I'm so new that I don't even know if I need help.

[mbuchst]

I have no idea what I'm doing. I just know that I'm tired of not sleeping. I tried the yellow bulb deal and found a test to take to determine if I'm a candidate. As I expected, I am.

I have a long history of hypertension and sinus problems. I've had surgeries on my turbines, septum and sinus cavities. I've had my tonsils and the little dangly thing (Uvula, I think) removed. I am at the higher end of my weight class at 45. Fifteen pounds less and I would be at the perfect weight. I get good cardio and resistance exercises in every week.

With that said, I still snore significantly. I am constantly tired and wake up frequently during the night without the ability to get back to sleep. I have had a sleep study completed about 4 years ago which resulted in a moderate apnea diagnosis, not enough to warrant a CPAP machine, or so I was told.

I have tried everything that I can to get a good night sleep, (I will take one to start with), without success. I keep coming back to trying a CPAP or APAP machine, but again, I have no idea what I am doing. I don't care about insurance or the costs, if a machine will finally help me sleep, then I will buy one.

Sorry for the long note, and I know that others have it worse than me, but can anyone provide some direction? If I tell my doctor that I'm having trouble sleeping, he just wants to give me some Rx to help me sleep. I don't think that is my problem because when I take them, I'm still tired during the day, but now I am tired and foggy! I also believe that if I do another sleep study, I will get the same response. My motto in life has become: "I'm going to get all of the sleep that I need when I'm dead." Which may not be too far off if I can't figure out how to get some decent sleep.

Any "helpful" thoughts?

[blarg]

Since you don't seem to have a restrictive budget at the moment, my suggestion would be to get another sleep study. Mild sleep apnea can really disrupt your life. Some people only show apnea when they sleep on their back, or only during REM, etc. You may have had apnea that hid during your intial study.

[dirtymartinigirl]

If you have a regular physician, ask for a diagnostic sleep study. Ask them to refer you to a sleep lab to have it done. In my case, I don't really have a regular physician, so I just called a nearby university medical center, asked for the sleep disorders clinic, and made my own appointment. I have excellent insurance that does not require a referral for this type of thing. I went in, got evaluated, had a diagnostic sleep study, and then finally a titration study to determine my necessary pressure for my CPAP machine. Since your previous study was so long ago, I would think that any doctor would want a more recent study done, and to my knowledge CPAP is useful in treating even mild and moderate cases of OSA. Don't give up, and stay strong, you are not alone in this battle. Good luck!

[NightHawkeye]

Well, several possibilities come to mind which could help you determine the cause of your problem:

1) Get hold on an oximeter and take measurements for a few nights. That will allow you to see oxygen desaturations. If you're having apneas and/or hypopneas, then an oximeter will show those. Oximeters are often available free for a few days from DME's with a prescription. Just ask your physician to write you a prescription for the oximeter. Of course, you could also buy one outright, but that's quite a bit more expensive.

FWIW, I failed two overnight sleep studies about a dozen years apart. I finally self-diagnosed using an overnight oximeter. When I took the oximeter results in to the sleep doc, he didn't hesitate to write a machine prescription for me. For a variety of reasons, it is entirely possible to "fail" an overnight sleep test, but still have sleep apnea.

2) You could use an automatic CPAP machine for a few nights and see what it records. Of course, there are quite a few pitfalls to this approach, such as getting a mask which works for you. Again, since you've already failed a sleep study, your physician may be willing to write an APAP (Auto-CPAP) prescription for you. Taking this approach is not too unusual. APAPs are often used when overnight sleep studies cannot be used. However, in my opinion, using an oximeter first is really a far better way to diagnose.

After getting my machine, I started out using it at its lowest pressure setting. At that pressure, the machine confirmed what the oximeter had shown.

3) Take your chances with another overnight sleep lab sleep study. Make sure you choose a different lab and a different sleep doc. Try to get a recommendation first though. We hear about bad sleep docs all the time here.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Bill

[kteague]

Welcome to the board. Hopefully you will find some helpful information here. It's been more than helpful for me.

Even if your sleep apnea episodes were (or are) technically not a high enough count to be considered significant, your number of arousals during the night could still be enough to disturb your sleep stages and keep you feeling sleepy. You have an advantage that cost doesn't have to affect your decision on how to get answers.

I too had sleep apnea that didn't show up (on my first 3 sleep studies). My reason happened to be that the apnea was obscured by frequent arousals from Periodic Limb Movement Disorder. As others have said, one night's study does not necessarily mean you don't have significant enough apnea to need treatment.

Your message subject said you weren't even sure if you needed help. Your symptoms pretty much remove the doubt in my mind. You have taken steps to be informed, so know what you want and be assertive in getting it. I agree with you that being given meds without a clear, current diagnosis seems to NOT be the answer.

Please keep us informed.

Kathy

[snoregirl]

I have a slightly different take on your problem.

You say mild apnea. Ok, but you don't have numbers so we don't know just how "mild" yours is.

But the words that smack me in the face is SNORING. I have moderate apnea, and yest that was a problem dropping my o2 level, but not all that much. Just very low 90s.

What my problem was was the snoring was waking me up. I never could get past stage 2 sleep before a good snore would pop me back awake again (and my husband too).

So, while apnea is one reason for CPAP, snoring (when the snoring is affecting your sleepiness and overall health) is another piece of the pie.

I would dig up your old sleep study to find out how "mild" the apnea was back then, possibly have a new sleep study, but emphasize the snoring.

I have been on APAP since April (13 titration, 10 -15 setting on the APAP) and feel like a new person. No naps, no getting up to use the bathroom (probably did this since I was awake due to a snore and my mind got conditioned to go since I was up).

The point is there is more to qualifying for a CPAP than just an apnea number.

Any physician can write you a script. Your doc can probably justify it with the insurance with the other factors (snoring, daytime tiredness etc).

If money is no object and you don't want to worry about insurance, you can set yourself as long as a doc will write a prescription. With a prescription online you can get a good APAP for about $700. Probably less than the out of pocket cost of another sleep study.

You sound just like me in symptoms. If you feel another sleep study is in order fine, but if you can dig up the old one and were titrated or not, and your family doc will write a prescription you can go from there.

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): Titration, CPAP, Prescription, APAP

[Linda3032]

Some excellent suggestions here. My first thoughts were almost exactly what Nighthawkeye wrote. The first step would be an Oximeter test.