AHI and SPO2 good, but tired, dizzy and have trouble concentrating after sleep

[GarethO]

Hi all, 

I would appreciate it if anyone who is in a similar situation to me and has been diagnosed effectively and has recovered or is on the way to recovery would tell me their story. 

I will go and see a doctor very shortly with everything I have learned, but to be honest, I think it will be a long road to even get them to listen to me.

My wife mentioned that I choke and stop breathing during my sleep and I often waking up choking and have crazy dreams. 

In February last year I bought an Airsense 10 APAP and CMS50F pulse oximeter and have been monitoring my sleep myself as I was declined from the public system in NZ.

BUT

If I set my machine to APAP it hovers around 7, I have 0-5 events a night marked as hypopnea or obstructive, which makes me think I should feel "normal" in the morning.
My SPO2 as read on my finger hovers in the mid 90’s awake or asleep and the CPAP makes no difference.
 
This leads me to believe the cause of my symptoms is not in fact OSA.
The blood reaching my brain specifically seems to be lacking in oxygen/flow.
I am unsure of the reason, but sleep seems to make matters worse, and a bad nights will leave me barely able to get through the day.



My primary symptoms are:
Tiredness, fatigue, light-headedness, dizziness, paraesthesia and numbness in head, difficulty concentrating, difficulty putting sentences together, heart palpitations, chest pain & reduced ability to exercise.

Possibly related:
Wake up choking, wake up with facial dermatitis, have indigestion.

[DrAHI]

Gareth,

Do you have any SleepyHead / Device Report to show the Board guys?

[Gideon]

The statement of your wife tells me that you definitely have Obstructive Apnea.  What it doesn't tell me is how severe.  The choking per your wife and on waking may indicate a common positional issue with your sleeping with you tucking your chin and blocking your airway.  This could be fixed, if I am right, with a loose fitting soft cervical collar.

heart palpitations, chest pain, have you seen your doctor about these, Chest Pain is always a red flag until heart issues are ruled out.

My primary symptoms are:

Tiredness, fatigue, light-headedness, dizziness, paraesthesia and numbness in head, difficulty concentrating, difficulty putting sentences together, heart palpitations, chest pain & reduced ability to exercise.  These are all symptoms of not enough O2 in the system which seems to be refuted by your SPO2 readings.  My wife had very similar systems but from a very different cause, not apnea and not cardiac.  It turns out that her airway was 80%+ occluded by a granuloma.

The best advice is always made with data.  Please post nightly charts from both your CPAP and your CM50.

Fred

[GarethO]

Hi,

Thanks for your replies. I think you're right that the only question there is about my OSA is the severity.

Sleepyhead hasn't really given me anything to go on. I get quite varied results and they seem to have no bearing on how I feel the next day. Some days I wake up thinking THAT was a good nights sleep and feel dreadful all day.

[DeepBreathing]

Hi Gareth. Welcome to Apnea Board.

It would be helpful if we could see the full details of your charts. Go to this address which will show you how to format and present the charts to get the best value (and allow us to give you the best advice): http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php...ganization

One thing I do notice is that on one night at least you had several lengthy sessions of very rapid respiration rate, 40 - 50 breaths per minute. This is unusually high and could be symptomatic of something.