I had my follow-up appointment with Dr. B at the Harborview Sleep Clinic this morning, to get the results of my recent sleep study. My results were completely in line with nearly every other results appointment I've ever had: "You have some abnormalities, but we don't know if they mean anything." Do you know how many times I've heard that?! They never really turn out to mean much (or they just remain a mystery, which is always reassuring when it comes to health), with my tumor being the one exception. But even when I got my first MRI results back in January or February of 2011, my neurologist Dr. K said "There's a weird spot on your scan, but we don't think it means anything." That weird spot ended up being my tumor. Anyhoo, I digress...
Dr. B said that I got about 4 hours of sleep during my study, which is pretty much what I guessed on the morning after survey. He agreed that it took me a while to fall asleep and was a light sleeper.
My first abnormality: My REM sleep. Normally, people move through sleep cycles each night, with REM sleep occurring every 90 minutes or so. The non-REM sleep is slow wave sleep. I had a normal percentage of my sleep that was REM sleep versus slow wave sleep. However, instead of having REM every 90 minutes, I only had 1 big chunk of REM at the very end of the night. Unusual, per Dr. B, but we don't know if it means anything. He's not worried about it.
My second abnormality: My slow theta brain waves. Back when I had my 2 EEGs last year, they noted that I have slow theta brain waves. They told me that they don't know what it means but that they're not really concerned. And apparently back when I had an EEG in 1995, they noted the slow theta waves then too. Dr. B told me today that I had slow theta brain waves during my sleep study, and that they lasted the entire time I was there. THAT is the part that's weird. Normally slow theta activity happens when you're coming in and out of sleep. Dr. B has NEVER seen it as lengthy or as significant as mine. So it's very unusual (I prefer "special" or "VIP" myself), but again, we don't know if it means anything. He's not concerned about it but seems intrigued.
I also have some minor sleep apnea issues, where my airway was slightly constricted a few times, although it was less frequent and less significant than what is required for an actual sleep apnea diagnosis. But I've heard from friends that have done sleep studies that they tell everyone they have sleep apnea issues. So I'm not overly concerned (or even concerned at all) about this part, nor was Dr. B.
So, the moral of the story is that my pesky brain is so weird! (That's my analysis, not Dr. B's.) He's going to treat me more as an insomnia patient and not a sleep apnea patient. He's referring me to a psychiatrist ('cause I'm nuts! kidding) that the Sleep Clinic works with, and that psychiatrist will help teach me some tricks/habits to hopefully help improve my sleep naturally. Down the road, we can explore drugs (no thanks) or using a sleep machine (no thanks) if needed. So we'll see!! My appointment with Dr. D, the psychiatrist, is in 2 weeks.
I wonder if my slow theta waves are the reason I'm always so tired and sleepy...? Who knows. Dr. B seemed a little curious/intrigued about my results today, but they're pretty much what I expected. I have abnormalities, but we don't know what they mean or even if they matter. Story of my life. Oh, and Dr. B noticed that I cut my hair since my previous appointment with him. Cracks me up. :)
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