[tri-med] Re: [tri-family] central apnea

Moved to TRI-MED
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Katie Cragg"
> Mitchell has been having a lot of apnea alarms lately. Looks like it is
> central apnea (not obstructive).

What sort of apnea alarm does he have?
Central apneas can occur with our children - and the causes can be numerous. 
If you suspect central apneas then you need a sleep study to determine that 
they are central apneas and what the cause is. They are a lot more difficult 
to treat than obstructive apneas but in a lot of cases they can be treated 
quite successfully.

In very young babies it can simply be that their nervous system has not 
matured and so the brain literally forgets to breathe. Thats why its 
referred to as apnea of prematurity, it happens a lot in premature babies 
(and because of the IUGR our kids can be classified as premature even when 
they are term). This sort of central apnea is something that most of our 
children grow out of when their nervous system matures. It can be treated in 
the meantime with Bi-PAP or they can use some drugs eg caffeine or 
theophyline (ventolin). The drugs tend only to work with infants though I 
have heard of some of our older triers using them quite successfully. (Alex 
is 11 but we do use Coca Cola to "wire" his nervous system when its 
depressed)

In older children with a history of obstructive apneas it can develop 
because of the obstructive apneas. If this is the case it happens because 
the brain "resets" and says "its too hard to work for 100% oxygen I'll 
settle for 90%" and so doesn't "tell" the lungs to take a breath.

Or it can occur in children who are on continuous oxygen for extended 
periods of time. Its similar to the above scenario except in this case the 
brain says "I don't have to work to get 100% oxygen" and so its doesn't. 
Thats why oxygen is really a drug. Alex is one of these types of children 
and so we keep any oxygen that he needs to an absolute minimum. If he gets 
onto continuous oxygen then he will become dependent very quickly and its 
very hard to wean him off, he keeps needing more and more.

Sometimes kids develop central apneas because they aren't getting rid of the 
CO2 when they exhale.

There are lots of causes and lots of treatments thats why you need the sleep 
study ASAP. But once they determine whats happening and why, they can 
probably treat them quite successfully. I am really keen to learn more about 
Mitchell's apneas and history though.......... Apnea was Alex's greatest 
problem when he was little and the main reason that we went to the US for 
treatment.

"We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an 
imperfect person perfectly"
Sam Keen

Keep Looking For Rainbows!!
   _--_|\
 /Karen \
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          v Karen, Mum to Alex (11 years, T-18 Mosaic)
http://members.optushome.com.au/karens

                  Building ___ooOOoo__ Rainbows
                       www.trisomyonline.org
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