Sleep Apnea

Welcome back to the next Thriving not Just Surviving blog post. It’s been a particularly productive week. On Wednesday, we met with the sleep specialist who fast-tracked the sleep study to Friday night. I didn’t expect the study to happen this quickly, but I’m very glad to have already completed it.

Sleep Study Purpose
The primary diagnosis that a sleep study determines is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a condition in which a person’s breathing repeatedly stops and starts. This is attributed to the airways, primarily in the throat, closing or narrowing. Its potentially serious and can trigger other serious issues including: heart attack, stroke, oxygen deprivation, and sometimes even seizures.

I’m not the stereotypical patient for sleep apnea because I am still young and not overweight. However, I have exhibited many of the symptoms including excessive fatigue throughout the day, headaches after waking up, choking when sleeping, and snoring. My neurologist also believes that sleep apnea could be increasing the chances of having seizures, due oxygen deprivation during sleep and the excessive fatigue.

Preparing for the Sleep Study
I arrived at the hospital on Friday evening and met with the sleep technologist who began hooking me up to various sensors. The main component of the sleep study is the polysomnogram which records brain activity, eye movements, heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels, body movement, and more. This included a host of electrodes attached to my face, chest, arms, and legs. I also had sensors under my nose and around my mouth to monitor airflow.

Since I’m an epilepsy patient, they also used an electroencephalogram (EEG). This is a test that detects electrical activity in your brain using small, metal discs (electrodes) attached to the scalp. Brain cells communicate via electrical impulses and are active all the time, even when you're asleep. This test is used in a variety of ways to identify brain activity related to seizures.

Beginning the Sleep Study

I went to bed around and 10 p.m. and the sleep technologist began monitoring me on the EEG, polysomnogram, and by video camera. It was hard to fall asleep due to all of the electrodes, but I fell asleep sometime around 11 p.m. At 1 a.m. the sleep technologist woke me up and informed me that I failed the test due to severe sleep apnea and that they were going to start administering Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP).  This is the primary treatment for severe sleep apnea.

It was difficult to fall asleep as I was trying to adjust to the CPAP mask, but sleep eventually came and I finished the rest of the test. I was awakened at 6 a.m. on Saturday and was informed that I had over 30 sleep apnea occurrences per hour during the first two hours of the test. This means that I stopped breathing for at least 10 seconds 30 times in a single hour. Its standard protocol for the sleep technologist to begin CPAP if the patient has at least 5 sleep apnea occurrences during the first two hours. In summation, I have very severe sleep apnea that is most likely significantly impacting my quality of life and potentially a contributing cause of the seizures.

Next Steps
The results are still considered unofficial and a pulmonologist, neurologist, and sleep specialist will analyze the test results from the EEG and polysomnogram, but it is expected that CPAP will be the treatment recommended for my diagnosis. This is very good news because it could explain the seizures and at the very least should improve my quality of life. If left undiagnosed, it could cause more serious issues later in life.

I still have many questions surrounding the sleep apnea and the relation to the seizures and even lung cancer. I’m hoping that the EEG and polysomnogram can shed some light on these topics. I was told that it could be up to two weeks for the test results to be published. The plan over the next few weeks is to manage the sleep apnea as best I can and hope the results come back soon so I can obtain a CPAP machine as soon as possible. I’ve rambled enough for now so I am going to hold off for at least one more week on the lung cancer discussion. I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend.