My daughter now 3 1/2 months old was born 5 weeks early. She has had two sleep studies showing an average of 40 or so obstructive events an hour and about 30 central events the first time and almost 100 an hour the second time. She has SEVERE sleep apnea. Her oxygen and sleep deprevation are so extreme that there was talk of putting her on a ventelator when she sleeps ... but then on Tuesday night we noticed she was teething.

Since giving her infants tylenol she has had NO central or obstuctive events! It has been three nights! Is it possible that the start of her teething caused her Central nervous system to mature? Is it the pain killer in the Tylenol that perhaps is helping mask another pain that was interfearing with her brain signals telling her to breathe? Is it the sugar in the tylenol that is helping with brain connections?

Anyone hear anything or have any information on this?

Thanks!
Hailey

PS that night we did turn up her oxygen flow from 1/8 to 1/4 so it's probably the reason she hasn't had any more obstructive events ... but does not explain the lack of central events.

Hailey,

I am assuming she is on an apnea monitor at home? If so, remember that they often record before they alarm, so she may still be having events, just not long enough to set off an alarm (my son's was always set to record at 10 seconds and alarm at 20).

Did she really have nearly 100 central apnea events in an hour? Wow!

Turning up her oxygen flow could very well have helped the central sleep apnea. For the same reason that a c-pap works to help with central apnea. The continuous airflow provides stimulation and prevents the brainstem from relaxing too much during sleep, which is one of a few causes of central sleep apnea.

It is also entirely possible that her brain has matured and that the central events have gone by the wayside. I sincerely hope that is the case.

I don't think the Tylenol has anything to do with it, but if you just had to find out, you could not give it to her for a night and see what happens.  

Keep us posted and feel free to ask any other questions....

Tiffany...Mom to Isaac. My three year old brainiac, who still carries an official diagnosis of "Unresolved Primary Central Sleep Apnea of Infancy", but is doing much better with his c-pap!  and to Esther Rose, who is a beautiful baby that sleeps like a dream, although we are checking up on things to make sure we're not just delusional!