New Sleep test on the 8th

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Enchanter
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New Sleep test on the 8th

Post by Enchanter » Thu Apr 30, 2015 5:43 pm

The receptionist called back. She said I'd need to do another test because I didn't sleep the whole night. And like I said, that's exactly what I said. I didn't sleep. So, I am quite confused about the tech saying I ''napped.'' But the strange thing was I asked her why I had to wear that CPAP if I didn't sleep and she said that in the future that's what hospitals/labs are going to do, give CPAP masks to wear to help you fall asleep if you can't in the test. But I asked her if I didn't sleep then why did he come in and tell me my oxygen was low? And she said in an assuming way that that's why I had to wear the mask and to sleep. But she really didn't know the situation. So she said she'd call me back with more details about how test will work.

So I had her call back. She had to find out if the test was gonna be a split study or just 1. She said I'll wear the CPAP the whole night this time. She recommended that i don't sleep the night before so that I could show up really tired and be able to sleep when I come.

She said she doesn't believe the doctor will be getting results from the last test. So do I call the doctors again, tomorrow?

You see this is why I'm nervous. The tech said I had low oxygen, but now it's all starting to seem questionable. But she did confirm I didn't sleep all night.
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Julie
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Re: New Sleep test on the 8th

Post by Julie » Thu Apr 30, 2015 6:00 pm

She's a secretary. Not even a tech. Do not expect her to understand zip. She may give you an 'answer' to things you ask, but that's more likely coming from someone who wants to please, who wants to have an answer for you, not from someone who has a real clue. Just do what you're told (I know how that sounds!) and wait til it's over... then you can ask all the questions and get some real answers. I don't know if not sleeping for the whole previous night is such a great idea tho', maybe just... half? You don't want to end up missing the night because you're passed out at home! Don't try to figure out why's and wherefore's now of what happened, or even what will happen... just go with the flow and get it done.

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Re: New Sleep test on the 8th

Post by Enchanter » Thu Apr 30, 2015 6:14 pm

Julie wrote:She's a secretary. Not even a tech. Do not expect her to understand zip. She may give you an 'answer' to things you ask, but that's more likely coming from someone who wants to please, who wants to have an answer for you, not from someone who has a real clue. Just do what you're told (I know how that sounds!) and wait til it's over... then you can ask all the questions and get some real answers. I don't know if not sleeping for the whole previous night is such a great idea tho', maybe just... half? You don't want to end up missing the night because you're passed out at home! Don't try to figure out why's and wherefore's now of what happened, or even what will happen... just go with the flow and get it done.

Sure. I mean I guess I can call the doctor and get suggestions? Look she and the tech said to not sleep so I can show up tired. And it is a possibility because I have went with no sleep. And sure, I sleep when I'm really deprived because I'm exhausted. However, I don't feel good when that happens. Maybe I can ask the dr one more time if he can try prescribing me something before the test. He was not willing to give that a try in the first test though.
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Re: New Sleep test on the 8th

Post by Julie » Thu Apr 30, 2015 6:23 pm

If he doesn't maybe your dentist can do it - one lousy Ambien! Never heard of such silliness.

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Re: New Sleep test on the 8th

Post by robysue » Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:22 pm

Enchanter wrote:The receptionist called back. She said I'd need to do another test because I didn't sleep the whole night. And like I said, that's exactly what I said. I didn't sleep.
Didn't sleep the whole night does NOT mean didn't sleep at all during the night. "Didn't sleep the whole night" means that you slept part of the night and you didn't sleep part of the night.
So, I am quite confused about the tech saying I ''napped.'' But the strange thing was I asked her why I had to wear that CPAP if I didn't sleep and she said that in the future that's what hospitals/labs are going to do, give CPAP masks to wear to help you fall asleep if you can't in the test.
The secretary doesn't know squat and this is a whole lot of horse hooey.
But I asked her if I didn't sleep then why did he come in and tell me my oxygen was low? And she said in an assuming way that that's why I had to wear the mask and to sleep. But she really didn't know the situation. So she said she'd call me back with more details about how test will work.
The secretary doesn't know anything. You need to tell her that you want to speak with the doctor or his nurse or his PA.

So I had her call back. She had to find out if the test was gonna be a split study or just 1. She said I'll wear the CPAP the whole night this time.
The secretary is telling you that the test is going to be a titration test. If the secretary is correct that the second test is going to be a titration study, that means on your first sleep test you slept enough before the tech came in for enough data to be gathered to diagnose you with some kind of sleep disordered breathing---presumably OSA. But the secretary cannot tell you that you have OSA (or any other medical condition) since she is NOT a doctor.

