My son/ along with his twin sister were born 11 weeks early.  they came home on monitors.  they wre taken off of the monitors at 5 months.  my son is now 22 months old and recently just started to breathe funny at night, he will make this noise like he is trying to catch his breath and wake up.  he looks so tired when he wakes up.  I wasnt sure if he was waking up or not last night so i watched him and sure enough he would wake up every time, its like every minute or so, I dont know if he does this all night, but it is getting more frequent.  this all started on monday.  I told his ped about it yesterday (I called)  he said if he appears tired then they would look into it.  (I told him I didnt think he was tired because of that)  but since he is waking up from it, and my husband said he looks tired I am a tad bit concerned.  I am going to call the doc on mon to tell him.  Does this sound like sleep apnea?  Thank you so much, btw his sister does not do this at all.

mamaof32007,

Pediatric apnea is much different than adult apnea so I moved your post to the pediatric forum where our fantastic parents here will see your post.

Vicki


_________________
Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.
Marilyn Von Savant

That which does not kill you makes you stronger-Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich must of had apnea.

It certainly sounds like he would at least benefit from a sleep study. It will show what any sleep abnormalities, not just apnea....Does he have a neurologist? If so, I think I might bring these episodes of waking up to him....

Tiffany

I took him to his ped this morning, he said his tonsils are not swollen, but his nose is on the inside, so he gave us some steriod nose spray and amoxicilian, he doesnt really think it is a sinus infection, but doesnt want him to be put thorough the sleep study in case it is, he said it probaly isnt because he is not coughing or anything plus no runny nose, we sill see.

Personally, especially if the doc doesn't think it is an infection, I wouldn't give an antibiotic. I'd opt for the sleep study.  They are time consuming and not really convenient nor are they enjoyable for the child. But it is certainly less harmful to their bodies than unnecessary antibiotics.  

My son is 3 and just had his 5th sleep study. He's only been on antibiotics once in his lifetime for an ear infection.  He's had more than a few MRIs and X-rays...now, if it were a choice between a test that involved sedation or anesthesia, I'd opt to try the antibiotic first, too. But not over a sleep study...

I hope you get some answers...Sometimes you have to play mama bear to get what your child needs!

Tiffany

I would hope that the doctor wouldn't prescribe antibiotics unless s/he truly felt there was a need for them....  That being said, we put off doing a sleep study for my son until he was 3 1/2.  We (myself and his doctors) were afraid that it would be too traumatic for him.  He had his tonsils and adenoids removed at 20 months and seemed to be doing better sleep-wise.  Unfortunately, at the time I knew nothing about anything besides obstructive sleep apnea and so he suffered needlessly for at least a couple of years.  If we had decided to go ahead with the sleep study he would likely have been dx'd with (and treated for) central apnea much sooner.  Go with your instincts.  If you feel something is wrong, address it now, unless the benefit outweighs the risk.  I look at antibiotics and vaccines the same way.  Some people are completely for or against things like that but you as the mom need to be the one deciding what your child needs most.  Try the nasal spray and abx and see if there's a difference.  You might be surprised.  My ds didn't present with typical symptoms for either sinus infections or tonsillitis.  Some kids don't.  However, if it doesn't work and you're still noticing poor sleep and/or tiredness throughout the day, I would push for a sleep study.

I called the doc today to let him know that our son is still doing the waking up thing at night, we chose not to give him the amox we did the nose spray and it didnt seen to help.  so we are wanting another perscription of amox, to try that this week and if that doesnt help then we will opt for the sleep study, I feel bad for not giving him the amox but he had no fever, runny nose, stuffy nose or anything.  I hope the ped doesnt chew me out for that.