Thank goodness for home sleep test

[pisaluvszea]

My husband and I have been married for almost 40 years. For the past 10 years, we have spent several nights in opposite rooms because we couldn't sleep with the other person snoring. My husband tried to have a sleep study several years ago in a sleep lab but was so uncomfortable that he couldn't sleep the entire night and refused to go back. Being that he had such a horrible experience, I refused to have a sleep study done myself. We both have horrible sleeping patterns; he falls asleep quickly but awakens frequently throughout the night and wakes up with headaches, feeling tired and often chokes while he is asleep. I, on the otherhand, have a more difficult time falling asleep. Once I do, I'm told that I snore almost instantly and often wake myself up from choking and gasping for air. Almost rarely do I wake up in the morning without a headache and I never feel like I've gotten enough sleep.

I spent a weekend in a hotel with my daughter and grandson who said they couldn't sleep with me in the same room. Not only because of my snoring but also because it scared them when I would start choking or gasping for air. The second night, my daughter actually said she was afraid to sleep because if I stopped snoring she was afraid that I wasn't breathing.

We have four grown children, all of who have done some form of research on sleep apnea. They were able to locate a company called Nationwide that does home sleep tests and accepts our insurance. Both my husband and I were able to have sleep tests done in our own home and needless to say, we were both diagnosed with sleep apnea. We were a bit liery at first but took the tests with no problems. The test was so easy to use. I am thankful that home sleep tests are now offered and wish they would have been a long time ago. We would have never gone into a sleep lab or hospital to be tested and would have never been diagnosed or received any kind of treatment. We are both on our way to receiving our cpap machines this week. I recommend home sleep testing to anyone who thinks they may suffer from this disease.

[Janknitz]

Yet another shill post.

[DocWeezy]

It definitely confirms that the other one was also a shill....

[Janknitz]

So is this going to be a weekly occurrence now?

[chunkyfrog]

As long as they are still on the payroll.

[Janknitz]

I would love to have a home testing program to refer people to--I think it's a vital service.

But I get a very bad taste in my mouth from cheap, fake advertising ploys. Makes me wonder about how they run their company, that they can't even afford a REAL advertizing budget and do things legitimately instead of this baloney. Who would ever trust them with their life?

[Pugsy]

You know I would have respected them more if they had simply stated that they offered such and such.
Sneaky spam turns me off too.

[IDS2011]

Hi there,

I am the Sales and Marketing Coordinator for a LEGITIMATE Home Sleep Testing (HST) company. I will not make up a story to sell HST on this forum, but I do want to let you folks know there are HST companies out there who are truly and again, legitimately trying to reach those who are suffering from sleep apnea. Please feel free to visit our website for more information!! http://www.instantdiagnostic.com

We are the largest independent diagnostic testing facility in the nation and we are accredited by the Joint Commission.

Thanks for your time!!
Sleep well!!!

IDS2011

[roster]

Hi there,

I am the Sales and Marketing Coordinator for a LEGITIMATE Home Sleep Testing (HST) company. I will not make up a story to sell HST on this forum, but I do want to let you folks know there are HST companies out there who are truly and again, legitimately trying to reach those who are suffering from sleep apnea. Please feel free to visit our website for more information!! http://www.instantdiagnostic.com

We are the largest independent diagnostic testing facility in the nation and we are accredited by the Joint Commission.

Thanks for your time!!
Sleep well!!!

IDS2011

Excellent!

Some reading your post will immediately want to know what equipment is used for the sleep test:

•A pre-programmed ResMed ApneaLink Plus Type III recording device with batteries installed
•An effort belt, nasal cannula, and pulse-oximetry sensor, all pre-connected to the ApneaLink Plus device

http://www.instantdiagnostic.com/ids/(S(gv3vmjy0zoyl0m453g13sy45))/content.aspx?content=dme_home_sleep_testing_how_it_works

[avi123]

what about these home tests:

http://www.sleephealth.com/services-home-sleep.htm

[scrapper]

avi123: what about these home tests:

I'm not sure what your question is.....but the site that you connected is obviously accredited:

Sleep HealthCenters is committed to achieving accreditation from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) for all our facilities. Accreditation by the AASM continues to be the gold standard for sleep programs.

[IDS2011]

Thanks Roster!!! Yes, very simple, very easy test. I have taken one myself and it takes all of 5 minutes to put the equipment on and crawl into bed. =)

[chunkyfrog]

Maybe they just rent the patient a full-data auto-titrating machine and an oximeter. . .
If you were to have a fully legitimate home sleep study; you would also need an EKG, EEG, night vision video cameras, plus, a bunch more stuff--expensive, I guess.
My point: --how comprehensive can a home sleep study be for purely diagnostic purposes?
The full data-auto-titrationg machine could probably eliminate a lot of second sleep studies;
not to mention maintaining quality therapy through weight loss and the pass of time.

[BlackSpinner]

Maybe they just rent the patient a full-data auto-titrating machine and an oximeter. . .
If you were to have a fully legitimate home sleep study; you would also need an EKG, EEG, night vision video cameras, plus, a bunch more stuff--expensive, I guess.
My point: --how comprehensive can a home sleep study be for purely diagnostic purposes?
The full data-auto-titrationg machine could probably eliminate a lot of second sleep studies;
not to mention maintaining quality therapy through weight loss and the pass of time.

No. I had a home sleep study of the kind described. It is considered a first step with the hospital that serves me. It eliminates the run of the mill OSA issues and gets you up and running with a cpap machine. If the HST or patient has issues then a full blown (and expensive) sleep study is given. This catches most people without blowing the budget. And no insurance companies involved, no limits to the number of studies.

[Janknitz]

If you were to have a fully legitimate home sleep study; you would also need an EKG, EEG, night vision video cameras, plus, a bunch more stuff--expensive, I guess.

Not at all. Google Itamar WatchPat. That's the type of home testing available--I think it's 9 channels available from two finger probes. This type of home testing is VERY good at more than just simple screening--it is comprehensive. I'm not sure it would work for more complex cases like RLS and PLMD, but for OSA and complex apneas it is just fine, and has been approved by Medicare and many insurance providers.

Kaiser in my region uses the WatchPat test exclusively--to my knowledge they don't do any in-lab testing. I'm actually quite grateful they use home testing, because there's NO WAY I would have ever put up with a night (let alone two!) in a sleep lab. And I have severe OSA that would be yet untreated without home testing. They do the tirations at home, too, with a PR auto machine.

Kaiser isn't fooling around. It has a vested interest in correct diagnosis and treatment of apnea. They don't make money by providing unnecessary care like fee-for-service providers, but they have an incentive to diagnose and treat apnea because it results in greater savings by not having to treat the sequelae of untreated apnea. This type of testing also allows them to do a big volume--I think they test 50 to 100 people a week in my local hospital, and probably put 50 to 75% on machines every week.