The Results Are In...

For the sleep study. We finally heard back from them yesterday with Brooklynn's sleep results.

Good news first - no obstructive sleep apnea! So that means she snores, but it does not physically effect her. Yay!

I knew there was SOMETHING they found though when they ended that statement with "so that's good news..."

Than came what they DID find. She has Periodic Limb Movement Disorder. There could be much worse. Still, I was expecting one answer and got another. This Disorder is where she unconsciously moves her limbs periodically throughout the night (legs, toes, knees) that takes her out of REM sleep. There is not much data on kids her age with this, it is a newer diagnosis. They said with older kids anything over 5 movements an hour would classify them in this realm, with adults it is anything over 12 movements an hour.

Brooklynn moved 12 times an hour randomly, and 20 times an hour periodically, so pretty much they say she has this disorder.

So what does this mean? Eventually it could cause mood disorders and ADHD, learning difficulties, etc since she does not get adequate REM sleep. There are ways to prevent this from happening.

We need to get her iron and ferrotin levels drawn because low iron (anemia) can cause these symptoms. Ferrotin delivers iron to the brain, the brain uses iron and produces dopamine, which helps with REM sleep and sleep cycles. So low iron would decrease the dopamine cycle. So if her levels are low, we will start her on 2 times a day iron supplements and reasses in 3 months. If she is still doing this, we will go for 3 more months at higher levels, and than reassess.

If the iron does not work there are other medications they can use, but they cause some major side effects. Looking it up online, they are benzodiazopenes and drugs used for Parkinsons. This step would require a lot of discussion.

Hopefully the iron works.

So not the worst news we could receive. Just more follow up needed, possibly another medication. But at least we do not need to worry about adenoid and tonsil removal at this time!