Home Sleep Study

ycartf wrote:I have already had a PSG and have been on CPAP for over two years - This is for my brother-in-law (wife's younger brother).

So I need to get feedback from you guys:

Thanks!

Tracy

Possible resources that may help:
1) County medical programs that may offer the sleep study inexpensively (depending on where you live).
2) If he is a veteran, he may qualify for services if there is a VA hospital or outpatient clinic near you - even if the clinic may not provide the services directly, they often will refer to a local provider. He need not have retired from the military nor have been wounded - often just serving will qualify. See: https://www.1010ez.med.va.gov/sec/vha/1010ez/
3) Your local/county/state medical society may have a register of clinics/providers that offer free/discounted services.

JimW203

Just an update from the data on the card my brother-in-law dropped off this Saturday. He was on 9cm pressure with an UM FFM on an M Series Pro CPAP with C-flex setting of 1 and HH setting of 2 (data synopsis below). He had a hard time using it long enough each night, but has definitely noticed benefits. I told him to keep doing what he is doing - using it as much as he can and as long as he can. I told him another main concern is to try and get his leaks under control through whatever adjustments he needs (and that tighter is not always better). I increased his pressure to 10cm for this upcoming week but I am wondering if leaks may be his main holdup. I did notice that his best "data" night was the night he managed to keep it on 7.5 hrs and had the lowest leak rate, second to lowest snore index, and the only night his AHI dipped below 5. He has pulled it off unintentionally during the night several times, and said he has twice (in the last week) dreamed he was drowning...lol. He said his best "day" was the day after his first night on it - I explained that away by telling him that maybe his body was so exhausted that the 3.5 hrs of AHI-13 sleep was actually a break and that he noticed the results most then. He is not there yet, but is a lot better off than he was before - and has thankfully noticed enough results to keep him "hooked to the hose" all he can manage to be.

02/01 - AHI - 13.0 / AI - 07.5 / HI - 5.5 / Snore index - 051 / Avg. Leak - 59.7 / Usage - 3:28
02/02 - AHI - 16.0 / AI - 12.8 / HI - 3.2 / Snore index - 100 / Avg. Leak - 66.9 / Usage - 3:25
02/03 - AHI - 10.3 / AI - 02.6 / HI - 7.7 / Snore index - 147 / Avg. Leak - 81.0 / Usage - 0:47
02/04 - AHI - 09.3 / AI - 05.8 / HI - 3.5 / Snore index - 031 / Avg. Leak - 65.0 / Usage - 1:42
02/05 - AHI - 04.7 / AI - 02.8 / HI - 1.9 / Snore index - 9.5 / Avg. Leak - 49.0 / Usage - 7:33
02/06 - AHI - 07.1 / AI - 06.3 / HI - 0.8 / Snore index - 5.1 / Avg. Leak - 60.0 / Usage - 2:31

Thanks again for all of the helpful advice!

Tracy

This is an update from the data on the card I swapped out with my brother-in-law this Saturday (Valentine's Day). He was on 10cm pressure (up from 9 last week) with an UM FFM on an M Series Pro CPAP with C-flex setting of 1 and an ending HH setting of 5 (data synopsis below). He tends to pull the mask off during the night (without remembering doing it) but has definitely noticed the benefits of the therapy. Although his leaks were better this week (which I didn't know ahead of time when) I set his other card to drop the pressure back to 9cm. Then after getting back home and seeing the improved results of 10cm I wondered whether I should have left him at 10cm, but also noticed that his leaks were better and thought perhaps the lower pressure of 9cm might diminish his desire to unconsciously pull the mask from his face. He was at 9cm Saturday night and Sunday (last) night, and responded to my text this morning by saying he could tell a difference ... a good difference ... so the data will tell the story next weekend.