But the thing is: They would NOT schedule a titration test for someone who does not have some kind of sleep disordered breathing because the insurance would not pay for such a study.
She recommended that i don't sleep the night before so that I could show up really tired and be able to sleep when I come.
More horse hooey. I do not think this is a good idea. Yes, you will be really tired. But you will also be really wired with the anxiety that comes from staying up all night. What you need to do is work on getting the worst of the sleep problems under control this week so that you stand a chance of sleeping. And yes, getting a script for a few Ambiens seems like a good idea.
She said she doesn't believe the doctor will be getting results from the last test.
More horse hooey. The doctor is not going to send someone in for a titration study if he/she has not seen some results from a diagnostic sleep test that indicates you have a sleep disordered breathing problem because your insurance company won't pay him/her for treating your OSA and the DME that provides your equipment if there's no documented evidence that you have sleep disordered breathing. And the doc is not going to send someone in for a repeat diagnostic study unless he's seen the results from the first study and knows they're inconclusive.
So do I call the doctors again, tomorrow?
If I were you, I would call back. But I also would not waste my time talking to the secretary. I would politely insist that a doctor, nurse, or PA call me back because I need to discuss some things in my medical records.

When you are speaking to a doctor, nurse, or PA, you should ask your questions about what is going on. Don't ask the secretary any questions and don't tell her anything except, "I need to talk with the doctor, his nurse, or his PA when one of them has a few minutes of time."

When you are speaking with the doctor, nurse, or PA, keep your questions short and focused. These are the questions you need to ask the doctor, nurse or PA:
  • The secretary said the May 8 sleep test will be a titration test. Is that correct?
    • If the doctor/nurse/PA confirms the May 8 sleep test will be a titration test, then ask: Does this mean that my first sleep test indicated that I have OSA?
    • If the doctor/nurse/PA tells you the May 8 sleep test will be a split study or a diagnostic study, then ask: Can you tell me why the tech came in and put a CPAP mask on me during the last study if there was not enough data to conclude that I have OSA?
  • I had a great deal of difficulty falling asleep during the last sleep test and I usually do not fall asleep at home until it is around 5:00 AM. I would like to make sure that useful data is gathered on the May 8 test. Could you please prescribe an Ambien for me to take on the night of the test if I cannot fall asleep in a timely fashion after the tech turns the lights out?
    • If the doctor/nurse/PA agrees with the idea of prescribing an Ambien for the night of the test, say thank you and ask if you need to pick the script up or if they will electronically send it to your pharmacy.
    • If the doctor/nurse/PA says no the the idea of prescribing an Ambien, the politely, but firmly repeat that you usually do not fall asleep at home until it is close to 5:00AM and that you are worried that you will have the same kind of problems getting to sleep and staying asleep that you had on the first test. And that you need some kind of help for insuring that you get some sleep that night. And then listen to what the doctor/nurse/PA tells you to do.
You see this is why I'm nervous. The tech said I had low oxygen, but now it's all starting to seem questionable. But she did confirm I didn't sleep all night.
The secretary hasn't confirmed anything. She does not have the results of your sleep test in front of her if the doctor has not yet received the results from the sleep center.

And again: At the start of this post, you said the secretary said you didn't sleep the whole night, which means you slept part of the night and you were awake part of the night. If the secretary is correct and they are bringing you in for a titration test, that is more evidence that you slept enough during the first part of the night to diagnose you with OSA, but that you did not sleep enough during the part of the night when you had the mask on your nose to get an accurate, meaningful titration.

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Re: New Sleep test on the 8th

Post by Tatooed Lady » Thu Apr 30, 2015 7:57 pm

*hands Robysue band aids for her bloody stump fingers*

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Re: New Sleep test on the 8th

Post by palerider » Thu Apr 30, 2015 8:55 pm

Enchanter wrote:blah blah blah blah blah
Image

besides, you said you were going to STFU and be patient, and deal with things as they came.

don't make a liar out of yourself.

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Re: New Sleep test on the 8th

Post by jlaw3x7 » Thu Apr 30, 2015 9:00 pm

Robysue is a bloody saint.

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Re: New Sleep test on the 8th

Post by chunkyfrog » Thu Apr 30, 2015 9:39 pm

I would much rather have another sleep study than what I will REALLY be doing on the 8th.

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Re: New Sleep test on the 8th

Post by palerider » Thu Apr 30, 2015 9:52 pm

chunkyfrog wrote:I would much rather have another sleep study than what I will REALLY be doing on the 8th.
maybe you and enchanter should switch appointments

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Re: New Sleep test on the 8th

Post by robysue » Thu Apr 30, 2015 9:56 pm

Folks,

I know most (maybe even all) of you have no patience with Enchanter. I have mixed feelings myself with how much I've been aiding and abetting Enchanter in an effort to actually help him.

