Sleep apnea and Low O2 levels at night

[myboys]

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea a yr ago.I recently lost 40 pounds.. 2 weeks ago I did and overnight study (Apnealink) to see if my sleep apnea has gotten better. My O2 levels at night continue to have desaturations. The number of desaturations during the test were 87. 232 mins under 90, 16 mins under 85 and 148 mis under 89%. There were 66 hypopneas. These seem very low, my sleep doc thinks it's lung releated and I'm waiting tohear from my Pulm Doc. Do these seem low enough for O2 thearpy at night? I have had CHF and a stroke in 2000 following the birth of my son.

Thank-you
graice

[myboys]

Thank-you for your quick response!
My AHI was 11. I do use a C-PAP machine with a setting of 10. That last study was without my machine.
thank-you
gracie

[Steven Y Park, MD]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. What was your apnea hypopnea index, or the AHI? It sounds like you still have significant breathing pauses, and before you add oxygen, you should try to fix the breathing obstructions first, since that's what's causing your oxygen levels to drop. Your oxygen drop is typical for someone with obstructive sleep apnea. Talk to your sleep doctor about the next step.