New doc and "CPAP fasting" before sleep study

[Kennerly]

And the sleep lab did fine for diagnosing and treating my sleep apnea.

How do you know?

I mean, if you took Ambien for the study, Ambien makes obstructive sleep apnea worse, and it makes central sleep apnea better...

Don't intend to hijack the thread but this caught my eye. I was under the impression that sleep meds had the opposite effect on centrals. Does this apply to Lunesta as well? (A sleep doc put me on 3mg L. some time ago, and I've been assuming that it was just a temporary thing to help me acclimate to pap while dealing with allergies etc. But centrals were an issue prior, and to some extent still are.)

[Sir NoddinOff]

Hi kaiasgram
To continue the chemical hijacking of this thread Last year, when I was using my PR S1 auto, I would occasionally take a Xanax... it would totally knock out my centrals for that night (the PR addressed the OSA problem adequately, so I was good there) These days, I rarely take Xanax or any benzos, mostly because they mess with my prostate gland with cramps and whatnot... never really discovered why. Anybody else (males) experience that? Of course now that I'm using an ASV machine, my centrals and PBs are a thing of the past.

Just me, but I think I'd really hate going without my machine for three days before a sleep test. I suspect I'd simply be quivering pile of nerve endings by the time they got me wired up in the lab. I think ambien or lunesta would be almost a requirement for me.

[chunkyfrog]

If I had a doctor that insisted I go cold turkey (off cpap),--even for only one night---
I'D CHANGE DOCTORS!

[ems]

If I had a doctor that insisted I go cold turkey (off cpap),--even for only one night---
I'D CHANGE DOCTORS!

That makes no sense at all to me. If you are at your wits end - and sure you are seeing a competent physician - I'd try just about anything that was suggested. It sure sounds to me like he knows what he is doing... I'm quite sure if she was in the hospital and flat lining, he wouldn't have suggested this approach. She sure isn't being helped by using the machine for nearly two years... a totally different approach may be exactly what is needed.

[49er]

If I had a doctor that insisted I go cold turkey (off cpap),--even for only one night---
I'D CHANGE DOCTORS!

That makes no sense at all to me. If you are at your wits end - and sure you are seeing a competent physician - I'd try just about anything that was suggested. It sure sounds to me like he knows what he is doing... I'm quite sure if she was in the hospital and flat lining, he wouldn't have suggested this approach. She sure isn't being helped by using the machine for nearly two years... a totally different approach may be exactly what is needed.

+1

[Sheffey]

He asked me to stop using my machine at least 3 nights before the sleep study

You know your case, your current diagnosis, your current treatment, your current age, health state, etc. I don't know any of this. You have to make your own decisions.

However, due to the severity of my OSA and my advanced age, my sleep doc has told me I am never to sleep without CPAP as there is a great danger of stroke and a moderate danger of heart attack.

I believe he is correct and I will never sleep a nap, much less a night, without my CPAP.

[kaiasgram]

If I had a doctor that insisted I go cold turkey (off cpap),--even for only one night---
I'D CHANGE DOCTORS!

Froggie, did you look at the first article Sludge linked to?

The results of the study suggest that failure to use CPAP for even a single night can result in reappearance of pretreatment levels of nocturnal sleep disturbance and daytime hypersomnolence, even though the rate of respiratory events may be lessened.

So if the goal of the sleep study is an accurate assessment of pre-treatment RDI then the doc's approach makes some sense (even if it also means feeling sleepy and crappy). If there's still carryover benefit from CPAP use on the night of the sleep study then the study results could be misleading. RDI might be underestimated.

One might ask why the pre-cpap numbers even matter for someone already being treated -- in this case there are a couple of reasons having to do with my medical history.

And why are you yelling?

[lliann]

I was thinking your doc was looking for a true baseline .

[ems]

I was thinking your doc was looking for a true baseline .

Of course... along with other possible medical problems.

[kaiasgram]

I was thinking your doc was looking for a true baseline .

Of course... along with other possible medical problems.

Yes and yes

[chunkyfrog]

My OSA symptoms are quite defined and very, very unpleasant;
and in MY case, I would be very upset, as cpap solves many problems--and even 10 minutes it without makes me quite miserable!
We are all different, and there may be cases where the withdrawal is indicated, but not in my experience.
Hence, I would not go for it myself.

[BlackSpinner]

My OSA symptoms are quite defined and very, very unpleasant;
and in MY case, I would be very upset, as cpap solves many problems--and even 10 minutes it without makes me quite miserable!
We are all different, and there may be cases where the withdrawal is indicated, but not in my experience.
Hence, I would not go for it myself.

Same here. About 3 years ago I ended up in ER hooked up to monitors. As I drifted into a doze (sitting up) I woke suddenly and notices my SPO2 was in the 70's ( sleep study it dropped down to 56%) . That was just drifting off, not full sleep. I will never sleep without it ever again.

[ems]

We are all different ages and have different medical problems. That said... I think it's fair to assume that K's Neurologist now knows her age as well as her past medical history. He seems fully aware of her data when using her machine and knows if a problem could possibly arise. I'm quite sure if he felt she should be monitored during this honeymoon period, he would have suggested it.

It's obvious she thinks highly of this physician and intends to follow his advice. I completely understand why he would want a baseline study at this time and apparently she does too. Hearing other peoples' horror stories in a situation like this can't be helpful.

[happydaz]

Hello, I think your doctor is very knowledgeable and has good reason for wanting a base line. Good luck.

[Stevoreno_55]

My OSA symptoms are quite defined and very, very unpleasant;
and in MY case, I would be very upset, as cpap solves many problems--and even 10 minutes it without makes me quite miserable!
We are all different, and there may be cases where the withdrawal is indicated, but not in my experience.
Hence, I would not go for it myself.

Same here. About 3 years ago I ended up in ER hooked up to monitors. As I drifted into a doze (sitting up) I woke suddenly and notices my SPO2 was in the 70's ( sleep study it dropped down to 56%) . That was just drifting off, not full sleep. I will never sleep without it ever again.

So if you took a nap during the day; I'm bad about doing it in my recliner but I'm not near my CPAP machine; do you move your machine from the bedroom to wherever if you take a nap during the day? #justcurious



Stevoreno_55
MS Gulf Coast
04/25/14