Sleep Study discrepancy

[blu109]

I just had a sleep study done due to elevated blood pressure and day time sleepiness. The referring physician said everything came back normal but when I look at the study, I see a sleep efficiency of 67 and .2% N3 sleep, 16.7% REM.  I feel like I am only being evaluated for sleep apnea and not other causes.  I am tired/lack energy most days.  Any advice would be great

[Heiferly]

You have the right to get a second opinion, and to have that medical appointment, as well as any testing ordered (including having a sleep study repeated if necessary) covered by your insurance. I just want to make sure that you're aware of your medical rights. If you don't find the dental device sufficiently helpful, I hope you will seek out a second opinion.

Best wishes, H.

[blu109]

Yes, N3 is the stage 3 sleep, and all blood work was normal.  The sleep lab will not work with me because the referral was through a military physician that is not sure of what the results mean.  "...I've heard people don't sleep well at those things (PSG test).."  I am being fitted for a dental devise to try to quell the snoring I experience. Hope I don't end up mental.

[Heiferly]

I'm not qualified to interpret polysomnograms, but I do know that for the sleep efficiency, the normal level is supposed to be less than 100%. Now, whether your % falls into the normal range or not, I cannot say unfortunately. I am also unsure of the significance of the N3 sleep; I'm guessing that might be referring to stage 3 sleep, but I'm not even certain of that.

What I recommend to you is calling the place that performed your sleep study and ask for a follow-up appointment with a doctor who specializes in sleep medicine to review your results with you. This can be helpful even if it does turn out that your results were within normal range, as the doctor may be able to see with their expertise what some other possible causes for your excessive daytime sleepiness might be.

Has your doctor done any blood work to test for hormonal abnormalities such as hypothyroidism? That's another aspect worth looking into. We have an excellent community for that here on MedHelp if you'd like to find out more about what kinds of tests that requires.

Let me know if I can answer anything else for you. Best wishes for answers and a helpful solution for you in the near future, H.