Sleep Results

Kerissa • September 24, 2013

2 1/2 weeks ago, I went through my first sleep study and had a follow-up appt. scheduled on October 2nd to discuss the results.  But this past Friday, I got a phone call from the sleep clinic—they told me that Dr. H wanted me to come in sooner to discuss the results..!  And of course, I thought, “Oh no, bad news??”   I didn’t know what to expect!  I guess you could say I was a little anxious, and I analyzed and re-analyzed everything, imagining all the worst-case scenarios that can happen with sleep.

Today was the appointment.  I asked Dr. H if he has good news or bad news, and he said he has “gray news.”  Lol!

Incredibly sweet and kind, my sleep dr. spent over an hour with me, going over the sleep study results and all of his recommendations.  He has an awesome bedside manner!

So here’s what’s happening when I sleep:

  • It turns out I “wake up” and “gasp” around 12 times every.single.hour!  That’s once every 5 minutes…!  That’s probably very amusing to watch.  These frequent sleep interruptions cause my heart rate to shoot up to over 107 bpm (normal rate during sleep is under 50 bpm).  Then my body/legs jerk, and I get “aroused” from sleep.  This cycle happens over and over every hour..
  • I have sleep-disordered breathing, and my Respiratory Disturbances Index is 12.2 (normal is less than 5).
  • He diagnosed me with hypersomnia (Excessive Daytime Sleepiness) and an “unspecified sleep apnea.”  It’s unspecified because my whole medical history is challenging/confusing, and I’m not the typical sleep apnea patient (i.e., I don’t really fall under Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Central Apnea, or Mixed).

So Dr. H wants me to do a 3-month trial of CPAP, but he suggested I wait until after we get more results/answers on what’s going on neurologically since CPAP can cause central apnea.  That wouldn’t be good!

This is a big week!  Hopefully tomorrow my geneticist will fill me in on the mitochondrial exome sequencing results!  I’m nervous about what the sequencing may or may not have found..  I really wanted to hear from her today (since the results were just posted earlier today), but Ohio is 3 hours ahead.  So I just have to wait!  But that’s a tough thing to do..  No matter how many times I have to wait for results, it NEVER gets easier!!

    October prayer request

    By Kerissa Lee • October 19, 2025
    Dear friends, At the beginning of October, I started taking a new medication for the autoimmune disease. I thought I was tolerating it just fine, but after several days passed, I began experiencing nausea, loss of appetite, weakness all over, and increased pain. 🙁 It’s like I’m experiencing another “mito crash.” I found out that this specific lupus medication affects mitochondria. That is, it causes an overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This, in turn, causes cell damage and oxidative stress. I sure wish the rheumatologists would have known about this before prescribing. But I have to remember that Mitochondrial DNA Depletion Syndrome is rare, and they’re not “mito experts.” Anyways, the last time I felt like this was back in May.. I’m so grateful to God that I haven’t needed to be hospitalized from this, but at the same time, I’m also sad that this happened at all, especially because I had such a nice stretch of stable health. I’d really appreciate your prayers, that this muscle weakness can resolve soon, and that this increased pain all over will get back to my baseline. Every time I have a “mito crash,” it feels like I’m fighting the flu which always sucks. The pain has been hard to bear. And whenever I’m in the thick of it, it’s difficult to remember that this too will eventually pass. 😢 Pray that I will endure and follow Jesus’ example like this passage from Hebrews 12:1-2– “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross...” Thank you all so much for praying for me. ❤️

    Thank you! (+ a prayer request)

    By Kerissa Lee • October 4, 2025
    "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." James 1:2-3

    Praises & Prayer Requests

    By Kerissa Lee • September 3, 2025
    "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23