Are sleep studies worth the price?

[ywp]

Any helpful adice on this situation? My wife was haveing hard to define problems. The doctors sent her home once agin with new anti-depressants. I place my O2 sensor on her one night and it appeared good. A second night showed 2 one hour clusters of deats to the 85 - 90 level. Maybe a positional thing it did not show the first night. I thought she might as well get use to a mask. Set her up on my S9 auto set at a setting of 6 to 10 and her AHI was 12. She felt immediate benifits and wanted to continue, I have her pressure up to 11 - 16 and AHI is now in the 2 to 5 range. The software showes the clusters of apea has decrease from 10 in a row to just a couple now and agin. I am a little nervous about she seems to need even more pressure.

She reports return of vivid dreams. Less sleepy during the day. Feeling modivated to continue the APAP therapy.

Is it worth spending money I do not have to pay for a sleep study and a tritration ? Do sleep studies ever show any resultes other than use of cpap ?

If a person feels better with cpap, is thier a condition where it would be harmful?????????


Personnaly I suffer from apenea for many years went to a lot of doctors and not one mentioned sleep disorder. It got so bad I lost my busines and health, Finally searched out a sleep doctor on my own. He tritrated me at a pressure of 8 and told me not to go over 10. And I suffered for 2 more years. Finnally got the courage to get a new S9 and to open it up to 20. It produced resultes of Max pressure of 17 and 95% of 16.
Should I put more trust in my machine and how I feel than my sleep professional???

[chunkyfrog]

For the first time diagnosis, I believe that the safest bet is with the sleep lab--especially if insurance is kicking in--
because numerous other health conditions may exist, which also need to be considered, and even treated.
There has, however, been a great deal of discussion and study on using home titration, as labs are difficult places to sleep.
To proceed with treatment without any professional input at all would be reckless--and only for persons with NO access to professional help.
I wish you and your wife well. I would definitely advise you to share the CPAP info with her doctors and nag them to death until she gets a sleep study.

[Julie]

Getting the study done is worth it because they can pick up on things you can't at home, whether it's other types of sleeping problems like central apneas (they can happen if pressures are too high, and you might want to get a new test done yourself), and they can see how low her oxygen levels go (very important!), etc. etc. Now that you both know she has a problem, might as well deal with it properly.

[Mary T]

Yeah a sleep study will save our lives. Until you have one by a professional, you will never know what's going on with you. Having sleep anea can give a person a heart attack and bad quality of awake life. Imagine going to work on maybe 2 hours a sleep .. thats what I think its like waking up 72 times a night with cpap without the machine. Insurance ought to cover it.

[ywp]

Continue

P.S.

I live in a small town in the southwest. My sleep doctor is primaraly a carthilogist. He also ownes the sleep lab and he ownes a DME. I went to buy a resmed from an another DME in town. I was told the local doctor only allows them to sell resporonics. I suspect that the local medical community thinks the sleep disorder profession is a big scam. Thank goodness for the internet, But with resmed new policy any one know of a good mexican drug mule who will import cpap supplies?

[chunkyfrog]

Ignorance abounds. --Can't fix stupid.

[Slinky]

IF I lived in a small town that had only one sleep doctor who owned the sleep lab, and the DME provider and who insists that you use and will only script Respironics PAPs - I'd be heading out of town and travel a good distance to have a sleep study at a GOOD, ACCREDITED sleep lab with a GOOD, ACCREDITED sleep doctor w/an open mind, willing to work w/me as a team and then find a good DME provider contracted w/my insurance that would provide a good fully data capable PAP and w/a lenient mask exchange policy and an RRT and staff that I was comfortable w/and had some confidence in. You might have to end up going w/the best of a bad lot for the latter.

[RDawkinsPhDMPH]

Slinky said it all!

As for the RRT, it's important he/she has lots of experience with home CPAP.... not just in the hospital setting.

[ywp]

Thanks and you are all correct. But finance conditions at present will not allow the formal routes.

I saw a job ad in a neighboring city for a sleep lab technician. quote " medical experence perfered but not neccesary " I assume min. wage.

Sorry, guess I also have trust issues with doctors, lawyers and bankers.

Just seems like if you monitor for centrals and have no lung or heart problems, whats the problem?

[BadThad]

Sorry, I have to disagree about the sleep study. In general, it's a waste of money and time. The whole sleep study issue is not much more than a cash machine for those involved in the service. While it certainly provides some benefits and can be quite useful to the ignorant, there is no reason to go though it all if you already have a machine and knowledge.....which you have both. CPAP machines are completely safe! I lost the link, but there was a presentation given by a doctor at a major conference on the web arguing that CPAP machines should be available without a prescription. I WHOLE HEARTEDLY AGREE. All that is needed to use a CPAP is some consultation with a doctor and/or an experienced CPAP user. YOU CANNOT BE HARMED BY USING CPAP. It can only improve sleep once the person becomes comfortable with the whole thing.

[BadThad]

Thanks and you are all correct. But finance conditions at present will not allow the formal routes.

I saw a job ad in a neighboring city for a sleep lab technician. quote " medical experence perfered but not neccesary " I assume min. wage.

Sorry, guess I also have trust issues with doctors, lawyers and bankers.

Just seems like if you monitor for centrals and have no lung or heart problems, whats the problem?

YES! Good for you, you're intelligent and you're thinking!

I did my study 3 years ago at the best place in Cincinnati where I live. I found the technicians and doctors to be pretty weak. Really, after intensive study on my part, I knew more than most of them did.....that's pretty sad. They tried to call me back there several times but I laughed at them. NO WAY WERE THEY GETTING ANYMORE OF MY MONEY. The same goes for the outrageously priced DME they referred me to. There's one main goal in the sleep industry.....generation of massive profits at the expense of the patients and insurance companies.

[BlackSpinner]

I thought she might as well get use to a mask. Set her up on my S9 auto set at a setting of 6 to 10 and her AHI was 12. She felt immediate benifits and wanted to continue, I have her pressure up to 11 - 16 and AHI is now in the 2 to 5 range. The software showes the clusters of apea has decrease from 10 in a row to just a couple now and agin. I am a little nervous about she seems to need even more pressure.

She reports return of vivid dreams. Less sleepy during the day. Feeling modivated to continue the APAP therapy.

Is it worth spending money I do not have to pay for a sleep study and a tritration ? Do sleep studies ever show any resultes other than use of cpap ?

If a person feels better with cpap, is thier a condition where it would be harmful?????????

Basically you have done a home sleep study similar to what they do here as a first level test to see what is going on. I would get her a second hand cpap/apap that is data capable and watch the data. An AHI in the 2-5 range is considered acceptable. With a data capable machine you can not over treat her and generate central apneas without knowing it. To buy from any other supplier then craigslist you will need a prescription - but you have that anyway...

[LinkC]

I would take the money you save and buy the biggest life insurance policy on her you can.

[dtsm]

Personally I would find an accredited sleep study center and get a proper study.

But if you decide to go on your own, do a search of rested gal's post. Identical question was posted and she provided a link describing how one could do a 'home study' .....her information is priceless.

Good luck.


PS: here's the link: viewtopic/t58306/viewtopic.php?p=518725#p518725

[brazospearl]

I second the suggestion to read Rested Gal's info. Sleep studies can be handy, but I'm not sure they're strictly necessary, except as a means to get a prescription. I think I'd just get her a good data-capable auto machine.