New to everything!

Hi All. So I've just been told by my doctor today that I have mild to medium sleep apnea based on my home sleep test. Forgive me for not remembering all my terminology, but I was at 6 point something events per hour, which according to my Dr. may be more if I did an in-house sleep study as apparently the home tests aren't as sensitive. I've been a major snorer for a while so I kind of expected the diagnosis, but it's still a little weird given that I'm under 30 and weigh less than 180 pounds and I'm having to deal with this.

Anyway, one major concern I have is it looks like I may not be eligible for insurance to cover a CPAP machine that my Dr. has prescribed. Apparently I need to have at least 15 events per hour, OR 5 or more per hour with reported sleepiness. Is the insurance company going to just assume that the sleepiness requirement is met if the Dr. has written the prescription? Technically I don't personally feel the effects of my sleep apnea, which my Dr. said is to be expected because I'm still young. I realize only my insurance company can answer this definitively, but wanted to crowd source some information/personal experiences as I just have absolutely nothing to expect.

Thanks in advance.

Hi - Do you mostly sleep on your back? Because... if you do, and have only 6 events/hour, you may not necessarily need Cpap if sleeping on your side (using either a foam wedge behind you or something to keep you off your back) may very well keep you from having apneas altogether, and only have what's called 'positional apnea'.

Unfortunately I don't know how much on my side or back I was during the test. I know normally my wife pokes at me to get me on my side in the middle of the night as my snoring is significantly worse when I'm on my back, but I snore on my side too. Unfortunately sleeping on my side 100% doesn't seem like a viable solution because nights when I do conk out on my side I wake up with a VERY sore shoulder.

How you slept at the study is not what I meant, so maybe your wife could give an idea if you go to sleep on your back, tend to stay there at any time she might have seen you during the night, and are still there in the a.m. And if you have sore shoulders on your side, you should get that checked out with your MD and/or consider a better bed (memory foam, etc.). Snoring alone does not mean you do or do not have apnea and you might have nasal issues that need addressing. Get some good answers to some of these things before you commit to any one 'fix' by any one provider.