How reliable are these brief sleep studies?

[debstieb]

At my home sleep study thing a couple of months ago, ( arm thing with a pulse gizmo). I slept about 3 hrs and slept on my side so I did not snore much.

The results were mild apnea. I did a titration study? where they give you a machine for a week and then they give you the results and set you up with a machine.

The therapist said I need a pressure of 10 and I am wondering if (1) if this is a high pressure for mild apnea? (2) Do these brief studies really show reliable info on mild-moderate-severe apnea.

I feel so much better with the cpap

Thnx,

Deb

[Slinky]

1] The severity of the apnea has NOTHING to do w/the amount of pressure needed to keep your airway clear. There are those w/severe apnea whose airway is successfully kept open w/a pressure of 8 cms and then there are those w/mild apnea who require a pressure of 17 cms to keep their airway open.

2] It sounds like that first "study" was "just" an overnight oximetry. All an overnight oximetry can do is record 02 desaturations, NOT WHY you desaturated.

3] The week long titration study was done w/an auto CPAP. Actually, the week of autoPAP at home most likely gave you a more accurate titration than a night spent in a sleep clinic for titration. NOT because the autoPAP is necessarily better than a well trained, experienced sleep tech but BECAUSE that auto has had 7 nights at home in familiar surroundings to do what is expected of a sleep tech in ONE night w/the patient sleeping or trying to sleep in strange surroundings, knowing someone is watching them on camera, with all this strange equipment strapped to their face and bodies.

4] The limitation for the overnight oximetry and the autoPAP is that 02 desaturations and apneas/hypopneas are the ONLY sleep problems they can detect. If there are other problems contributing to or causing the sleep problems the oximetry and autoPAP can not even begin to detect or address them.

It sounds like you've been very fortunate. Not all of us respond so well and so soon to CPAP therapy. For some of us it can take quite a while to adjust to and respond well to CPAP. Congratulations!

[debstieb]

Yes, I think I did get comfortable with the cpap very fast. I feel so good in the mornings and during the day now.

I see a lot of people here, who are having a hard time getting used to the machine and mask. It took a few weeks but for now I am doing well.

My advice to anyone having trouble getting used to it...Is keep trying. It will get better as time goes by.


Deb

[harikarishimari]

WONDERFUL to know there are sleep labs that actually do multi-night titration studies. The few hours most labs spend doing a titration during a single night under ABSURD sleeping conditions is (IMHO) one click short of "completely useless". I have learned (the hard way) that my pressure requirements are all-over-the-map, from night to night, season to season, and depending on where I am at the time. (I travel a lot, so I am all-over-the-map; Altitude, humidity affect me especially. HATE dry air).

FWIW, my sleep study titration of 8cm was completely useless. I am generally an 11, sometimes 9-10, or higher. I would say your 11 is about middle-of-the-road from what I've gathered reading this forum over the last year or so. I wouldn't know this of course if I didn't own an APAP that gives me the data, thanks again to this forum and the wonderful folks here who clued me in early on. I am really sorry for the people who get a "lower than real" sleep study titration, go home with a straight CPAP set to the lab titration value, and wonder why their life is getting worse, not better.

Again, CHEERS for your sleep lab that sent you home with a recording APAP !

-HKS




(pssssssssssst... why not just BUY one, do your own titrations, FOREVER! )