Sleep Study Results

Hi everyone! This is my first time posting here, and I wanted to ask everyone how long it took to get your results from your sleep study? I had mine 3 weeks ago and still have heard nothing! I called about a week ago and was told that my doctor had to have a respiratory therapist take a look at it, because they sometimes do, and that I would get a phone call Friday (yesterday). I know I have sleep apnea and when I was taking part in the sleep study, the tech said it was pretty severe. That's why I don't understand why it's taking so long to get my results. I'm sick of feeling like this during the day and having these horrible headaches at night. I just want some relief!

Call your doctor! He/she is the only one allowed by law to give you results and doctors generally don't call patients but wait til the patient makes an appt. to go over things... what you should do is ask his receptionist/nurse IF your results are in - ask her to check carefully - and if so, make the appt. If they're really not in, then tell her to have the doctor call the lab to get them (or bug the lab yourself). But don't just wait around for all to get back to you... be proactive.

They told me up to six weeks (back in 1999). However, they called a few days later and told me that I has SA so severe that the technician expedited my case ahead of all the others. Within two weeks I was titrated and had my CPAP.

Good for you - what does that have to do with the OP though?

Julie wrote:Good for you - what does that have to do with the OP though?

If they're taking their time, probably this is not a severe case.

Stop presuming! And stop doing it about someone else's business! You have zero evidence of 90% of what you post and you're going to mislead newbies who have enough trouble making sense of things! What you said is just crap, no basis in reality.

Welcome to the forum, MudHappy.

D.H. is correct, in that the time frame can vary as to when sleep study results get back to your doctor. It is good advice to stay proactive with your doctor's office about making an appointment to get back in for these results.

I'm not sure there is a standard time frame for getting sleep test results back; it likely varies by labs and location. I got my results back within a week for both in-home and in-lab tests, for moderate OSA.

Julie wrote:Stop presuming! And stop doing it about someone else's business! You have zero evidence of 90% of what you post and you're going to mislead newbies who have enough trouble making sense of things! What you said is just crap, no basis in reality.

( Hey Jewls, please remember that MudHappy is new here and isn't asking for your emotional outbursts towards another member's comments. If you need a Time Out, there is a thread for that and I invite you to participate in it. Thank you.)

Thanks for the replies. I guess I should have said that I was given a follow up appointment way back when I was scheduled for my sleep study. I just didn't think it would be 4 weeks before I saw my results. So it looks like when I go back to the doctor on November 29th that's when I will get my results. The reason I asked is because my sleep tech told me that's way too long and I should have the results within a week. So confusing!

MudHappy wrote:Thanks for the replies. I guess I should have said that I was given a follow up appointment way back when I was scheduled for my sleep study. I just didn't think it would be 4 weeks before I saw my results. So it looks like when I go back to the doctor on November 29th that's when I will get my results. The reason I asked is because my sleep tech told me that's way too long and I should have the results within a week. So confusing!

I realize we are heading into a period of time here in the US when normal time gets distorted - a lot of "sick days" taken on Fridays around Thanksgiving, for example. This can affect not only a doc's staff but the doc him/herself. Personally, I wouldn't wait until the 29th, especially since that date was made before you did the study. You and the doc both were operating on unknown data; as mentioned earlier: be proactive. If you are concerned, take control and call the doc and express your anxiety over the delay - especially at an "already stressful time of the year." Docs often react quickly if anxiety is present. Just don't let the "anxiety" rise to the level of them thinking an emergency room visit is required. Take control, you are the ONLY one who has to live with YOUR situation. It's your health, own it.

My wife had her sleep study on Oct 25 and the doctors office called her on Oct 18 with her results (AHI was 48) and to tell her to schedule a titration study. That is scheduled for Dec 4. She may get started on treatment by the end of the year if we are lucky.

Okie bipap wrote:...had her sleep study on Oct 25 and the doctors office called her on Oct 18 with her results...

Are these dates correct?

JimW159 wrote:

Okie bipap wrote:...had her sleep study on Oct 25 and the doctors office called her on Oct 18 with her results...

Are these dates correct?

she's got a REALLY efficient doctor.

In my feeble mind, I wrote the wrong date. She got the results on Nov 18, not Oct 18. I prefer to call such slips gray moments, but my smart mouthed daughter calls them brain farts.

For me it took weeks, Doctor visit, then weeks for pulmonary doc visit, then prescription for a
home sleep study, then weeks for the sleep study equipment to be available, then 2 weeks to see
the nurse to show me how to set it up, then weeks because the pulmonary doctor went on vacation.
When I didn't know I had sleep apnea I never cared, then when I knew I was sure I was going to have
a stroke or heart attack waiting. I think it is the new disease to diagnose and they don't have enough
equipment, specialists, or facilities to do what should be done in a timely fashion. Oh, then it was 2 more
weeks to get my machine. I guess it was close to 9 weeks from start to finish. Very stressful time...
Yes, I called and bothered people and pressed for getting on a cancellation list, at times I thought they
had caller ID and didn't want to answer my call. Always polite, just wanted to get well.
Keep pushing, calling, see if there is another facility or doctor in the practice who can read the results for you.