Was I diagnosed correctly?

[Gcfcos]

I know it may be done differently around the world but I had to wear an oxymeter on my finger for one night at home and then hand it back to the hospital and was then diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea. I hear about other people having tests in sleep clinics but I literally just had it on my finger for one night. In in England by the way. Thanks

[Julie]

If that was your ONLY test for apnea, I'd say it's not enough at all, and only might have diagnosed low 02, but I can't remember much else now about what happened altogether (tests, results, etc.) so it's hard to comment. Obviously there are other things that can lower 02 in given situations, so I'd certainly want to have more info before just deciding apnea was the only reason your 02 was low. Strange!

[palerider]

I know it may be done differently around the world but I had to wear an oxymeter on my finger for one night at home and then hand it back to the hospital and was then diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea. I hear about other people having tests in sleep clinics but I literally just had it on my finger for one night. In in England by the way. Thanks

was it an oximeter, or a watchPAT?

[Gcfcos]

I know it may be done differently around the world but I had to wear an oxymeter on my finger for one night at home and then hand it back to the hospital and was then diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea. I hear about other people having tests in sleep clinics but I literally just had it on my finger for one night. In in England by the way. Thanks

was it an oximeter, or a watchPAT?

It is an oximeter that goes onto my finger to a little battery operated watch type thing that reads my heart rate and Levels. I just spoke to my mate from work who has sleep apnea and he said he had the same test, I live in the south of England, it seems the further north you go they do different tests

[palerider]

I know it may be done differently around the world but I had to wear an oxymeter on my finger for one night at home and then hand it back to the hospital and was then diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea. I hear about other people having tests in sleep clinics but I literally just had it on my finger for one night. In in England by the way. Thanks

was it an oximeter, or a watchPAT?

It is an oximeter that goes onto my finger to a little battery operated watch type thing that reads my heart rate and Levels. I just spoke to my mate from work who has sleep apnea and he said he had the same test, I live in the south of England, it seems the further north you go they do different tests

the watchpat looks like, and is mistaken by many people to be an oximeter, but it reads more data than just spo2 and heart rate.

However, even if what you had was an oximeter, and it showed significant spo2 drops, then that's enough test to say "ok, let's move forward"

[stienman]

As pale rider points out there are newer devices which look just like simple Pulse oximeters but provide more information than a simple pulse oximeter.

http://www.itamar-medical.com/watchpat-key-features/

However, with recent improvements in auto titrating pap machines it seems doctors are more and more relying on the technology to manage sleep apnea.

A typical diagnostic process, therefore could consist of a simple oximeter test, then an APAP, then another oximeter test to make sure there isn't a deeper oxygen problem.

[rick blaine]

Gcfcos,

A pulse-oximeter - the thing on your finger - used on its own can point to sleep apnea. But it is suggestive, rather than conclusive. A more reliable test - which can be carried out at home - is a three-channel poly-somno-graph (PSG), or 'sleep study'.

Patients are issued with a small canvas pouch. In it are: a recording unit about the size a pack of cards; a strappy harness to put on - it has a pouch to hold the recording unit; a hollow, stretchy tube - to go round your chest; a pulse-ox for a finger; and a plastic tube that splits into two ends to stick up your nostrils - a 'cannula'.

The three sensors plug into the recording unit, and once turned on, it records: chest expansion (or not); flow in the upper airway (or not), pulse, and percentage of oxygen in the blood - 'saturation' or 'sats'.

You wear the thing overnight, take the whole kit back the next morning, and they plug the recording unit into their computer and see how you did.

Here in Gloucestershire, roughly 90 pc of patients attending Gloucestershire Royal (Hospital) for possible sleep apnea do a PSG home study. The hospital also has an overnight 'sleep lab', and roughly 10 per cent of patients have their sleep study done there. For the more problematic cases, or when clinical conditions require.

A sleep lab allows all of the above observations to be done - plus ECG and EEG.

I don't know what the provision is in (the county of) Dorset, or what facilities the hospitals have and what the workload is. I do know that if any specialised service is not available in your area, Gcfcos, the way is always open to your doctors to make an 'extra-contractual referral' - to send you 'out of area' and to another hospital to have any tests deemed necessary done there.

