First sleep study this week. What should I expect?

[HoLeChit]

Expect to be ready to go to sleep at 9 PM. They'll be done with you at 5 AM. I was not prepared for this - I'm a night owl.
You'll get a lot of wires attached to monitor respiration, pulse, brainwaves etc.
You start out without the CPAP to get a baseline.
After they wake you up in the middle of the night and attach you to the CPAP expect the best sleep you've had in years. I was really disappointed I couldn't take the CPAP home with me, it made a huge difference. I use the mask that covers the nose and mouth and had no problems adapting to it.

This was roughly my experience.
The cpap mask they gave me was just a tube with a piece that shoots air up my nose, worked pretty well. I remember waking up once with it on, I think they were messing with levels or something, I was getting entirely too much air shoved through my nose. Other than that, it wasn’t bad.

my experience was pretty pleasant overall, if you go to the mercy sleep study place off memorial in OKC the rooms are like a modest hotel room. They give you a fancy sleep number bed. There was a white noise machine next to the bed, which was nice. Bring whatever PJ’s and pillow you like. I sleep in just my boxers, they let me do just that with my own pillow from home too. I went to the bathroom before we got me hooked up, brought myself a bottle of water and a pedialyte for next to the bed, and settled in.

I really look forward to getting my machine, but the VA told me there’s a pretty big nationwide back order on them. So it’s gonna be a while.

 

[John6185]

Sometimes the technician is fairly well trained and other times not so much. They take people and give them fundamental training and tell them to go to work. Actually, all the monitoring mechanism does the work and they send the sleep study to a sleep specialist (an MD) who interprets the study. The tech can't tell you anything definitive.

 

[KOPBET]

Just hope you don't get morning wood.

 

[RickN]

A lot of people are doing good just using a small O2 concentrator at night. I know a few that have one and just wear a cannula like I do.

 

[harley128]

Expect to not get a lot of sleep or good sleep.


You 100% WILL be subscribed a CPAP.

Wife did the study and said she didn’t need cpap. So, not 100%

 

[harley128]

As many have said, it is not a comfortable process. I also feel it is not a required process. If you have the symptoms of apnea, heavy snoring, pauses in breathing while sleeping, etc, my recommendation is to check on craigslist for an automatic cpap. You can usually find an almost brand new one for 300 or less. Go on youtube for instructions on how to change the pressure level and set is wide open. There is no risk to using a cpap, and the process of getting one officially is insanely expensive. I used the process I described above for my first cpap. I later looked into getting a sleep study, it was going to be almost 5k out of pocket. I said no thanks and continued being an outlaw.

YouTube to learn how to adjust a medical device that has potential to save your life? Ummm , very bad advice my friend.

 

[ratski]

Well, figured I'd chime in here.

Some good information already, some not so good.

First: you don't necessarily HAVE to go to a sleep center for diagnosis of sleep apnea. There are a LOT of other options in the Home Sleep Apnea Test (HSAT) area. I use something called a WatchPat in my office. Wear it like an Apple watch with a sensor that fits over your finger and one that you tape to your chest. You sleep in your bed on your schedule. You push the button when you get ready to go to bed and take it off when you wake up. Last literature I read had it at 95-97% as effective as a PolySomnoGram (PSG) lab test.

Next: If you do go to a lab, there are some issues that have already been mentioned. Wires, videos, masks, etc. The sleep lab that I observed in would place a mask after several hours of sleep and then they were computer controlled to find the best level for you.

Next: There are four recognized levels of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). None, Mild, Moderate and Severe. I add a fifth that is "Oh my God, how did you live thru the night." The only level that a CPAP really should be first line of treatment is Severe. Mild and Moderate can be treated effectively with an alternative therapy as has been mentioned.

Next: There is a world wide shortage of CPAP machines. Most labs and Sleep docs are reserving the few that they can get for people in the Severe levels of Sleep Apnea.

Next: I would venture to say that 99% of Sleep Docs out there are completely unaware of the role that dentists can/do play in the Treatment of Sleep Apnea. Oral Appliance therapy (OAT) is AS EFFECTIVE AS CPAP in the treatment of Mild and Moderate levels. This is also in the position statements of the Academy of Sleep Medicine. Not some out of left field comment by a dentist that has been treating this stuff for years.

Next: Oral appliances are VERY effective and relatively easy to wear.
They ARE NOT covered by Dental Insurance.
This is Medical Insurance and/or Medicare stuff.

Next: NOT EVERY dentist is trained in this field. NOT EVERY dentist is qualified to treat Sleep Apnea. Some think that they are after taking a weekend course, but that really isn't the case. If you decide to go the route of dental therapy, make sure that the dentist you select is qualified. The two biggest societies for this are the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM) and the American Sleep and Breathing Academy (ASBA). Both have websites with a LOT of information on sleep apnea the treatment of it. They also have locator functions to help find dentists that are trained.

Sleep Apnea is NOT something to ignore. Sure, you may think that you sleep "just fine". There have been a lot of people who have made that mistake. Sleep Apnea affects just about every organ and hormone system in the body. Directly linked to blood pressure, cholesterol, obesity, ED, heart disease and a host of other things. Even mild sleep apnea affects these things.

There are a myriad of Oral Appliances out there. Somnomed has been mentioned. Good company with a good product line. There are other manufacturers out there as well. Prosomnus is one of my go-to appliances as well. And, this is where having a qualified dentist treating you is important. There are a LOT of piss poor appliances and appliance designs out there.

Active Duty Military, Retired and Dependents is it relatively easy to get treatment and get the Oral Appliance option. But they may have to "push" their PCP and educate them a little.

VA: Some VA centers will authorize Oral Appliance therapy, others still haven't caught on. I have friends that work with the VA on both coasts, Texas and Florida, but for some reason the OK/ARK/LA centers still haven't caught on.

CDL drivers, train drivers and pilots pretty much have to have CPAP as it is trackable to insure that they are using their CPAP.

One other thing to remember, no one dies "quietly in their sleep." A lot of these deaths are Sleep Apnea related in one way or another. Either directly (look up Reggie White) or indirectly (James Gandolfini)

So, don't take this stuff lightly.

Best of luck.

 

[SoonerP226]

YouTube to learn how to adjust a medical device that has potential to save your life? Ummm , very bad advice my friend.

The CPAP Reviews channel on YouTube is a great source of technical information about CPAPs and CPAP therapy, but this isn’t really something you want to be doing on your own unless you actually know something about it. You can make things worse if you don’t understand what’s happening and what you’re actually doing; the guy from the CPAP Reviews channel actually showed an example of this not too long ago.

 

[Woodman 59]

That was like my test was. I had trouble at first with the mask, you can also use the tubing like you use for o2 that is set up for the CPAP. Good luck with the study.

Expect to be ready to go to sleep at 9 PM. They'll be done with you at 5 AM. I was not prepared for this - I'm a night owl.
You'll get a lot of wires attached to monitor respiration, pulse, brainwaves etc.
You start out without the CPAP to get a baseline.
After they wake you up in the middle of the night and attach you to the CPAP expect the best sleep you've had in years. I was really disappointed I couldn't take the CPAP home with me, it made a huge difference. I use the mask that covers the nose and mouth and had no problems adapting to it

 

[Shakel65]

Thank you to everybody. I googled Reggie White's death. It hit close to home. He was 43 and so am I. I had been putting the test off for a year or so, but now I'm looking forward to it.