I am VERY encouraged by his treatment/progress. He still gets sleepy in the daytime occasionally, but said the biggest thing he notices is that he doesn't CRAVE more sleep right when he wakes up ... that he actually feels rested. My mother-in-law (whom I get along with well!) said she has noticed that he only gets sleepy after sitting for 30 minutes or so (he visits her almost every day) where he used to fall asleep in a chair within 5 minutes. While visiting with them Saturday, my youngest daughter also noticed that he was "making jokes and laughing" for the first time in quite a while (he has had an easily-ill, grumpy, tired nature prior to the CPAP). He told me Saturday, "I'll be honest with you Tracy, I was really skeptical when you first called me and offered this CPAP stuff. Everyone I had talked to, except you, talked about how they couldn't stand it and ended up not using their's. But it has made a believer out of me." That was the icing, the whipped cream, the cherry, and the cake on the cake. I could pure horsewhip folks who downplay the benefits of xPAP to others, as it makes it harder to convince folks of the true deadliness of OSA and the benefits of xPAP!!

Oh yeah - when we were texting back and forth last week (after his first week of CPAP/results/data) - he asked me, "Do you think I had sleep apnea?" I told him no - you HAVE sleep apnea, that is at least partially-treated now, the numbers don't lie (he had an AHI of about 10 - on 9cm CPAP).

Data for the past week:
02/07 - AHI - 2.0 / AI - 0.0 / HI - 2.0 / Snore index - 04.0 / Avg. Leak - 52.0 / Usage - 1:32
02/08 - AHI - 4.4 / AI - 1.4 / HI - 3.0 / Snore index - 28.0 / Avg. Leak - 52.8 / Usage - 1:59
02/09 - AHI - 3.5 / AI - 1.1 / HI - 4.6 / Snore index - 04.6 / Avg. Leak - 68.0 / Usage - 6:21
02/10 - AHI - 3.8 / AI - 1.1 / HI - 2.7 / Snore index - 00.8 / Avg. Leak - 52.3 / Usage - 2:38
02/11 - AHI - 2.2 / AI - 1.9 / HI - 0.3 / Snore index - 04.7 / Avg. Leak - 46.0 / Usage - 3:13
02/12 - AHI - 2.2 / AI - 1.1 / HI - 1.1 / Snore index - 15.2 / Avg. Leak - 49.0 / Usage - 6:15
02/13 - AHI - 2.2 / AI - 1.0 / HI - 1.2 / Snore index - 07.8 / Avg. Leak - 51.0 / Usage - 6:46

Thanks again for all of the helpful advice!

Kudos to both you guys.

I resisted - as in, refused to listen - to kin telling me I was choking to death in my sleep - for about three years. Your brother-in-law's half my age, and twice as smart: he's listening.

I particularly related to his complaint of sleeping 12 hours and waking up exhausted: that was the last straw with me before finally seeking diagnosis.

Good luck to you both.

Tracy, you did a wonderful thing for your brother-in-law. And he's doing a fantastic job, sticking with it like he is!
A side benefit... there's no official record of a pre-existing condition of "OSA" for him, if he ever is in a position to get insurance, or better insurance.

jda1000, better late than never. Good for you!!

A brother-in-law of mine is going to be one of those "never"'s. In the past five years, he's already had a heart attack, several cardiac procedures, and is a "Nope" no matter how many times I've talked to him and his wife (my sister) about OSA. He even has good insurance, so it's not like the desperate measures the uninsured have to go to.

Couple of years ago, he did agree to wearing an overnight pulse oximeter that I loaned him. But even with the drops into the 80's that I showed him and explained to both of them what was probably causing the drops, I might as well have been talking to a brick wall. Tried to get my sister to at least take the oxi printout herself to his family doc, but she's a "well, he can talk to his doctor about it next time" type. Yeahhhh, riiiight.

What always amazes me is that it doesn't seem to have occurred to a single one of his doctors -- not the cardiac guys nor his family doc -- that OSA could be contributing to his on-going heart/blood pressure problems. He even physically fits the infamous "profile" for sleep apnea. By now, in this day and age, at least ONE of his doctors should be saying, "I'm going to send you for a sleep study." He'd go if a doctor said go. But if a doctor doesn't bring it up, it ain't gonna happen. Ugh.

Thanks for your excellent account of a success story due to the smart help your brother-in-law accepted from you, Tracy!