[BlackSpinner]

A lot of times the simple test will determine there is a problem. Then they try a cpap to see if it solves the problem. In a lot of cases it does.
If it doesn't then the system moves ahead to more invasive and expensive tests. Unlike in the USA nobody in the UK or Canada is making big bucks doing testing so they don't start with the most profit making test possible.

ETA: And you have already noticed the difference between using the cpap and not using it, so the right diagnosis is that you have "sleep disordered breathing" - just what kind and how to treat it well is still in the works.

[palerider]

A lot of times the simple test will determine there is a problem. Then they try a cpap to see if it solves the problem. In a lot of cases it does.
If it doesn't then the system moves ahead to more invasive and expensive tests. Unlike in the USA nobody in the UK or Canada is making big bucks doing testing so they don't start with the most profit making test possible.

+1

[Gcfcos]

Thanks so much for your replys and help guys really appreciate it

[AuSable River Rat]

Gcfcos,

An pulse-oximeter - the thing on your finger used on its own can point to sleep apnea. But it is suggestive, rather than conclusive. A more reliable test - which can be carried out at home - is a three-channel poly-somno-graph (PSG), or 'sleep study'.

Patients are issued with a small canvas pouch. In it are: a recording unit about the size a pack of cards; a strappy harness to put on - it has a pouch to hold the recording unit; a hollow, stretchy tube - to go round your chest; a pulse-ox for a finger; and a plastic tube that splits into two ends to stick up your nostrils - a 'cannula'.

The three sensors plug into the recording unit, and once turned on, it records: chest expansion (or not); flow in the upper airway (or not), pulse, and percentage of oxygen in the blood - 'saturation' or 'sats'.

You wear the thing overnight, take the whole kit back the next morning, and they plug the recording unit into their computer and see how you did.

Here in Gloucestershire, roughly 90 pc of patients attending Gloucestershire Royal (Hospital) for possible sleep apnea do a PSG home study. The hospital also has an overnight 'sleep lab', and roughly 10 per cent of patients have their sleep study done there. For the more problematic cases, or when clinical conditions require.

A sleep lab allows all of the above observations to be done - plus ECG and EEG.

I don't know what the provision is in (the county of) Dorset, or what facilities the hospitals have and what the workload is. I do know that if any specialised service is not available in your area, Gcfcos, the way is always open to your doctors to make an 'extra-contractural referral' - to send you 'out of area' and to another hospital to have any tests deemed necessary done there.

How does this test work if the patient is unable to breathe through his/her nose due to sinus congestion?

[palerider]

How does this test work if the patient is unable to breathe through his/her nose due to sinus congestion?

it doesn't.

[Mudrock63]

I would proceed with the presumption that you DO have the condition until something proves otherwise. That something being medical data that proves you don't. Having read many of your posts about your extreme fatigue, I would continue the treatment and continue to monitor results. And post here if you really want help.

Look, it is a major adjustment. No one WANTS to have this condition, and have to deal with all the equipment and changes getting effective therapy brings to our lives. It is what it is. I hope you get to a sweet spot in your therapy that improves your fatigue in a major way. Then it will be possible for you to accept all the things that come with therapy because you are getting positive results.

I don't like strapping this thing on my face every night, but I sure as heck do like feeling human again.

[palerider]

I would proceed with the presumption that you DO have the condition until something proves otherwise. That something being medical data that proves you don't. Having read many of your posts about your extreme fatigue, I would continue the treatment and continue to monitor results. And post here if you really want help.

Look, it is a major adjustment. No one WANTS to have this condition, and have to deal with all the equipment and changes getting effective therapy brings to our lives. It is what it is. I hope you get to a sweet spot in your therapy that improves your fatigue in a major way. Then it will be possible for you to accept all the things that come with therapy because you are getting positive results.

I don't like strapping this thing on my face every night, but I sure as heck do like feeling human again.

after seeing one of his charts, it's clear that he definitely has apnea, but I got the impression he was wondering if if how it was diagnosed was 'proper'.

[Mudrock63]

after seeing one of his charts, it's clear that he definitely has apnea, but I got the impression he was wondering if if how it was diagnosed was 'proper'.

I think he is having denial issues (not being judgmental). He needs to buck up and embrace the treatment as the life-saver that it is. JMO, and no offense intended.