zoocrewphoto wrote:
I did a split night study. I only did the diagnosis phase for 2 hours and 15 minutes since I had already proven in that time that my sleep apnea is severe (over 30 times an hour). I actually have events 79 times an hour (more than once a minute).
This was my experience as well. The diagnostic portion of the study only took 2 hours, and we spent the rest of the night working on titration (figuring out what pressure would work for me). So it is VERY possible that your sleep study collected enough data to confirm diagnosis before the equipment fell off/malfunctioned. I also have borderline severe apnea at 30.2 times/hr.
The effects that I have/had, from years of ignoring apnea and not seeking treatment:
*High blood pressure (high enough that my doctor was urging me to take medication)
*Insulin resistance (Type 2 diabetes)
*Obesity
*Heart palpitations
*Constant fatigue and low energy
*Sleepiness during the day (I'm a book worm, but reading became nap-time unfortunately)
*Depression/anxiety/irritability
*Chronic headaches (took Amitriptyline for a year to try to manage the chronic, every day pain)
*Brain fog and forgetfulness, likely connected to:
*Severe ADD, which I've always had but has previously always been manageable without medication, with only lifestyle coping skills. It got bad. Really bad.
And the above are just the most obvious effects that I dealt with constantly. There's no telling how many other, secondary, insidious effects I've been dealing with that I had no idea stemmed from sleep apnea. I've had my cpap for about a month now. The above list is showing improvement in the following ways, with no changes to medications or lifestyle beyond cpap therapy being added:
*Blood pressure has dropped so significantly that not only is it not considered "high" anymore, but it is now borderline "low"!
*Insulin resistance is beginning to decrease. I will likely have my diabetic medication doses reduced at my next appointment because my need for them is already decreasing.
*No more headaches! I have not had a headache all month, since starting the therapy.
*Along with the lack of headaches, my mental acuity has significantly increased. I'm no longer doing things like leaving my car keys in the freezer. And my moods have greatly stabilized. I have MUCH more patience with my kids and husband and stupid drivers on the road than I had before.
*I'm down 3 lb in two weeks. This is HUGE because I have been trying to lose weight for a very long time now, and no matter what I did the weight would NOT come off. At every diabetic appointment (every 3 months) I would see 1-3 lb gain, without fail. This added to depression in a big way.
I haven't yet noticed a huge increase in energy yet. However, I was chronically sleep deprived for YEARS before getting the apnea diagnosis and starting treatment. I imagine it's going to take months to undo that sleep deficit. But I'm seeing enough improvement in other areas of my health that I am now a big believer in this therapy and will continue to be compliant for that reason.
Are sleep studies and cpap therapy a money racket? Only in the same way that penicillin is a money racket to the man dying of a bacterial infection.
Board culture. Learn it. Embrace it.