Do I need a Sleep Study?

I was recently at a sleep study and had to leave in the middle of it due to being very irritable from all the wires hanging off my head and up my nose. I don't think there is anyway I could sleep through one of those and get results. I'm almost positive I have apnea, due to my wife telling me what goes on when I sleep. Could it be possible to buy a CPAP without a thorough study? And it helping me get the results I need? I am new to all this and just ready to gain my energy back and being myself, but dont want to let the inability to attend a study get in my way of accomplishing this.
Any help would be very helpful,
Thanks.

You need a prescription to be able to purchase a CPAP. The sleep study will show a lot of information that you cannot get from a CPAP machine.
If you have that much of a problem with the sleep study you may have trouble with the CPAP and mask. I would give the sleep study another try first...........................

burnsie, I completely get what you're going through. My first sleep study was awful, took me forever to get to sleep and I woke up a few times. The second one, the titration, was even worse for me. I had a lot of anxiety and almost left before it even started. But I'm glad I stuck it out. All of my problem/anxiety about the sleep study, as it turns out, was on the fact that my body was completely hooked up with wires and whatnot and the fact that I was being watched. It is freaky, at least to me.

Just try and give the sleep study another shot. Know that those sleep studies are hard on most people, and that you're no different. Also, look at the possible alternatives. One night of hell in return for successful therapy in your home with no wires and that crazy wax in your hair.


Good luck

burns: I would say definitely yes... you need the study... but after thinking about it... You need to explain this to your doctor. See if he will give you a prescription. Lots of time, doctors are not exactly sure of the diagnosis, so they experiment themselves by prescribing medication and - see if this helps - syndrome. Besides the fact that you can't buy a NEW cpap machine and supplies without one (you can buy a used one... on-line and your insurance will pay for it). If you educate yourself... get your AHI below a 5 with no mask leaks... you can control and reduce apnea... IF you have it. A sleep study only tells you if you have apnea or not. The cpap machine reduces/controls it. The test will also tell you your oxygen level, the amount of time you were in the different stages of sleep, etc...

You are really cutting corners and yes, I would recogmend the study. I really don't feel comfortable about offering this advice, and I may get beaten up here. Oh well, can't hurt more than a beer bottle on the side of my head... twice...

Sheriff

Yes, it is possible to bypass the sleep study and find your own machine and go about trying to sort things out yourself. People without health insurance do it. Takes a lot of work and education but it can be done.

That said...having a sleep study is the ideal way to find out what is going on. There can be other sleep disorder breathing issues complicating things and a sleep study will and can pick up other potential problems.

Talk to your doctor about your problem...perhaps the addition of a sleep aid will help get through all the wires and stuff. It is very hard to get any good sleep in such a foreign setting with all the wires and stuff.

Perhaps your doctor would prescribe a mild sedative so you can tolerate the study better.

IMHO the sleep study is very important to finding out exactly what problems you are having when sleeping.

Cheers,
xena

I agree with LSAT. To know where you really stand, you need a sleep study. If the wires and such upset you, perhaps your doc would give you ambien or something for anxiety like valium.Its just one of those uncomfortable things we all have to go through.

Burnsie2388 wrote:I was recently at a sleep study and had to leave in the middle of it due to being very irritable from all the wires hanging off my head and up my nose. I don't think there is anyway I could sleep through one of those and get results. I'm almost positive I have apnea, due to my wife telling me what goes on when I sleep. Could it be possible to buy a CPAP without a thorough study? And it helping me get the results I need? I am new to all this and just ready to gain my energy back and being myself, but dont want to let the inability to attend a study get in my way of accomplishing this.
Any help would be very helpful,
Thanks.

If you try to essentially do a sleep study with a CPAP machine, realize that the results are far less accurate. Some chance of thinking you have apnea when you don't. Higher chance of deciding you don't have apnea when you actually do.

I went to my sleep study knowing had SA because I was told I had it from the anesthesiologist when I had foot surgery. I had no clue about much of anything when I went to the sleep study and I did nearly freak out from the wires and I kept calling it a non-sleep test! I was sure I would not sleep but I decided that since I already knew I had SA I better find out about it. Of course, at that point, I thought that it might have been a fluke and I really didn't have it very badly. LOL I did fall asleep enough for the wires, etc to do their thing and I have severe SA. When my doctor told me I had to have another sleep test to determine if being on the machine would alleviate my SA and to get fitted for a mask I almost burst out in tears because I didn't think I could go through the process again. But, I got a grip and told myself that after my diagnosis, I would have to deal with this (and check out the post on CHANGE) so I calmed down and went back for the second "study." By that time I felt comfortable with the technician who did the testing and he was very helpful. I hope it is a mind over matter thing for you also and that you can talk yourself into having the test. On my second test it was confirmed that the CPAP did work for me. When I picked up my equipment and the mask I had chosen at the study, everything was already set up for me so I will say that my testing was very beneficial. Please hang in there and try again. Many people here are happy to talk to you about it.

Good luck.

My advise, deprive yourself of sleep prior to the study. If you can be awake for 20 hours prior to arrival, that should work. Talk to your doctor ahead of time and get script for Xanax or similar medication to reduce anxiety and assist with sleep for that night (this medication also works good if you hate going to dentist for example).

Thank you all for your responses, it is so nice that there are people out there that care about others they dont know and willing to help them out!
Do they have "In home" studies where they can monitor your sleep from your own home?
Thanks again!

If you want insurance to pay for CPAP, you do need a sleep study. Otherwise, without proof of OSA, they won't pay.

There are in-home studies, which can be useful in many cases. They don't gather as much data as a lab study. The good thing about them is that if they show you have OSA, then you do and you're good to go. The bad thing is that they can give false negatives, so if it doesn't show OSA you could still have it and would then need to do an in-lab test. But it's an option that you can ask about.

There are in home studies. Many DME companies will provide you (free of charge) an over night pulse ox test. You wear it at home, and it just goes over your finger to monitor blood oxygen desaturations, often caused by sleep apnea. We have alot of patients that use Apnea link. That is sort of a screening proceedure to see if you even need to come into the sleep lab for testing. There are at home tests though. We provide at home testing. You still have wires though, just not as many as you would at the lab! Ours has 2 respiratory belts, the 2 cannulas for your nose (everybody's favorite!), along with ecg monitoring. It's not as accurate as a lab psg would be, but to diagnose sleep apnea, if you just cannot do a lab test, it's something to discuss with your doctor. I have had patients come through the lab with anxiety about testing. I have had them leave in the middle of the night, because of the wires. It's not fun here, we get that. I've actually had a psg done on myself, and I've been the guinie pig for the home testing as well. We have had doctors that have rx a mild sedative (like xanax) or we have provided a sleep aid to patients who are anxious about testing. Talk to your doctor! He or she is there to help! Believe me, your medical professionals want you to get treatment! Good luck!

stl mark: what kinda avetar is that? It gives me the jimmies'.

Sheriff