newbie

I went for my first sleep study two weeks ago, received a call to set up titration sleep study. I called my doctor to get a copy of my results so I can see what my numbers are...It will have to wait until tomorrow. To prepare myself, I have been doing some research and that I how I found this group.

To provide some background, I have been fighting iron deficiency, RLS, and extreme fatigue. I get B12 injections, and I am on multivitamin with iron and folic acid...my system cannot tolerate adult doses - so I am using childrens' levels. RLS has not responded to any of the interventions prescribed. Even though my current schedule is much relaxed and quite a bit less stress - I am still fatigued....this prompted the sleep study.

My RSL sets in around 7 pm...and gets so intense, I cannot fall asleep without medication. Once in awhile - it will wake me up. I had an extreme case for my sleep study - which, even though I was exhausted, I am glad they got to see it. I would love to put a stop to it, but doubt that I will. The dr.'s seem to think that it is unusal for it to start when it does and that it probably isn't tied to sleep disorders.

What should I expect from the next part of the sleep study - the titration part? Also, are there specific forums I should focus on while I am acquainting myself with this.

Thank you for any advice you can offer. Once I have my data, I will post it. I have read others' but it seems so confusing.

Others will chime in about the titration study (I had a home titration on an auto machine), but be sure to read up on a few crucial things:
__What AHI means
__ What the different types of machine are and what their features are (NOTE: YOU SHOULD GET A DATA CAPABLE MACHINE, SO YOU NEED TO LEARN WHICH ONES TO AVOID)
__ How to deal with the DME to get the best machine for your needs (see my blog link below for "what you need to know BEFORE you meet your DME).

Janknitz wrote:(NOTE: YOU SHOULD GET A DATA CAPABLE MACHINE, SO YOU NEED TO LEARN WHICH ONES TO AVOID)

Here's a link that might be helpful to you when the time comes to accept (or reject) whatever machine the DME tries to give you, reynolti. You'll want a machine that can record leak and AHI info. The ones in blue do that; the ones in red do not:
viewtopic.php?p=307168#p307168

Quick rule of thumb -- don't accept a machine that has the word "Plus" or the word "Escape" as part of its name.

Do be sure to click the link in Janknitz's signature at the bottom of her post. She has written a lot of invaluable info.

Janknitz wrote:__ How to deal with the DME to get the best machine for your needs (see my blog link below for "what you need to know BEFORE you meet your DME).

Hi and welcome!

During my second sleep study (where they did the titration), I started out doing the exact same thing as the first study. You will get wired up, and get settled into the room. Then, when you're headed to sleep, the center staff will go through the same sleep routine they did the first time, but they will also put a CPAP mask on your nose and/or mouth. They will let you try the mask on well before you have to go to sleep, this way your body can know what it is, and that you can indeed breathe with it on.

The pressure when you first get into bed will be very low, a light breeze, basically. Over the course of the night, they will raise the pressure up until you have no OSA events for a period of time. That's basically how they titrate you, modifying pressure through the night to see what levels give you the best results.

Once you are done, your doctor will review the results and write a prescription based on the pressure levels (generally represented as centimeters of water or cm/H2O) and work with you to find a Durable Medical Equipment (DME) provider that your insurance accepts.

For me, that was the whole process. Start to finish (titration study to delivery) it was just over a week of time.

I do not have RLS, but I do need to take meds to fall asleep. The sleep center will want you to take them while they titrate you, as they will potentially change your pressure needs, so that isn't a problem. The doctor might also prescribe new RLS medications, which you might have to take at the sleep study - but I suspect that if they haven't already prescribed them, they'll wait until after titration for that.

Good luck, and HANG IN THERE!

welcome.... you have found a very helpful place from which to start. And you are lucky to have found this forum before you start pap therapy.
In my case they wired me up etc for the titration study just as for the initial sleep study...then woke me up and put a mask on. That mask was a hybrid Liberty. I dont think I did well on it because they woke me up again and tried to adjust the nose pillows. It all felt so weird and then they offered me a full face mirage quattro which felt SO much better. even after all that I felt rested in the morning. I am sure I hardly got any sleep but it was enough for the titration and probably even 2 hours of quality sleep was better than what I had been getting. it's a huge adjustment to get used to sleeping with a mask but it's well worth it. And now that I am used to a FFmask I really want to try out the hybrid again as an option.
In less than a week I had my mask from the DME provider. I naively thought the DME technician would be helpful but she was not. She was like "here's your mask and machine and goodbye". Even when I called her and said i did not think the mask fit she said (over the phone) it fits.....
So be very particular about your machine and your mask fit. make sure you lie down when they fit the mask and be sure to verify that you can return/exchange the mask within 30 days if you need to try another style. I was completely clueless and I only found this forum about a month after I was all set up. so do ask questions here and read what the members recommend. and continue to be proactive on your own behalf.