Husband had sleep study and DOESN'T have OSA

[djdixie]

Advice please--My husband snores a lot and one night recently, while I was listening to him snore, I thought he stopped breathing for about 10 seconds. Since I've been on CPAP therapy for years, I knew what that meant and encouraged him to get a sleep study. He did that last week and today we found out that though he did stop breathing for a few short periods, the numbers did not qualify him for CPAP. I think the lady said his respiratory something-or-other index (I took it to mean how often he stopped breathing) was 4.2 but had to be 5 to have sleep apnea. We should get the full report in the mail in a few days and I'll know more, but the bottom line seems to be that we need to treat the snoring. He definitely snores worse when he sleeps on his back, but he's tried everything to fix that and he still manages to end up in that position. He's tried the tennis balls on the back of the shirt, he bought a padded contraption that you wear around your chest, he tried to sleep with a backpack stuffed with a hard plastic box . . . Any suggestions? Dental appliance?

[Goofproof]

Snoring isn't fatal, why worry about it. If snoring was all I had to worry about I'd be counting my blessings. I'd have a overnight Pulse O2 done to check levels. jim

[djdixie]

No, the snoring isn't fatal but it IS keeping me awake at night. I don't like sleeping in separate bedrooms.

[sandster]

My understanding of the AHI index it that anything under 5 incidents an hour is considered normal--like the average person might experience. That doesn't make it any more pleasant but that seems to be the number that the 'specialists' have decided on. I guess it is a mixed bag, he doesn't have it bad enough to be treated and he is not going to die from lack of oxygen. Doesn't make it any easier for you though. If it gets worse I would suggest you have him redo the study after a period of time.

It is however great that you could be so proactive.

[jdm2857]

My understanding of the AHI index it that anything under 5 incidents an hour is considered normal--like the average person might experience. That doesn't make it any more pleasant but that seems to be the number that the 'specialists' have decided on. I guess it is a mixed bag, he doesn't have it bad enough to be treated and he is not going to die from lack of oxygen. Doesn't make it any easier for you though. If it gets worse I would suggest you have him redo the study after a period of time.

It is however great that you could be so proactive.

From the original post, it sounds like the index referenced is the RDI (Respiratory Distress Index) which counts RERIs along with apneas and hypopneas. An RERI (Respiratory Event Related Arousal) is an event that does not qualify as a hypopnea but still causes sleep disturbance. The threshold of 5 applies to AHI, not RDI. (Medicare regulations specifically exclude RERIs.)

We don't really know what the OP's husband's AHI is, yet. The sleep study results should reveal that.

[who]

Schedule husband's next sleep study for when he has a bad cold. Have him jog around the sleep study location several times until he is dead tired. Then have him eat three big macks and drink a quart of malt-liquor just before he walks through the door to the place. Trust me, he WILL have OSA.

[Gerald]

The smart move is what Goofproof suggested.....study with an Oximeter.

You can purchase a good one....with good software....for about $400....run an O2 test every night for a couple of weeks......and THEN, you'll have a much better idea of your husband's true condition.

Another thing you can do is check your husband's blood pressure....in the middle of the night....immediately as he wakes up when he feels the need to pee. That'll tell you if his BP is going too high because of O2 desaturation (under 93%).

If you purchase the oximeter tool, you'll probably spend less money than if you rented one for 2-weeks...you get the software.....and the use of the tool from then on. They are really handy for helping to check what's really going on.

Remember....sleep apnea is actually SUFFOCATION.....a reduction of O2 saturation in the bloodstream. A CPAP machine won't tell us about O2 saturation.....but, you might get some idea of what his O2 saturation levels were during his sleep test....if you get a CPMPLETE report (not just a summary).

[Jersey Girl]

Dear Djdixie,

I had the same problem. Husband snored like a chainsaw every night. He did not have an official diagnosis of sleep apnea after his sleep test, but he did experience 180 arousals and it qualified him for a diagnosis of UARS - Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome and after some fancy footwork by the doctor and DME - we got him qualified for cpap through our insurance (not medicare - but Horizon Blue). So, now he sleeps peacefully every night with his s9 and Mirage Quatro and no more snoring! I now get a full night's sleep.

See if his sleep doctor can help you get him qualified with the insurance to cover the machine. It doesn't hurt to ask.

Best regards,

Jersey Girl

[kteague]

Some things to look at when you get his report...

How much time was spent sleeping?
How much time was spent in deep sleep and REM sleep?
How much time was spent in REM sleep while supine?

I've had 2 studies where the doctor noted in their summary that the study was technically suboptimal. It didn't capture what was potentially my worst case scenario. I'm not sure what the parameters are to make the test be optimal. Maybe someone else can answer that for you.

Also...

What does the report say about limb movements?

Certain limb movement disorders can interfere with getting a full picture of a person's potential for OSA when the limb movements are not as active.

