Video taped myself, do I have sleep apnea

concernedinwisconsin · Post by **concernedinwisconsin** » Sun Oct 01, 2006 10:51 pm

I was concerned that I had sleep apnea because I seem to be tired a lot during the day and a couple times as I was falling asleep I felt like I could not catch my breath. I decided to videotape myself and I sleep like a rock. I do not snore and slept pretty sound. Now if I had apneas or hyponeas would I toss and turn/wake up, or is it just my brain that wakes up and helps me to breathe. I am hesitant to take a sleep test because my insurance will not pay, and it costs approximately $3000.00. I am also pretty overweight-need to lose 70+pounds. Has anyone videoed themselves before starting therapy and if so, what did they look like.
Thanks so much for any advice!!

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:08 am

Dear ConcernedinWisconsin,

Waking up choking is a symptom of sleep apnea, so maybe you're on to something. And, yes, there is a much less expensive way to screen for sleep apnea than having a multi-thousand dollar sleep study. If you have insurance though, then the cost may not matter much to you.

The least expensive way I know of to screen for sleep apnea is take an oximeter home for the night. The oximeter will show whether or not oxygen desaturations are occurring. With apnea, if you stop breathing, then you will experience oxygen desaturations. Hence, an oximeter will *always* identify sleep apnea, if present.

You can get an oximeter in several ways. The easiest way may be to simply ask your physician to prescribe one for you. According to reports here, although you may pay for the doctor's appointment, the oximeter is usually then free for a night or two of use. If you're resourceful enough, then you could bypass the physician initially by finding an outfit in your area willing to rent you an oximeter for a few days. That's the approach I took. Here, there is a business which specializes in apnea monitoring for infants which was willing to rent me an oximeter. If you want an oximeter for longer term use then you could buy one, either new or used. Prices for good used ones are usually in the $300 to $500 range though. There is also a new oximeter available now for about $500, but folks have reported having some problems with it. If you'd like more info on any of this, just ask and someone will probably give more details.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Bill

johnnygoodman · Post by **johnnygoodman** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 8:20 am

Greetings concernedinwisconsin,

CPAP.com is currently working on a method that will allow people in your situation to get a home sleep study for $150, if positive be prescribed and purchase an auto CPAP machine. Total cost to you ~$1300 instead of $3000 for a sleep study plus copay and deductible on the machine through insurance.

The sleep study involves wearing a bandaide type device under your nose as you sleep for one night and then sending the device into a physician working with CPAP.com. You take the test at home in your own bed.

You caught us about a week before launch but I'd like to line up test patients. If you are interested, or anyone else who reads this is, email me at johnny@cpap.com.

Johnny Goodman
cpap.com

oldgearhead · Post by **oldgearhead** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 8:32 am

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 10:06 am

I would be extremely supprised to hear that any insurance was not covering a sleep study. I'd really make sure to double check that before you spend any money out of pocket.
As long as you have a doctors prescription - there really shouldn't be any reason any insurance company wouldn't cover a sleep study.
Now, if you have a copay or something that could be very different - but to flat out not cover it at all sounds like you got some bad information.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 10:20 am

Anonymous wrote:I would be extremely supprised to hear that any insurance was not covering a sleep study. I'd really make sure to double check that before you spend any money out of pocket.
As long as you have a doctors prescription - there really shouldn't be any reason any insurance company wouldn't cover a sleep study.
Now, if you have a copay or something that could be very different - but to flat out not cover it at all sounds like you got some bad information.

I've seen a couple of others report that their insurance would not pay for a sleep study. Doesn't sound right to me, either.

Den

concernedinwisconsin · Post by **concernedinwisconsin** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 10:32 am

I am on a temporary insurance plan, I am in between jobs and the insurance is terrible. They do not cover any sleep related issues, i.e. apnea. So I am on my own to pay for treatment-supplies etc. I wish it was not the case. So.......Back to my original concern. If I sleep soundly never waking up gasping for air etc. could I still have sleep apnea? It was only a couple times when I was drifting off to sleep that I felt like my throat was closing---that has stopped, and I think it was after I had eaten large meals close to bedtime. I have since been diagnosed w/gerd and am on Prilosec.....god I am a mess.

johnnygoodman · Post by **johnnygoodman** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 10:47 am

concernedinwisconsin,

Without a test of some kind: attended sleep study, home sleep study, o2 sat, etc there is no 100% way to know whats going on. Anyone who lends advice on what it could be is taking a guess, which doesn't move you any closer to determining your problem and taking steps to resolve it.

I can say that big meals before bed don't affect sleep apnea. Chest heaving is the token sign of sleep apnea, are you 100% sure that isn't occuring? Are you so sure you won't get a test of some kind to confirm it?

It is your health at risk. Please, please consult a physician or take steps to determine what is going on and fix it!

