Post
by rick blaine » Mon Jun 29, 2020 3:40 pm
Hi Erratic_Sleep.
Let's see if I can give you enough information for you to 'locate' yourself in the sleep apnea patient population – or realise you may need to pursue other investigation/ treatment paths.
1. "Should I take this to my GP?"
I'm not sure it would help. On their own, these numbers would probably not convince him or her that you should be investigated for sleep apnea.
IMO these numbers are borderline for low O2. In A&E, they regard anything under 94 as 'keep an eye on'. Under 90, that is a distinct sign. (Some docs who were taught in an earlier era say 'under 88'.)
And those opinions are pretty much the same for when the patient is asleep.
So while you do go under 90 – it isn't for very long.
And if you look at the graphic summary – even though you show us only three hours and not a whole six or seven – it isn't as if there are nine or ten 'under 90s' per hour.
The threshold for treatment for sleep apnea within the NHS is 15 'interruption events' per hour. Each lasting 10 seconds or more.
So, no, a pulse-ox reading like this doesn't make a very strong case.
Now, while I shouldn't be putting words into your mouth, what does make a strong case is a patient saying that not only are they 'tired all the time', and wake-up unrefreshed, but that they fall asleep during the day. Frequently. Often when they are driving.
That could get you an at-home sleep-study – 'just to make sure'.
But ... I had better tell you that sleep apnea has caught on in the UK over the last decade. Ten years ago, I got seen by the local sleep-medicine department within three weeks (and that wasn't because I was being 'fast-tracked'). There were fewer people being referred then. Sleep medicine departments (in the UK) were quite new then.
Now, the treatment having been shown to be effective and cost-effective, GPs are sending more and more patients to be seen.
And the waiting list just for that first stage, the diagnostic sleep-study, can easily be 14 weeks.
There is an alternative to that – one that may appeal to someone who was happy to pay for a pulse-oximeter. There are a couple of places which will do you a private at-home sleep-study as soon as you like.
There's a firm called Eu-Pap in Walton-on-Thames, which offers a sleep-study using the very reliable Watchpat device. Their fee is £199, including VAT. And their phone number is 0800 024 8050.
And there's a firm called ResMed UK in Abingdon which offers a sleep study using the same Watchpat device, but for only £144, including VAT. Their phone number is 0800 907 7071.
Now obviously, these firms are offering sleep studies in the private sector in order to have you, if you qualify, become a self-funded buyer of their machines.
But you don't have to embark on self-treatment with them. You can take the study just to find out if you indeed have sleep apnea.
And if you do, and if the AHI is 15 or above, then you can take the report they give you to your GP and ask to be referred to an NHS sleep-medicine department.
Alternatively, if the AHI is between, say, 10 and 15, you might decide that, while that is officially 'mild to moderate', it's enough to make your life miserable, and you are willing to self-treat. And the recommendation then would be to buy the ResMed AirSense 10 Auto. Price £680, with no VAT. It's the current 'best buy'.
ResMed are in fact having a summer sale at the moment, offering quite a bit off – across the board. But they will only sell you a machine if (a) you do a sleep study, preferably with them, to show that you need CPAP treatment, and (b) you get a letter from your GP, saying he or she approves.
And of course, there is the other possibility. That your private at-home sleep-study does not show significant sleep apnea. In which case, you and your doctor would need, as Julie says, to explore other possible causes for the fatigue.
Last edited by
rick blaine on Tue Jun 30, 2020 8:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
Do whatever you need to get seen properly!
