[Diagnosis] Can Somebody Please Help Me Analyze Oximeter Logs?

[admaster99]

Hello Everybody I'm new here and was just hoping for some input. I've been dealing with some on going health problems for years that have really affected my quality of life and I have seem to find no correlation with any possible causes.

I've often times wondered about a possible sleeping disorder especially from some of the symptoms I've experienced growing up mainly being insomnia, morning headaches, fatigue/sleepiness.

I've had a sleep study once that came back negative but I often times wonder if it was a false negative.

So I bought a oximeter to try and log my sleeping quality and I was wondering if anybody could help me analyze the information? And if I have anything I should be concerned about?

I would really appreciate any input I'm kind of at my breaking point.

[Beej]

Sometimes the body breaks - I've something like 17 intermittent or continuous chronic medical issues.

If you let us know more about your current sleep patterns - where, when, how long, how often, how you feel waking up, etc. - we may be able to generate some ideas to consider. There are a number of sleep diaries available on the web, and those make a good starting point for discussions with your doc (or us).

[admaster99]

Thanks for the reply my sleep patterns mostly consist of me being in bed between 9:00-10:00 p.m. and tossing and turning continuously til usually 1:00-2:00 a.m. when I usually fall asleep. Usually when I'm asleep I'm fine but some nights I wake from tossing and turning.

Then when morning comes around usually around 8:00-9:00 a.m. I usually have a very very hard time getting up, I'm not so sure if that's because of tiredness or just lack of motivation. Either way I often times feel on and off fatigue throughout the day to the point that I often times feel overwhelmed in small and simple tasks.

Also there has been times when I try and take a couple hour nap because I'm so tired that right when I'm dosing off I wake myself up from like snorting or possibly snoring not sure because I'm half asleep when it happens.

Again any input is greatly appreciated and welcome.

[Beej]

I think you might find it helpful to read up on sleep restriction.

Also, if you didn't actually sleep much for a sleep study, the results could have been inaccurate, plus it is only a 1 night sample. Things do change over time, so it can be worth revisiting. Tracking your sleep over full days for a week or two, with notes about the choking, nap attacks, or other symptoms may help convince a doc to investigate further.

Alternatively, you might pick up a data capable CPAP and see what you can determine using SleepyHead. If your doc will Rx it, check the vendor list above; otherwise Amazon, your local Craigslist, etc.

[chill]

Your sleep patterns sound like me a few years ago. I agree with Beej on the sleep restriction suggestion. It helped me greatly.

I don't see anything overly alarming in your oximeter data. There are a few desaturations, but they could be artifacts of you holding your breath turning over or the monitor moving on your finger. Nothing screams SLEEP APNEA to me there.

You do seem to be suffering from an extended lack of good quality sleep. You may want to consider a short term crutch like Tempazepam to help you sleep. Life is very difficult to deal with when you are chronically sleep deprived.

How much of a work up has your doctor given you? Hormones could be a factor. Tossing and turning could suggest Periodic Limb Movement Disorder or Restless Leg Syndrome, both of which harm sleep quality. You can also look up Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome (UARS) which is a less known form of Sleep Disordered Breathing. It won't be picked up on a normal sleep lab test.

And depression, pain, and a host of other maladies can also impact quality of sleep.

[admaster99]

Whats weird is during the sleep study in the morning the tech asked me. "How I felt I slept?" I said I felt like it took me several hours to fall asleep, therefore I didn't feel like I slept very well. And she claimed that I fell asleep after like 20 mins is that even possible to be sleeping but feel like your awake?

And I know the results where not the most accurate because I wanted to make sure I could sleep so I stupidly stayed up the whole night before, which the doctor said was the stupidest thing I could have done which I also agree now.

But the summary from the sleep study showed I had no major apnea events except for one where my oxygen dropped down to 76% briefly along with some hypoapneas events. I believe my AHI was like 5 for the whole night which was 6 hours of logged sleep. But my total amount of REM sleep for the night was 9% which was dismissed because the doctor believed it was caused by medication I was on at the time. So he believed I didn't have a problem which very well may be.

Whats Sleepy Head? Also I find Melatonin is very effective for my insomnia type symptoms when I take that an hour before going to bed I don't even remember going to bed I pass out that fast most nights while taking it. I tried Lorazepam which is similar to Tempazepam but found the Melatonin to be just as effective. Which leads me to my next question I often times spend a very large amount of time on the computer every night after work up until I go to sleep can this be part of the problem?

I have had pretty much every test known to man ran and everything checks out fine, Thyroid, Blood panels, Hormones..... The doctors always end up chalking it up to anxiety and say I need to be on medication for it but I've been on so many different meds over the years with no real improvements.

My main disorder I've been dealing with ever since I was a young child is ibs. Over the past recent years it has gotten worse and other problems have seemed to develop in correlation I wonder if that is ultimately what is making me feel so tired.

Thank you both Beej and Chill for the extended replies I really appreciate your input

[admaster99]

Also I wondered about UARS also as "Chill" inquired but I wasn't aware of the condition until after I did the sleep study. Which aggravates me because the symptoms that coincide with UARS seem to gear more towards my own symptoms. So how is this checked for?

[SideSleeper]

YES is the answer to your question about the use of your computer at night! There was a thread on this subject some time ago and many use a blue light filter on their computers. I had the problem of getting to sleep, and sometimes funny dreams when not really asleep, both before and after I started CPAP therapy. The are strange repetitive dreams often linked to a scrolling computer. To download this, go to http://www.getfluxnow.com. It is easy to do and it works. It will automatically screen out the blue light at sundown. I don't understand the technicalities but it is all explained well on their website. I believe it has made a world of difference in my getting to sleep and usually staying asleep. Stay away from blue lights--I don't think many alarm clocks use them--I got one with red numbers. TV's can do the same thing as can cell phones. Best of luck in your search for answers.

[Beej]

That link doesn't appear to go to anything about blue light.

Wearing blue-blocking sun glasses might work, too.

[pholynyk]

The f.lux program can be downloaded now from justgetflux.com or you can do a search for redshift - which I use.