Newbie Sleep Study Results Question

[szqnva]

I should have asked the doc this question at my sleep study follow-up the other day, but I'm asking here and hoping for some input. On my online "my chart" appointment summary, it states the following: "Moderate, positional AHI 16, supine AHI 49, right/left lateral AHI - 0, 12/26/14 low sat 87%." Does this mean that I experienced NO apnea when sleeping on my right or left side? Just wondering, because if so, I ONLY sleep on my right or left side. To the best of my knowledge, I NEVER sleep on my back, although they did make me during the sleep study. So...I guess I'm asking do I really need CPAP if I only experience apnea when sleeping on my back? They have me classified as "moderate". Will I really notice a difference in how I feel during the day? Sorry if these are goofy questions but I'm obviously new to all of this. Thanks in advance!

[Julie]

I think you still had 16 events even on your side (tho' not 100% sure about that rt/lt lat. stuff - you'd have to ask them about it), just not the 49 you had on your back (where they want you to sleep to get a baseline reading for future testing). How you feel during the day will depend on how well you adapt to the machine and mask and how well other factors go. Keep in mind that the amount of pressure your machine will need to keep your particular airway open has nothing to do with how 'severe' or not your results showed your apnea to be... you could have had many more events but only need a low pressure, or vice versa.

[szqnva]

Thanks, Julie. This is all a little overwhelming. My sleep doc didn't really explain everything very well. That could be because he was running late with another patient and kept me waiting in the exam room for 35 minutes. By the time he saw me, they were getting ready to close and the nurses had their coats on. :/ He really didn't explain very much about my numbers or anything, and only told me my pressure would be set to 10 after I actually asked him. I guess, since I didn't have apnea as bad sleeping on my side, which is how I always sleep, I'm trying to convince myself that I don't really need this thing.

[Julie]

Join the club!

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