transient hypoxemia?:dontknow: Austin was just diagnosed with this along with newborn apnea.

Jenn

I have not heard of this terminology before, but I would think it means that he has periods of time - off and on-(transient) where he has less oxygen in his blood (hypoxia) which would be related to the fact that he has those periods of apnea (stopping breathing) and shallow breathing. Hypoxia is very common in people who have respiratory illness and can't get enough oxygen through the lungs and heart, which results in less oxygen in the blood stream. These people will often have blue lips and blue fingernails and can sometimes be a bit confused as there isn't much oxygen getting to the brain either. Of course, hypoxia is not necessarily a permanent thing, most people have periods of hypoxia that come and go depending on how ill they are etc....
Not sure if that helped any, and of course I'm not a doctor..... I would do an internet search and see what comes up.

Thanks sarahh. That makes sense. I haven't really had much of a chance to do research on it but I plan to soon. I really hope this is a temporary thing.

Jenn

Sarah is right on with the explanation. :iconbigg: I found tons of stuff on this but much of it would not necessarily apply. My Mother has this due to COPD.

In what context did the doctor diagnose this? Is it sleep related? Anytime? After feeds? Any other information you can give?

So far the only test done to find it was his sleep study. The nurse said it is secondary to his newborn apnea. She said it is not at the point to need oxygen but they need to keep an eye on it. She described as "difficulty breathing". I haven't gotten a chance to speak with the GI about it yet because it was the nurse that called me with the results and she said the doc will discuss it with us more at our follow up appt. on the 22nd. He is already on an apnea monitor at home and the nurse said right now that is the only course of action needed, and the GI will discuss this further.

I am so confused right now. I found all sorts of stuff about it on the internet but I have no clue what applies to him and to what degree he has it. Some sights make it seem not that bad of a thing and some sights make it seem like it's bad and can cause death by respiratory failure or heart issues or all sorts of crazy stuff. I know it isn't bad enough to kill him or the GI would have taken further action but it is still pretty scary and confusing.:banghead:

Any info on this or a good website about it would be great. I just want to know what is going on with my baby!

Jenn

Oh and she said it is most likely because of the apnea and reflux combined.

Hi Jenn..
I would just like to reassure you that if they thought the hypoxia was life threatening or very serious, he would be on oxygen. No question. The 22nd is not too far away, so I am hoping that you get more answers from the doctor.. make sure you have all the questions you need answers for written down....
I'd just like to add that the internet is a wonderful source of info, but also you can freak yourself out by reading the "worst case scenario"!!! :hug:

Hi Jenn:

I was just released from hospital today and so I know your fear. While I was there it seemed I got so many conflicting stories. I went in with oxygen at 94 and peak flow at about 150. It was scary. They release me today telling me how wonderful I am and yet the oxygen was at 91 this a.m. and peak flow at 240. Still not the best. I am better just to get out of there.

I guess I am sharing my story, to give you a little peace of mind. I think sometimes too much knowledge is not a good thing. Trust in your dr. and good luck with your 22nd appt.

Maybe you should stop reading so much and focus on Austin and make a list of questions that pertain to him only. Maybe that will help sort through your feelings.

best wishes
Jean

When Sam was younger he had the same issues as your guy. He had apnea episodes where his oxygen sats would drop (hypoxia) and then he would recover on his own without any intervention. It was related to reflux episodes--he would get uncomfortable and hold his breath and his sats would drop and then he would get a trigger to take a breath and sats would go back up. Oxygen sats in a normal healthy person should be above 95---most people sat 98-100. people with lung "issues" may function normally at lower levels. I am an RN and most monitors in the hospital alarm if sats go below 93 (this may vary in different types of patients) i hope I helped some. sam only needed oxygen for a very short time before his fundo when he got very sick and stopped eating. He was on an apnea monitor as well (stopped using in this past Oct.) As Sam got older his apnea episodes decreased and he never required any kind of stimulation or intervention during an episode thank God--he just relaized that he needed to breathe!

Jenn,my son had the same issues as your son when he was an infant and he is now 7yrs old. He had apnea and periods of hypoxia due to his reflux. He was only on a monitor and improved as he got older.

He had sleep studies that showed us all of this. He at times would wake himself but most of the time we had to go to him and arouse him to start him breathing again.

He still til this days has apnea episodes while sleeping. This is when we know that his reflux is really flaring. As I said it took time but he did improve with age and as his reflux improved.

I also have to agree about not reading so much on the internet because it can drive you crazy. If it was life threantening your son would be in the hospital. Just wait til the 22nd to talk to your doc. I know that this is easier said than done. I do wish you luck.

Melanie.

Jean, I do hope that you are feeling bette and am sorry to hear that you had to be hospitalized. I do hope that you are up and running soon.

Melanie

Thanks guys. I have stopped reading all the scary crap on the internet cause I realized there is no point in worrying myself.

Reading the posts from Melanie and from Sam's mom really made me feel better. I'm relieved to know of other kids who have gone through this and done just fine. It was just such a shock to get those results. I honestly didn't think the test would show anything!

Thanks for sharing your story Jean. I do hope you are doing better soon.:hug:


Jenn