Johnny

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 10:52 am

Snoring is not necessarily and indication of OSA. Most people DO think they sleep soundly with apnea, because the events may not awaken them. I gathered that when you videotaped yourself, you didn't appear to be gasping for air periodically? You may or may not toss and turn. Do you experience night sweats? (wake up and your pillow is soaked) Are you getting ENOUGH sleep?
Weight gain and daytime sleepyness can be indicators, also.
You may also be in the earlier stages of this, too.
The pulse-oximeter test that NightHawkeye mentioned would be an excellent way to check some of this out.

Best wishes,

Den

TXKajun · Post by **TXKajun** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 10:57 am

concernedinwisconsin, keep in mind, we...the posters here on the forum...are NOT doctors, respiritory techs or medical professionals. If you have concerns, then get over to your primary care physician and get him to diagnose you or to refer you to a sleep study.

Also, for us who post here, we need to keep in mind that we are not competent to issue medical diagonoses or to tell folks how to set their XPAPs. We can get into a bunch of trouble...legal trouble, the worst kind of trouble!....for doing so.

Good luck, concerned!

Kajun

This therapy WORKS!!!

concernedinwisconsin · Post by **concernedinwisconsin** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 11:22 am

I appreciate all your advice and will seek medical help for sure. Just wanted to see what people thought before going.
THANKS!!!

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 11:45 am

Well, TXKajun is right in the fact that we're not medical professionals (although we have a few nurses that frequent the forum), but.....we DO have varying degrees of experience in and knowledge of our affliction.

It's good to go into your doctor's office armed with as much knowledge as you can gather beforehand.
One other thing I thought of...... If you DO get a pulse-oximeter test and it does show desaturations, you MIGHT be able to talk your doctor into writing a prescription for an Autotitrating CPAP (APAP) to take home and "hose up" for a week and see what the results might be. This is starting to become more accepted to get people into therapy sooner.
There are other things that sleep studies test for, that you wouldn't catch in these pulse-ox/APAP tests, but it might be a less expensive way of getting on a PAP machine. Also, keep in mind what Johnny Goodman mentioned, too.

Good luck,

Den

Mile High Sleeper · Post by **Mile High Sleeper** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 12:04 pm

concernedinwisconsin, here are some things to mention to your doctor: see http://smart-sleep-apnea.blogspot.com/2 ... sleep.html has lists of possible symptoms and online checklists to build awareness.

For an overview of various types of sleep tests, including a presentation on not everyone has to be sleep tested, see http://smart-sleep-apnea.blogspot.com/2 ... tests.html

See a doctor! I'm glad you're alert and taking care of your health needs.

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 1:32 pm

TXKajun wrote:Also, for us who post here, we need to keep in mind that we are not competent to issue medical diagonoses or to tell folks how to set their XPAPs.

Sorry, TXKajun, but I just can't let that one go unchallenged!

Since you're talking about incompetence, are you referring to the doctors who don't follow up with their patients so that more than 50% of the patients prescribed CPAP machines are non-compliant because they can't tolerate the therapy. Solutions are readily available, as most of us here know well, but physicians and their closely related brethren, DME's, persist in ignorance of the fine-tuning aspects required by many to be successful with xPAP therapy.

I also have to say that it was because of the incompetance of physicians that my own apnea was not detected in two separate sleep studies separated by a dozen years, and a host of peripheral medical issues in between. It wasn't until I personally took control of the situation and performed my own diagnostics using an oximeter that I, not a physician, diagnosed the problem as apnea. Upon taking the oximeter data in to the sleep doc, it was mere moments from the time I layed the data in front of him until he wrote me a machine prescription.

Granted, we may not have formal medical training, but many of us here have stumbled upon a few aspects of therapy which work for us, and are all too happy to share our discoveries, as friends, with others of similar mind.

Regards,
Bill (who feels responsible for his own healthcare, but nobody elses)

TXKajun · Post by **TXKajun** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 2:38 pm

NightHawkeye wrote:
TXKajun wrote:Also, for us who post here, we need to keep in mind that we are not competent to issue medical diagonoses or to tell folks how to set their XPAPs.
Sorry, TXKajun, but I just can't let that one go unchallenged!

Since you're talking about incompetence, are you referring to the doctors who don't follow up with their patients so that more than 50% of the patients prescribed CPAP machines are non-compliant because they can't tolerate the therapy. Solutions are readily available, as most of us here know well, but physicians and their closely related brethren, DME's, persist in ignorance of the fine-tuning aspects required by many to be successful with xPAP therapy.

I also have to say that it was because of the incompetance of physicians that my own apnea was not detected in two separate sleep studies separated by a dozen years, and a host of peripheral medical issues in between. It wasn't until I personally took control of the situation and performed my own diagnostics using an oximeter that I, not a physician, diagnosed the problem as apnea. Upon taking the oximeter data in to the sleep doc, it was mere moments from the time I layed the data in front of him until he wrote me a machine prescription.

Granted, we may not have formal medical training, but many of us here have stumbled upon a few aspects of therapy which work for us, and are all too happy to share our discoveries, as friends, with others of similar mind.

Regards,
Bill (who feels responsible for his own healthcare, but nobody elses)

Video taped myself, do I have sleep apnea

Video taped myself, do I have sleep apnea

temp insurance

thanks

symptoms and checklist for doctor