Maybe he doesn't have OSA. Even if he doesn't meet the diagnostic criteria for OSA, does he have symptoms of his sleep not being restful? Get the report and then decide how to proceed.

[GumbyCT]

If you strike out with the above and the doctors why not just look thru Craigslist for a used machine?

[torontoCPAPguy]

Advice please--My husband snores a lot and one night recently, while I was listening to him snore, I thought he stopped breathing for about 10 seconds. Since I've been on CPAP therapy for years, I knew what that meant and encouraged him to get a sleep study. He did that last week and today we found out that though he did stop breathing for a few short periods, the numbers did not qualify him for CPAP. I think the lady said his respiratory something-or-other index (I took it to mean how often he stopped breathing) was 4.2 but had to be 5 to have sleep apnea. We should get the full report in the mail in a few days and I'll know more, but the bottom line seems to be that we need to treat the snoring. He definitely snores worse when he sleeps on his back, but he's tried everything to fix that and he still manages to end up in that position. He's tried the tennis balls on the back of the shirt, he bought a padded contraption that you wear around your chest, he tried to sleep with a backpack stuffed with a hard plastic box . . . Any suggestions? Dental appliance?

Wish I could offer suggestions; all I know is that Viagra prevents you from sleeping on your FRONT. I don't trust sleep studies entirely. Did you get a copy of your sleep study data in order to get a second opinion, even if from your GP? My sleep doc originally prescribed 4 cm. of pressure for me, then said ooops and raised it to 9.8 cm. Still no good although he was quite happy. I titrated myself with a ResMed S8 Autoset II and now an S9 Auto and changed my range to 10.8 or 11.8 to 15 cm. and Presto, zero apneas and 1 hypopnea. I want to see if this repeats for a week and then I'm going back to him for another sleep study to see where my EEG says I am sleeping during the night (i.e. at what stages and for how long) to make sure all is well. I am also going to set up my automatic BP cuff and my recording oximeter at the end of the week if the numbers remain the same to see where my BP and Blood Oxygen sit during the night BEFORE I go in and let him take measurements during a sleep study. I had this conversation with my GP this afternoon during a regular visit (every few weeks) and he was impressed. I am emailing him my reports at the end of the week for him to put on file and have a look at; he may change the way that he deals with sleep apnea in general as a result. Are we making progress in educating the sleep docs?

Having control over your own blower and body is not necessarily such a bad thing. I think they are just worried that you will blow yourself up like a balloon and float away.
And by the way, SLEEP APNEA is not the only thing they need to be talking about here. HYPOPNEA is also a major problem for some, such as myself, whereby your breathing becomes so shallow during sleep because of lung damage or snoring that you simply do not take in sufficient air and your blood pressure skyrockets (and KILLS you dead). So I would want to get educated, get my data from that sleep study, and make sure that they know what they are talking about and are looking at the big picture. My sleep doc NEVER mentioned hypopnea to me. I had to ask about it and his jaw hit the floor.

[M.D.Hosehead]

I know is that Viagra prevents you from sleeping on your FRONT

LOL.


Why would you want to sleep when you've taken Viagra?

I don't trust sleep studies entirely

I don't believe mine were valid. I slept very little, so there was no way to get a pattern for a total night, so they just extrapolated for the little data there was. And I scarcely slept at all during the titration, the masks they tried fit so badly. I suspect the pressure recommendations were basically guesses.

I'd have a overnight Pulse O2 done to check levels.

Surely, O2 saturation was included in the sleep study. I hope it was normal, but if not, it strengthens the case for xpap.

No, the snoring isn't fatal but it IS keeping me awake at night.

My wife had to wear earplugs--the kind they use on the rifle range.

There's no reason a doctor can't prescribe a cpap for snoring. Insurance probably won't cover it.

[BlackSpinner]

I wish that 20 years ago I had been given a cpap to deal with my snoring even if I didn't have OSA - my relationship might have survived it. One of my friends was prescribed on and it worked but he found it was just too much trouble and his wife could go sleep elsewhere.

[montana user]

The sleep lab monitors the oxygen in the blood during the study, so not sure buying a pulse ox will show more than what his sleep study will show. Dental devices have been used by many to help the snoring. When you get the report see how long he slept on his back. Most people double their breathing problems on their back. If he had very little sleep on his back, maybe another test, with the technician making sure he sleeps supine? But yes anything 5 or under is "normal". I understand your frustration as I have done a couple sleep studies on the same guy due to his daytime fatigue, snoring, etc. the second time I made sure he got alot of time on his back, he did qualify for CPAP.

[torontoCPAPguy]

I know is that Viagra prevents you from sleeping on your FRONT

LOL.


Why would you want to sleep when you've taken Viagra?

Well, the truth is that I have no need for Viagra in the conventional sense. I was having trouble sleeping since we got this new mattress that is really high off the ground (Sealy Tepa Pedic I think they call it) and the Gp prescribed the aforementioned so that I wouldn't worry about rolling out of bed at night.