other day. I figured I’d look through my medical records and see if I could find my old sleep study results (which had never been mentioned as abnormal, so I assumed everything was fine).

Those were the results a posted above, a test done several years ago when I was fourteen and thirty pounds lighter than I am now. I am now in my early 20s. I am shocked I was never told the results of this sleep study. I was never treated nor told to stop sleeping on my back. I have been dealing with depression, anxiety, exhaustion, concentration and memory problems, serious migraines and other problems. I needed ten hours of sleep in my teens and still dealt with unrefreshing sleep. I need less sleep now but still feel tired everyday. These issues have been debilitating in my life and I was told they were due to depression. I am shocked and thought maybe I was misreading the report.

Really sad to read this. Once again it tells me how important it is to be your own health care advocate. Similar situation with my granddaughter. Diagnosed with a rare syndrome last summer. Went for a second opinion last month and new doctor completely disagreed with original doctor (also things never mentioned to her mother). She now has to redo a test which we thought would be completely unnecessary for the next 50 years - seriously. We just may be getting a third opinion. Yes, doctors go to medical school but so much is based on OPINION or their past experiences with other patients.

Glad you are having another sleep study. Hopefully this time you will get accurate answers. Again, being your own advocate for your health is absolutely essential. Almost scary. I grew up thinking doctors were god like.

[mesenteria]

Very unfortunately, it does look as if something more helpful could have been done for you much earlier. At that tender age you were already sleeping as an 'average' sleeper, but for those of us who have already raised our kids and none of them are left at home. You say you are now quite a bit heavier, implying you already now how that's likely to have played out over the past three or four years.

I think sleep study results should routinely be explained to people at an interview, mostly done to an extent already, but a copy should be afforded to the patient with a list of simple references to help interpret the data. Further, there should be a list of caveats, or things to take into consideration for deleterious changes such as weight, poor sleep patterns developing, diabetes, and so on. I'm assuming it isn't the case that you have simply forgotten the results of that first sleep assessment which were in fact reported to you. Someone close to you, if not you, should have been apprised of them and what they mean for 10 years down the road when you have 1.6 kids, a troubled marriage, mom or pop not doing well these days, etc.

I hope you do manage to get it sorted out. Ideally, it's not as bad as you fear, but your symptoms do suggest to me that you have not developed better sleep behaviours if no other contributing factors are also present in your life.

Stick around, though. If it turns out you need intervention and a regimen of PAP therapy, you have come to a good place. Lots of very smart and experienced people are here to help to guide you to optimized therapy.