Sleep Study on Friday

LikwidFlux · Post by **LikwidFlux** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:40 pm

Well, after months of my wife complaining about my snoring and me waking up tired every morning. Getting 3 hours of sleep the other night pushed me over the edge.

I went to my doctor and he scheduled me for a sleep study. I called the place to find out if it was a split night test or not (I researched way too much on this Web site; you guys are dangerous!) and it's not.

They said it was diagnostic only and not a t.itration test.

So, pending the results from the test, is there NO way I'll get a C.PAP without having to do ANOTHER sleep study for t.itration?

Why do I ask? I have a hard enough time sleeping at home, I don't want to have 2 sleep studies!

Thanks for your help everyone.

bdp522 · Post by **bdp522** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:42 pm

Ask if you can be titrated at home. Some insurances allow it but some don't. It's worth a shot.

Brenda

LikwidFlux · Post by **LikwidFlux** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:47 pm

The sleep study place that I went too doesn't do the at home studies anymore (I asked).

I have Cigna, so I'm covered 100% on D.ME, is there a chance my doctor will write me an a.uto thingamajigger PAP and I won't need a 2nd sleep study?

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:52 pm

My personal belief is that if you can have 2 nights of sleep study, the better. It gives more of a chance to acclimatize yourself to the lab, and more time to record data both with and without a cpap. Trust me, getting used to sleeping with the mask and airflow takes a bit of time. I wish I had had more time to sleep the night of my test - I had a split night.
Generally, you will have a split-night test if you have a high enough count of apnea events. Otherwise, you may get a split night. Each lab is different.
There are some docs who will have you do a home titration on an auto unit. Again my personal opinion is that this is not the best way to do it. There are so many more things that are so important and that can be looked at and checked only by doing a full sleep study - only a couple of which are O2 sats and Limb Movements.

bdp522 · Post by **bdp522** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:55 pm

Your in.surance may not cover it without the ti.tration. Unfortunately,It is really pretty much up to the in.surance to decide these things. I was ti.trated at 7, got an a.uto m.achine and found it should have been 9. At your ti.tration test...be sure they don't put the m.ask on too tight! They did that to me and I suffered with migraine and swollen face for 2 days.

Brenda

birdshell · Post by **birdshell** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 8:15 pm

I had the same kind of sleep study with a separate night for t.itration. Being there the first time was kind of fun and very interesting, so I was REALLY looking forward to returning. I am very glad that I did.

The mask and the noise from the bi.PAP and the itchy straps and the wires on my legs and the tech coming in to give me a ch.instrap, and the h.eadgear slipping more and the leaky n.asal p.illows needed adjusting and the exhaust was blowing on me and I had to move it, and, and, and....

It was hard for me to sleep with all of this. I barely got into R.EM and the tech stayed over a half-hour and got some results. Had I had a s.plit night study, it would have been nearly worthless, IMO.

Enjoy both nights if you can--it means that you may be entering the rest of your life as rested h.osehead. Then you can be 'dangerous' along with us!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 8:58 pm

you can always ask at the lab, if you wake up at 2AM with enough apnea they can try putting on a mask and titrating you. Titration in the lab is always the best because you get EEG information. If they don't get the titration done you can always go back and have lost nothing.

If you get to the lab early, ask to try on some different masks, adjust the straps etc. Just know if they wake you in the middle of the night to try on a mask, that is the titration portion and you will need to fall back asleep and reach REM for the titration to be successful.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 11:33 pm

I agree with the Guest who wrote:

"My personal belief is that if you can have 2 nights of sleep study, the better. It gives more of a chance to acclimatize yourself to the lab, and more time to record data both with and without a cpap."

I think that's a much better way to have a PSG sleep study...one full night of gathering as much data as possible, and another full night for a very thorough titration (finding what pressure is most effective.)

I don't blame people for wanting to get it all over with in one night, but I very much believe it will be a more informative study if it comprises two whole nights.

When each appointment is set, I'd suggest calling the sleep lab and ask to be put on the "cancellation list". Then check back every two or three days, calling them in the late morning or early afternoon to see if there's been a cancellation. Doesn't hurt to let them know you are very eager to get in for the study and then again for the titration.

I'd be thankful that the doctor wants two full nights instead of a split night study. Even so, the doctor may have instructed the lab that under certain circumstances (after the diagnostic night has been underway for a certain number of hours) they should apply cpap and begin titrating, ending up in a split night study after all.