JUST GOT TESTED

[tired1957]

Test came out no SA.

Sleep on my side don't snore, I'm 5'8" 155lbs 56 years old not overweight. When I got to the sleep center at the VA they said I don't look like a canadate for sleep apnea. I didn't sleep good at all they had to give me a sleeping pill, when I sleep in a new place the first night I don't usually sleep well.

There is another kind of SA where the brain doesn't send the signal to breath and I think that's what I have.

I haven't had a good nights sleep for several years now. I just thought I was getting old.

When having coffee with other members here 2 of them have SA and described the symptoms, that got me thinking about my waking up gasping for air and heart racing and not feeling like you got a good nights rest.

I'd like to start using a CPAP to see if my symptoms will subside but need a prescription to get one.

I'm at a loss what to do.

[Pugsy]

There are ways of getting around the RX requirement thing. We do it all the time.

The brain thing you were thinking about where the brain forgets to tell you to breathe...that would be central sleep apnea where the airway is open (not collapsed like with obstructive sleep apnea) but your sleep study would have noted those if you had them.

How much sleep did you end up getting?

If you decide to go the DIY route..make sure you get a new technology machine that flags centrals...the older machines didn't do that and its kinda important to know. People do it all the time.

That said...there are other things that can cause the very same symptoms as sleep apnea and if that is the case then the best cpap therapy in the world can't fix a problem if the problem is related to something else.

[markdh]

It's tough when you can't sleep during a sleep study. That's what happened to me on my first one. They concluded I didn't have SA either.

I did have episodes of low oxygen, and after being x-rayed, sent to a cardiologist, then to a pulmonologist with negative results, a second study was ordered. That's the one that found the SA.

So, you need another study, and you need to get to sleep. I had a sleeping pill the second time, but it didn't effect me at all. I was able to get enough sleep, though, probably because I knew what was coming.

Good luck to you on this.

[Guest]

I got 4 1/2 hrs of sleep that night.
How di I go about getting around the RX thing?
I am ready now!

Thanks

There are ways of getting around the RX requirement thing. We do it all the time.

The brain thing you were thinking about where the brain forgets to tell you to breathe...that would be central sleep apnea where the airway is open (not collapsed like with obstructive sleep apnea) but your sleep study would have noted those if you had them.

How much sleep did you end up getting?

If you decide to go the DIY route..make sure you get a new technology machine that flags centrals...the older machines didn't do that and its kinda important to know. People do it all the time.

That said...there are other things that can cause the very same symptoms as sleep apnea and if that is the case then the best cpap therapy in the world can't fix a problem if the problem is related to something else.

[Pugsy]

First of all register here at the forum so you can send and receive private messages.
Sometimes forum members have machines they will sell...slightly used and/or new.
Craigslist is also an option but you really have to know your machine models when doing that.

Send me a private message and we can discuss a possible source for a machine for you.

[Guest]

I did register, when I made the first post I was registered as tired57 and it said that name was already in use so I used tired 1957 and it let me post.

First of all register here at the forum so you can send and receive private messages.
Sometimes forum members have machines they will sell...slightly used and/or new.
Craigslist is also an option but you really have to know your machine models when doing that.

Send me a private message and we can discuss a possible source for a machine for you.

[Pugsy]

Got your private message and replied.
You will need to stay logged in to have access to the private message box..if you can't find it...look upper left just to the right of the User Control Panel.

[stage0]

There are a few things you can do to get tested for essay without insurance
1. Look for a facility that offers cash payments for testing
2. Look for a facility that offers home testing that is cheaper than a clinical sleep study
3. Go to Walgreens and buy a pulse oximeter to test her oxygen level through the night, present the highs and lows to your doctor as evidence
4. Start a journal to document how you're sleeping for a month include the following headaches in the morning, waking to gasping, a number of times you got up for the bathroom, awoke to gasping, choking, racing heart.

I hope this helps, stage0

[kteague]

I would suggest you get a copy of your study results including the breakdowns, not just the summary letter they sometimes send to referring doctors. It should be a few pages. There may actually be some useful information in there in spite of the fact you didn't get a diagnosis. If your test did not meet certain testing criteria you may qualify to get retested if that's the route you want to go. But even if you decide to go ahead on your own, I'd still recommend you getting those copies. A test that is not diagnostic for sleep apnea does not necessarily mean you were diagnosed as not having sleep apnea. Good luck going forward.

[123.Shawn T.W.]

