Hypoxia and Medicine

Oxygen saturation levels drop while sleeping, what is this called?

I do not have any interruptions in my breathing. No pauses, no snoring. However, my oxygen sat levels drop down to 80 soon as I fall asleep. This sounds similar to Sleep Apnea, but as I have no interruptions in breathing (no stops), it is not that. Anyone have an idea what the name of this might be? I am 24, Never smoked in my life. p.s. I am going back for second sleep study and all, but my doctor didn't give me any sort of name or idea of WHAT this could be, the cause of the lessened saturation during sleep, and wanted to have help to find more information before the second study so I am not as freaked out about this. Thank you all for the help. ~Also have type two diabetes, hypothyroidism, high blood pressure, year round allergies, and yes I am obese. (I have been trying to lose weight my whole life, please don't harp on it.) Thank you everyone again! I have been overweight my whole life, but the sleep issue is NEW. So it is not directly related to my weight. Thank you all.

Public Comments

1. It is probably most likely related to the fact that you're obese? the extra weight may make it harder for you to breathe at night, seeing as breathing during sleep is a passive process. breathing less, or having a lower tidal volume due to the increased amount of pressure on the chest and diaphragm can make O2 sats drop... Edit: just because the symptons are new does not mean that they can not be related to your obesity. That would be like asking why you had to have a quadruple bypass. My arteries were always clogged before, and I never had angina or anything! not trying to be mean, just saying.
2. u may be part of PICKWICKAIN SYNDROME!! This syndrome is a combination of obstructive apnea in moderately to severely obese people, most of whom attempt to sleep face up. if u have any of the following then u are a part if it!! The major cause of Pickwickian syndrome is extreme obesity. This obesity places an excessive load on the pulmonary system. The role of genetics is also being studied. Symptoms of Pickwickian syndrome include excessive daytime sleepiness, shortness of breath due to elevated blood carbon dioxide pressure, disturbed sleep at night, and flushed face. The skin can also have a bluish tint, and the patient may have high blood pressure, an enlarged liver, and an abnormally high red blood cell count.
3. Did you guys read his question? He doesn't STOP breathing. That would rule out apnea. The term for low oxygen is hypoxia. The most common reason for night time hypoxia is apnea. Other then that I don't know what it could be. You stated that this is new, It may not be. It could be that you are just now feeling the effects of the low oxygen levels. Good luck
4. Has your doctor considered hypopnea? Hypopnea is a medical term for abnormally shallow breathing or slow respiratory rate. This differs from apnea in that there remains some flow of air. In the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders, a hypopnea event is not considered to be clinically significant unless there is a 50% (or greater) reduction in flow and an associated 3% (or greater) desaturation in the person's O2 levels for 10 seconds or longer, or if it results in arousal or fragmentation of sleep. The direct consequence of hypopnea (as well as apnea) is that the CO2 in the blood increases and the oxygen level in the patient’s blood decreases proportionate to the severity of the airway obstruction. This disruptive pattern of breathing generates disruptive sleep patterns, the consequences of which being that those individuals exhibit increased fatigability, lethargy, decreased ability to concentrate, increased irritability, and morning headaches. Basically, those individuals are extremely tired due to their inability to get a good night’s sleep. Hypopnoeas can be either central (i.e., as part of a waxing and waning in breathing effort) or obstructive in origin. During an obstructive hypopnoea, in comparison to an obstructive apnoea, the airway is only partially closed. However, this closure is still enough to cause a physiological effect (i.e., an oxygen desaturation and/or an increase in breathing effort terminating in arousal).