Sleep Study Results

Dr. Garcia stopped by tonight to discuss the results of Hayden's sleep study. I was expecting him to tell us that Hayden has obstructive sleep apnea and needs to have his tonsils and adnoids out. Since this is Hayden, one must expect the unexpected. He has central sleep apnea--not obstructive. I had never heard of central sleep apnea and still wish I hadn't. It is not comforting to know that Hayden's brain forgets to tell him to breathe when he sleeps. Dr. Garcia was quick to reassure he that he wasn't going to suddenly pass away in his sleep, but this is still unsettling news.


Hayden had 13 cental apneas, 2 obstructive hypopneas, and 2 breathing related arousals. There were sharp spike and wave patters seen on the EEG mostly in the right occipital region. This is normal on his EEG due to his epilepsy. He had slightly higher than normal periodic limb movements. Which he said we may want to look into treatment for, but was not urgent. He has so much going on that I am not sure we will be checking this out too soon. His apneas averaged 12 seconds with 16 desaturations (oxygen less than 90%). One desaturation was all the way down to 70%. He recovered from the desaturatios quickly, so there is no concern there.


Since Hayden has done so well to date, especially with sedated procedures, no further follow up with the sleep health doctor is needed. Thank goodness! As nice as Dr. Garcia is, I just don't want to add any more doctors to Hayden extensive list.