Tired1957,

Are you fastfire from the other forum?

There is lots of knowledge here ... This is THE PLACE to get help when the "system" of health care leaves you behind ...

On a different note ... You also "need" a prescription to buy a mask ... But there are ways around that too ... You can buy all the mask "parts" to assemble at home (if you can assemble boolits you can do this!) there also some times used mask offered up here ... Don't be concerned with buying used medical equipment ... Think of it this way, what do you do with your silverware when you have guests over for dinner? Just wash it is warm/hot soapy water! Also Craig's list is another place to find new and used masks ...

Pugsy will get you (or knowing how efficient she is, already has!) the actual machines that can give you the downloadable info you need to self test ... I know that the ResMed S9 Autoset, and Respironics System One 550 and 560's will do the job, there maybe others ...

[Pugsy]

I believe that we have a machine spotted...along with a mask and is the process of being bought.
Software is in the works too.
Should be good to go once the machine and mask arrives.
I have other options for masks if that one doesn't work out but there's a good chance it will.
Starting with the Nuance nasal pillow mask. I think he is buying the barely used PR S1 560 machine offered by a forum member last night. It will also flag RERAs which may be important just in case we have a UARS thing going on here that sleep studies don't often test for. I don't know that RERAs are definitely tied to UARS or not but it sure doesn't hurt to have that data point available just in case.

Given that the AHI is unlikely to be all that remarkable since he didn't have enough to make diagnosis for insurance to cover it then we will pay special attention to how he feels if the AHI is unremarkable with therapy.

For people reading this thread...he had a diagnostic sleep study already. His AHI wasn't high enough to meet criteria for insurance to pay for a machine. I don't know what his AHI was but even AHI of 8 can make a person feel like crap and often with insurance the AHI has to be 10 or 15 before they will pay.
Doesn't matter...he wants to at least try something and so he will try something in an effort to feel better.
No guarantees...there could be issues unrelated to sleep apnea that are the root of the problem but he had a sleep study done already.
At this point I don't know what kind of sleep study..home or in the lab....and if it were a home study I don't know how it was done. He wants to try cpap therapy ...so let's let him try it. He has no other complicating factors that would prohibit a trial of cpap therapy.
We made sure that he got a machine that would flag centrals..just in case he was having the brain forgetting to breathe centrals.

[123.Shawn T.W.]

If he is the guy I think he is ... He went to the VA for the study ...

Also remember that the night at a sleep study torture chamber is not a good snapshot of a normal nights sleep!

I also encouraged him to get an Oximeter ... Sounds like he is gonna get one too!

[tired57]

Yes, I got the oximeter, Veridian Premium Pulse oximeter.
As much as I can tell it wouldn't record all night, not that much information with it and I'm electronics challenged to boot.

Thanks for all the help here.

[123.Shawn T.W.]

I don't have that model ... Complaints online of difficult to extract data ... Poor instructions and customer service ... But I found this:

Here are some instructions on how to use the PC with the SPO2:
Record long term data (use the "On" in steps 2 and 3 to start Record).
1-Turn on SPO2 - Press and Hold Power button (only button available).
2-Go in Record mode - Press and Hold Power button, until Menu displayed.
-Press, Short , Power button to scroll to "Record On".
3-Enable Record On /Off- Press and hold Power button, until "Record On/Off" displayed.
4-Exit Menu -Press, Short , Power button to scroll to "Exit".
Record your long term data as you normally would use it for a single read (described in the User's Manual).
Stop Record long term data, Got to Step 1-4 (use the "Off" in steps 2 and 3 to Stop Record).
Transfer / Upload to your PC:
Install your SpO2 software from your CD, follow instructions in the manual.
Connect your USB cable to your device and your computer.
Start / Execute "SpO2 Review" application. You may select other Options from the first two icons on the bottom left (easy / typical), I will describe how to transfer Data (Confusing):
Left Click (LC) on "Not Active/ New session" button / icon,
Enter a Name for your File, other data may be entered but not needed.
Go to "Record long term data" step 1 and scroll to step 2, you DO NOT need to turn "Record on", as you get to the "Record Off" line your transfer should take place. If not, you may have a 64 bit Operating System or a connection problem.
Cons.
Lack of good documentation / direction for use with the PC.
Lack of 64 bit software driver for PC interface, only 32 bit available.
Has Chinese / polish logic (confusing) to recover / view data in PC."

I hope it helps!

[tired57]

I can't get the data to show up on the computer when it's pluged in.