post follow up visit

tiredandsleepy · Post by **tiredandsleepy** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 2:14 pm

Ok I had my 1st sleep study felt like I did'nt sleep any. Met with the doc and he said I slept 5 hours and was in the bed for about 11 hours. He 1st told me when I sat down that I mainly snored when on my back but was'nt on my back long enough to get figured good enough for insurance to pay for CPAP machine. I asked what did I need to do to take care of my and he said well they make oral appliances to move jaw but they are costly and insurance does'nt usually cover them. I told him it did'nt matter if that would help I would be willing to do it. He then said if we would do a spilt night study that and he gave me something to help me sleep we could probably get enough info for insurance to pay for CPAP and it would be better than the oral appliance deal. I was just fixing to ask to see my numbers from my 1st study when he spit out the next issue. He told me that when he reviewed my results from the 1st study he noticed that my heart rythm did not look right. He said that it may have been the way the techs put the leads on me but that he had never seen one look like mine before. I asked what could cause that and he said possibly a blockage and prescribed a 12 lead EKG. Well I did'nt hear much else that he said to me after that. So I scheduled and EKG, stress test and blood work for Monday morning with a Dr. I know and am friends with. I then go Tuseday night for the split study. I hope there is'nt anything to the heart issue. And I feel like a fool for not getting the report from 1st study but was in another world after he threw the heart thing on me. I am only 37 and don't need this. But it worries me because my grandfather passed away due to heart problems at 46. Sorry so long but had to post this and see if anyone thinks this sounds like I am being told the truth or if someone is insurance gouging. thanks

oldgearhead · Post by **oldgearhead** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 2:32 pm

OSA and heart problems, often, go hand-in-hand. Get an APAP ASAP, start
therapy, and see a cardiolgist.

Buy new from CPAP.COM, if you can or maybe this:

http://auctions.yahoo.com/i:Respironics ... :110177623

linda b · Post by **linda b** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 3:52 pm

There are numerous reasons why a heart rythym could look abnormal. I have something called supraventricular tacycardia. At times one ventrical of my heart will beat extremely fast and very hard, can even cause my whole upper body to move with the beat! But it is basically harmless and can be controlled with a particular blood pressure medication. The night I had my sleep study, I had forgotten to take my medication and my heart was "doing its thing". The tech was thoroughly confused by this until I told him what it was.

You are certainly doing the right thing to get yourself thoroughly checked out, especially with the family history. But I would just like you to know that it might not be anything you have to worry about. In other words, keep your glass half FULL until you know what's what for sure.

Best wishes, and keep us posted.

krousseau · Post by **krousseau** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 4:34 pm

This does sound odd. Is the sleep lab certified? Medicare only requires a 120 minute study-but maybe that is consecutive minutes. Call your insurance company and check with them-and make sure you get accurate info re time requirements and the report of your study. Sleeping five hours sounds like enough. Bet somone on this forum knows for sure.

Yes cardiac and sleep disorders occur together-cardiac arrythmias especially occur when the blood oxygen levels drop-the good news is that CPAP therapy helps it greatly. DO NOT settle for a dental appliance if that is what is going on with you. The cardiologist needs to see that sleep study report when you go for your appt. Make sure it is there by getting the report and taking a copy with you. If you are at all leary of this sleep lab-go to a cardiologist of your own choosing

Get copies of everything-reports, Rx's etc. make copies and always leave a copy at home. Never let your only copy out of your sight.

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 5:01 pm

tiredandsleepy wrote:Met with the doc and he said I slept 5 hours and was in the bed for about 11 hours. He 1st told me when I sat down that I mainly snored when on my back but was'nt on my back long enough to get figured good enough for insurance to pay for CPAP machine.

Tiredandsleepy, I think your doc was telling you the truth. I have apnea but also failed a couple of sleep studies even though I slept more than two hours in each. What the lab needs for Medicare/insurance purposes is two consecutive hours with an AHI over 5.0. My AHI during the sleep studies didn't qualify me.

Tiredandsleepy, since you felt like you didn't sleep any, you may not have had much REM sleep, which is when apnea is most likely to occur for many of us. Hence, if you didn't get much REM you may not have had exhibited much apnea. It doesn't mean you don't have apnea, just that you didn't exhibit it during the sleep study.

What I did was to get an oximeter, which I used at home. The oximeter indicated that at times I had bursts of desaturations, and after looking at that data my sleep doc then wrote me a machine prescription. The machine confirmed the diagnosis and indicated an AHI of around 20 for me when I started out with low pressure, and during REM it was easily around 60 or so. Naturally, I have no idea of what my AHI without CPAP would have been, but considering the fact that I immediately felt better on CPAP, I'd guess it was somewhat worse than 20 when I was on CPAP.

Hang in there, tiredandsleepy. If the cost of the second study is prohibitive for you, you might consider asking your sleep doc for an overnight oximeter you can use to see if it shows significant oxygen desaturations.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Bill