Newbie - recent diagnosed

Hi! I just finished my first sleep study (longest night EVER) and confirmed moderate sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome. Second study with CPAP or possibly other devices scheduled for next week. Can anyone let me know what to expect with this study? Is it a full night? I was told I have to sleep on my back which NEVER happens due to a back injury and probably my unknown sleep apnea. I would appreciate anyone's input and/or experiences. Thanks!

A couple of things
The back thing is not a requirement. What they want is to make SURE you have some apnea's during the study and the best way to do this is on your back. If you can't you just can't.
They are going to titrate you-try different pressure settings, once you are asleep, to find out what is the best pressure settings for you. After this your doctor will what pressure settings to put in your prescription.

Notice I keep referring to "pressure settings" because there are many more settings on these machines and it is up to you to set those up so you can tolerate the CPAP pressure settings.

PoolQ wrote:What they want is to make SURE you have some apnea's during the study

That is not true. You just making this stuff up as you go along?

Usually, pressure requirements are highest on the back. They don't want to titrate you on the sides or stomach, and then find out later their settings are not effective when on your back.

krogers wrote: I was told I have to sleep on my back which NEVER happens due to a back injury and probably my unknown sleep apnea.

Just let the sleep lab know when you check in for the night.

Good to know. Thanks!

Don't be afraid to take the sleeping pill.

I'll call my doctor and request THAT pill for sure! Thanks.

krogers wrote:Hi! I just finished my first sleep study (longest night EVER) and confirmed moderate sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome. Second study with CPAP or possibly other devices scheduled for next week. Can anyone let me know what to expect with this study? Is it a full night? I was told I have to sleep on my back which NEVER happens due to a back injury and probably my unknown sleep apnea. I would appreciate anyone's input and/or experiences. Thanks!

Tell them to go "take a flying leap" (or something even more descriptive) and that you WON'T be doing that. They can't make you try to sleep in a position that you wouldn't normally (or never) sleep in.
After reading this forum, when I had my original split night study, I told the sleep lab that there was no way I was going to try to sleep on my back and that I'm only a side-sleeper. No problem!


Den

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I have no problem telling them that Thank you. Is this 2nd study usually done for the entire night? They sent me home after 6 hours last night. Looking through everyone's post now...I obviously have a lot to learn about this.

A lot of people sleep on their back part of the night, so they try to make sure they test pressures in the worst possible situations so that they can give you accurate settings. If you don't sleep on back ever, then tell them that let them deal with it.

My sleep tech told me to sleep anyway I wanted, except for propped up. I moved around a lot and did sleep on my back some during the diagnosis phase., Once on the machine, I barely moved, so they didn't have enough time on my back to get accurate pressure settings. Luckily for me, the decided to estimate a range of pressure and recommended that since they knew I would need higher pressures on my back, and I did still sleep on my back some. Their estimate was perfect for me, and also helped me get a nice full data auto machine. So, I was quite happy with their results.

krogers wrote:Is this 2nd study usually done for the entire night?

Yes.

It would be cruel to throw you out to drive home at 3:00 a.m.

Great advice! Thanks for answering my questions and helping out the newbie.