But let me say this in defense of myself and also Enchanter: In PMs with me, Enchanter is trying. As in he's making a good faith effort to listen to me. And he has managed to start describing symptoms to me in language that is factual and makes sense. And he did make a public apology on one of his threads.

And, alas, he also reminds me of my brother, who has some ADHD tendencies, and my cousin, who has OCD among other problems. And both brother and cousin have serious anxiety issues and both are verbal thinkers. Meaning that in order to think a situation through, they have to verbalize whatever is in their head at the minute, no matter how disjointed or crazy sounding it is when they first start talking. I think Enchanter shares many of these traits with them, and I think that much of what has turned a lot of people off in his posting behavior is that he does not carefully think about what he's saying in his posts----rather he's trapped in this wild, hard to control thought process in which he has to verbalize everything first before he start trying to figure out what it is he really wants to say. And so his posts come across as sounding more than a bit crazy. And also remember that Enchanter is still probably dealing with untreated OSA. And that there's some solid circumstantial evidence that his untreated OSA is pretty severe objectively in terms of AHI and O2 desaturations. And there's ample evidence that his symptoms (including not thinking clearly) are pretty severe.

That said, I do think that Enchanter is still in denial of a whole bunch of things. But unlike most newbie posters that we see who are up the river of De-Nile without the proverbial paddle, Enchanter is not actually denying that he likely has OSA or that he probably needs CPAP. He's just not thinking rationally about what happened in his first sleep test and a whole lot of other things. And in addition to his own anxiety and his inability to slow down his (compulsive) thoughts, he's dealing with a situation that is familiar to many of us: A doctor's office that is less than forthright about giving the patient full information in a timely fashion.

And that's the main reason I wrote my long response in this thread: The idea of a receptionist telling a patient that the doc wasn't going to get the results really bugged me. As did the idea of receptionist claiming that "that in the future that's what hospitals/labs are going to do, give CPAP masks to wear to help you fall asleep if you can't in the test" really bugged me. And I reacted because I can see circumstances where receptionist/secretary types who see their main job as "protecting the doc from the need to speak to patients" as making up this kind of crap just to try to prevent you from demanding that they ask the doc or a nurse or a PA to please call back so the patient can actually speak to someone who might know something. I've been there, done that, and have the scars to prove it. And when you're not thinking very clearly to begin with, the inability to get past the gatekeeping receptionist can become an impossible task.

I'm not going to ask you all to lay off Enchanter. But I am going ask: Why do you continue to respond to his threads if you don't have anything useful to say to him? What skin off your nose is it if I try to help him when I can see that he's making an effort to listen to me?

And I would ask those of you who continue to tease or make fun of Enchanter to think about this: Will our treatment of people like Enchanted make confused, sleepy, tired, and exhausted lurkers who are grappling with the idea that they may have OSA feel like they will be welcomed or ridiculed if they finally get brave enough to post something with a title along the lines of "Might I have apnea?"?

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Re: New Sleep test on the 8th

Post by robysue » Thu Apr 30, 2015 9:57 pm

chunkyfrog wrote:I would much rather have another sleep study than what I will REALLY be doing on the 8th.
Chunkyfrog,

I'll be thinking about you on that day and sending {{{Hugs}}} your way as well. Best of luck!

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Re: New Sleep test on the 8th

Post by chunkyfrog » Thu Apr 30, 2015 10:04 pm

palerider wrote:
chunkyfrog wrote:I would much rather have another sleep study than what I will REALLY be doing on the 8th.
maybe you and enchanter should switch appointments
I am certain his procedure would be of no use to me, nor mine to him.
Besides, I believe that we are given the burden we can carry.
(And we all become stronger when we are tested)

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Re: New Sleep test on the 8th

Post by Bill44133 » Thu Apr 30, 2015 10:37 pm

Bless you robysue.. Your a wonderful kind lady to help this young man.

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Re: New Sleep test on the 8th

Post by ems » Thu Apr 30, 2015 11:21 pm

robysue wrote:I'm not going to ask you all to lay off Enchanter. But I am going ask: Why do you continue to respond to his threads if you don't have anything useful to say to him? What skin off your nose is it if I try to help him when I can see that he's making an effort to listen to me?

And I would ask those of you who continue to tease or make fun of Enchanter to think about this: Will our treatment of people like Enchanted make confused, sleepy, tired, and exhausted lurkers who are grappling with the idea that they may have OSA feel like they will be welcomed or ridiculed if they finally get brave enough to post something with a title along the lines of "Might I have apnea?"?

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for saying what many of us have thought in reference to Enchanter and so many others who have come here for help, understanding and guidance; only to be met by mean, nasty, unkind ego maniacs!

Sleep well... you sure deserve it!
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