Apap as home test ?

My insurance no longer covers sleep apnea or sleep related issues. Any major reason my husband can't use my spare apap to test himself for sleep apnea? I know it's not as thorough but if on a low max he has acceptable amounts of apneas it could at least rule him out right?

Do you mean you'll arbitrarily set a low high pressure for testing? Any particular reason for that? Are you using Sleepyhead to see what's going on overnight? What low pressure are you planning to start him at?

lovemyapap wrote:My insurance no longer covers sleep apnea or sleep related issues. Any major reason my husband can't use my spare apap to test himself for sleep apnea? I know it's not as thorough but if on a low max he has acceptable amounts of apneas it could at least rule him out right?

No. Many have done it. And, many insurance/medical providers (like Kaiser) have been doing it that way for many years.

Along the lines of what Julie said, be sure to use software and study the reports thoroughly.


Den

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Well obviously being apap it's not a set pressure it can vary I just won't set the max crazy high in fear that it might treat the apneas and therefore hide them. Mines set at a max of 14 min 6 so I'd prob just leave it there. I have software for it already so set there. Open to suggestions. He twitches at night and so any apps would def show restless sleep. I had him do 1 night with my pulse ox and he only had one major dip. He is falling asleep during the day, and has muscle weakness. His dad has sleep apnea as well. His fix had him try a pill for night twitches but it just left him more tired. I'm getting desperate and there's obviously there's maybe only a 50/50 chance it's sleep apnea and not another sleep disorder but before I go break the bank of a sleep study to look for other problems, I thought I would eliminate the possibility of sleep apnea.

Guest wrote:Well obviously being apap it's not a set pressure it can vary I just won't set the max crazy high in fear that it might treat the apneas and therefore hide them.

since you almost certainly didn't spring for the crystal ball option on your apap, the machine can't magically see into the future and raise the pressure crazy high just in case.

set it to factory defaults (4-20)and see what happens.

if it stays at 4, and he doesn't feel any better, then it's probably not apnea, if he does feel better, then you're on to something.

if the pressure goes wandering upwards, that's also a telling sign.

Kaiser does not use a APAP to TEST for apnea, but does use them for home titration. For home testing, they have a very sophisticated device (Itamar WatchPat).

It's a little rudimentary, but you could theoretically test him for apnea by setting it at a fixed pressure of 4 all night. That's the lowest possible pressure and if he has apneas they will show up on the data. If he has significant apneas, then it's an indication that he needs CPAP. Once you know that, he can be easily titrated on an APAP machine.

It would help to have a recording oximeter so you can tell if he is having desaturations. You can do this first without CPAP and then on the night of fixed pressure. And if anyone has a smart phone, they also have apps that purportedly measure sleep quality you can use for even more data.

BTW, you certainly can set the APAP to a fixed pressure of 4.

Janknitz wrote:Kaiser does not use a APAP to TEST for apnea, but does use them for home titration. For home testing, they have a very sophisticated device (Itamar WatchPat).

It's a little rudimentary, but you could theoretically test him for apnea by setting it at a fixed pressure of 4 all night. That's the lowest possible pressure and if he has apneas they will show up on the data. If he has significant apneas, then it's an indication that he needs CPAP. Once you know that, he can be easily titrated on an APAP machine.

It would help to have a recording oximeter so you can tell if he is having desaturations. You can do this first without CPAP and then on the night of fixed pressure. And if anyone has a smart phone, they also have apps that purportedly measure sleep quality you can use for even more data.

BTW, you certainly can set the APAP to a fixed pressure of 4.

Thank you for that clarification.


Den

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Janknitz wrote:Kaiser does not use a APAP to TEST for apnea, but does use them for home titration. For home testing, they have a very sophisticated device (Itamar WatchPat).

It's a little rudimentary, but you could theoretically test him for apnea by setting it at a fixed pressure of 4 all night. That's the lowest possible pressure and if he has apneas they will show up on the data. If he has significant apneas, then it's an indication that he needs CPAP. Once you know that, he can be easily titrated on an APAP machine.

It would help to have a recording oximeter so you can tell if he is having desaturations. You can do this first without CPAP and then on the night of fixed pressure. And if anyone has a smart phone, they also have apps that purportedly measure sleep quality you can use for even more data.

BTW, you certainly can set the APAP to a fixed pressure of 4.

Thanks I have a recording oximeter, had him use it once and only had one major drop, I will use it in conjunction when we try this.

All that being said, however, remember that most people have quite a hard time breathing in at 4, and most need at least 5-6 to be at all comfortable, especially if things are new to them and you're trying to get some useful info... you may want to consider this when you get him set up.

I have moderate sleep apnea, AHI 30 untreated. When my pressure is set to 5, my AHI is around 2. So you have to be careful. If you self test someone at a pressure of 5, that may be enough to successfully treat someone who has apnea.
It can only confirm a person has apnea and a low pressure does not treat it. It will not confirm you do not have apnea. Because the lowest pressure may be enough to treat him.

Cardsfan wrote:I have moderate sleep apnea, AHI 30 untreated. When my pressure is set to 5, my AHI is around 2. So you have to be careful. If you self test someone at a pressure of 5, that may be enough to successfully treat someone who has apnea.
It can only confirm a person has apnea and a low pressure does not treat it. It will not confirm you do not have apnea. Because the lowest pressure may be enough to treat him.

Good points. That's why using recording oximeter data from nights with and without CPAP plus sleep quality apps give you a little more to go on. It's never going to be as precise as a real study, but it may be better than not doing anything at all.

And yes, trying to sleep at a fixed pressure of 4 may be miserable, especially for someone not used to CPAP in the first place. But you'll get the best data to indicate the presence or absence of apnea.

Being an Apap, if set to factory defaults, won't I see the start of any apneas anyhow regardless of the settings? (Assuming the minimum is 4 and 4 is not enough to treat). He's trying it finally tonight. Next challenge will be his beard needless to say it's a nonissue for me with mine. When he tried the oximeter (one night so far) he only had 1 major dip. However I'll be certain he gets some back sleep this time I'm not sure if he did before. Between being sleepy his whole life and the muscle fatigue it seems like a classic case. I always figured it was minor narcolepsy until the muscle weakness started presenting. Thanks for all the friendly advice given.

Whoa... what muscle weakness? That could be a whole other thing and possibly serious, nothing to do with apnea - has he seen a doctor about that?

lovemyapap wrote:Being an Apap, if set to factory defaults, won't I see the start of any apneas anyhow regardless of the settings? (Assuming the minimum is 4 and 4 is not enough to treat). He's trying it finally tonight. Next challenge will be his beard needless to say it's a nonissue for me with mine. When he tried the oximeter (one night so far) he only had 1 major dip. However I'll be certain he gets some back sleep this time I'm not sure if he did before. Between being sleepy his whole life and the muscle fatigue it seems like a classic case. I always figured it was minor narcolepsy until the muscle weakness started presenting. Thanks for all the friendly advice given.

It's possible he has apnea without CPAP, but none with a pressure of 4 cmH2O.

Also remember, you can have severe apnea, but never show a drop in O2 level. Some people "wake up" enough to start breathing before O2 drops much, but you still suffer from stress and disturbed sleep.

Ditto what Julie said. Sudden onset muscle fatigue REQUIRES a medical work up. That's not sleep apnea. Please have him seen ASAP.