I am 58, female, 5’5″, 165 lbs. I take the following medications:
levothyroxine
tizanidine
metformin
trandolapril
simvastatin
HCTZ
Adderall
alprazolam
cymbalta
lamictal
Last month I had a sleep study to check for sleep apnea. When I went for the follow-up appointment, all the doctor said was that I had mild sleep apnea, and he didn’t think I needed CPAP treatment. He asked if I had any questions, and I didn’t. He did not show me a report or go into any detail.
As I was leaving, I asked for a copy of the test results, thinking it would be interesting to see. The report was very detailed and contained lots of terms and abbreviations that I had to look up. The first thing I noticed was that REM sleep was only 1.5% N1, N2, & N3 did not fall within the normal range either. The technician noted many RERA. I have suffered from chronic severe major depression for most of my life, so I guess I’m looking to see if any sleep factors could be contributing to it.
Skipping over to cardiac summary, I was alarmed to see bradycardia and unclassified tachycardia checked, with highest heart rate 255 bpm. This scares me, because my mother and grandmother had heart problems, and both had pacemakers.
If the doctors had shown me the report, I could have asked them about these things. They did not reply to my email. Seems like they would have mentioned the findings. Are they nothing to be concerned about? I have anxiety disorders also, so maybe I’m worried over nothing.
I wrote a detailed letter to my regular doctor,and she did not answer any questions – just replied, “Will order CPAP titration and pulse rate evaluation.” I don’t even know what that means. I don’t want a CPAP, I want to know if my brain waves and my heart are ok. Is a pulse rate evaluation going to explain why I had arrhythmias in my sleep?
I just want another doctor to look at the test results (attached) and tell me what they think.
Thank you so much.
Age: 58
Female
Your polysomnography results were reviewed by an expert Sleep Physician who concluded you had Mild Obstructive Sleep Apnea. CPAP is an option for your condition but not necessarily needed. Bradycardia during sleep is not necessarily a problem and common. Tachycardia can occur but your heart beat spiked up high and needs further investigation – to try to understand what was the cause. Testing is recommended. Your Doctors may want to do a sleep study with a CPAP mask in place and monitor your sleep and your heart.
Hi. In case if you have any breathing difficulty during sleep then you might need a CPAP otherwise not. So the need of CPAP depends.. Secondly slight bradycardia during sleep is ok but the heart rate spiking too high is not normal and needs a complete cardiac evaluation.. So for this your General Physician can order tests or can refer you to a Cardiologist.. CPAP titration study is a type of in-lab sleep study used to calibrate continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. CPAP is a common treatment used to manage sleep-related breathing disorders including obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep… Read more »