Hi all — I’m hoping someone knowledgeable about sleep architecture / insomnia might help me better understand my sleep study results, because I left feeling confused and was basically just offered medication.
I’ve had severe insomnia and hypervigilant/light sleep literally my entire life, but it’s become much worse after having a baby (now 2 years old). I also have C-PTSD and can feel “wired” despite being exhausted. Have made significant improvements here with longstanding psychotherapy.
My sleep study showed:
Total arousal index: 44.3/hour
Spontaneous arousals: 22.6/hour
PLMS arousal index: 15.6/hour
PLM index: 30.9/hour
Mild positional sleep apnea (AHI 6.5 overall, supine 12.4)
Oxygen never dropped below 90%
The neurologist focused mostly on the limb movements / RLS component and initially prescribed gabapentin. I tried it briefly but it wasn’t a great fit for me — it felt extremely strong at first, even at a low dose and also appeared to lead to weight gain/edema, which I was struggling with this year (though not during pregnancy or postpartum).
But what I’m confused by is: even if the PLMS explains ~16 arousals/hour, that still leaves ~23 spontaneous arousals/hour unexplained. That seems… really high?
Other findings:
abrupt sleep latency
reduced REM latency
increased slow-wave sleep
I’m an extremely light sleeper and my partner says I seem almost “on alert” all night. Tiny sounds/light changes wake me. I don’t nap, but I do increasingly struggle with brain fog and executive dysfunction.
I was recently switched from gabapentin to Dayvigo but haven’t started it yet as I am still nursing.
Mostly trying to better understand the physiology and whether anyone with similar findings has actually improved.
I feel like I’ve spent my whole life exhausted and postpartum it finally became unsustainable.
Thank you so much if anyone has insight.