Sleep Study Results

We went back the doctor again on Monday for the results of Connor's sleep study. As a reminder, Connor had Central Sleep Apnea and only a few episodes of Obstructive Sleep Apnea prior to having his tonsils out, and although it was not likely that the tonsilectomy would stop the Central Sleep Apnea, the doctor strongly believed that it would help. Great news! Connor only had 1 episode of Central Sleep Apnea during his most recent sleep study. He did, however, have an average of 2 episode's of Obstructive Sleep Apnea during this study. The doctor did not really have an explanation for this other than explaining his belief that he thought Connor actually did have the Obstructive Sleep Apnea even before having the tonsils out even though the original sleep study didn't show it. All along he had said that the Central Sleep Apnea could have been caused by the Obstructive Sleep Apnea and after an episode of Obstructive, his body may have relaxed too much that his brain would forget to signal the body to breath. Anyway, it is still fantastic news because now we don't have to worry about a sedated MRI to check possible problems with his brainstem. At this point they are considering the Obstructive Sleep Apnea as mild and have put him on a prescription for Flonase which is a corticosteroid nasal spray to use before bed to keep his nasal passages open while sleeping. They do not think oxygen is necessary at this time and we just have to monitor his sleep patterns to make sure it doesn't get any worse! So, the tonsilectomy did help with Connor's sleep struggles and we are still hoping to get some good news at his next swallow study in March as well!!

Sleep Study # 2

Connor had his 2nd sleep study last night. He had his tonsils out at the end of November and they wanted to do a follow up sleep study 6 weeks later to see if he still has sleep apnea. As I have mentioned in the past, at the last sleep study it was discovered that Connor has Central Sleep Apnea which means that his brain is not telling is body to breath at time during sleep. While most doctors would say that this is not related to large tonsils, it was decided by several doctors that removing the tonsils would hopefully get rid of any Obstructive Sleep Apnea which in turn would possibly help the Central Sleep Apnea episodes as well. I feel that he has been sleeping much better since his tonsils came out, but I am not sure if that is just wishful thinking. We did not notice many symptoms before so not to much has changed, but he does seem to sleep much more comfortably. In the past, he was very restless and now he does not seem to move around as much. We should get the results in a few weeks and will go from there. I am trying to not worry about it in the meantime, but that is not always easy. If he does still have the Central Sleep Apnea, the doctors believe there may be a problem with his brainstem and would schedule a sedated MRI to look for the problem. Depending on the severity of the Sleep Apnea, Connor may be put on oxygen while sleeping until they find the cause and hopefully a permantent solution.

Connor went to the sleep study with Daddy this time!  Dad reported that he did well overall, but again did not like having all the leads and wires on him. They arrived at 7:30 and he was all hooked up and ready to go around 8:45. Connor was almost asleep when they were attaching the wires, but then got angry and didn't fall asleep until 9:30. He slept well until 11:15 when the technician came in to put the terrible thing in his nose!  As I know from the last time, Connor does not like this at all and stayed up until around 2:30!  Jeff said it was almost as if Connor was sleeping sitting up. He wasn't crying at all but could not get comfortable. He just sat up giving dirty looks! Hahaha, that is my Connor. The technician said he got what he needed and they were released at 6:30 in the morning. We are praying for good results!!

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