how can i test sleep apnea for my brother using Remstar APAP

bangy104 · Post by **bangy104** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:05 pm

My brother snores loudly but has no sleep issues. I wanted to test him for apnea with my Remstart APAP. Yeesterday I had him sleep with a mask on and machine setting of 4 - 20 and found that his average pressure was 10. That set me thinking of how to confirm the results. One idea that stuck me is to set up the APAP as CPAP with lowest pressure as 4.0 and then see how many events are there during the night. If anybody has any other ideas please let me know and I would like to try them tonight.

jennmary · Post by **jennmary** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:15 pm

Your idea seems sound. Set it at 4.....and check the data. Also know that whatever the AHI is that it would be higher without that 4 pressure.

Though if you find from your own testing that he apears to have apnea he should have it confirmed by a doctor as he may have other issues going on as well. Just my opinion.

foggydaze · Post by **foggydaze** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:02 am

The real question is what are his SPO2 levels during sleep. To find that out you would need as a minimum an oximeter with recording capability. If he feels tired etc. I would second the notion that he should undergo a real sleep study to see what problems may exist and get treated by a doctor.

RachelM · Post by **RachelM** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 12:48 pm

I was coming off of a serious cold when my sleep study was done. AHI during study was 100+. A few months after getting APAP, spent a night at 4 just to see what figures would come out. During night at 4, which is barely any pressure above normal air pressure, AHI was between 15-20. So, self test may not be accurate, or the sleep test at clinic was way off.

NarcoApneac · Post by **NarcoApneac** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 1:37 pm

Even a little bit of pressure can do a lot of good, so the auto machine can't tell your brother how serious his untreated apnea is; but if the machine shows that it wants to ramp up pressure, and that pressure is controlling events to some degree, and especially if he is feeling better, then he has something to talk with his doctor about. He should of course leave your name out of the discussion with his doctor.

Another thing that you can do if he'll accept it is to have someone watch him sleep and attempt to just simply observe apneas. That would be useful information to give to a doctor as well.

A Canadian study put potential apneacs on auto machines for a trial period, and then asked them if they wanted to keep using the machines. Later Polysomnography revealed that although imperfect, that this methodology picked up on most of the real apneacs in the study.

Machine	Humidifier