"Mild" Sleep Apnea ....opitons?

Hi all,

New here on the forum. Quick background....I have been having sleep issues for maybe a few years now. I know for a fact I have 'bruxism', or grinding of teeth, but also wake up tired and lathargic at times, and with headaches. Went to sleep doc, did sleep study and had follow up yesterday. Bascially he said my sleep study was 'pretty clean'. He says if anything it's mild sleep apnea. Said I had a few cetnral apeneas as well, but nothing major. Oxygen level good, slept 81% of night, went into REM, etc.

So my question is what now? He said he may have problems getting a CPAP covered by insurance with the study results and that even if they did, it may not be much of a benefit given the mild nature of my apnea. I countered to him to that I am always tired, have headahces, affects me at work, etc, so it's not that 'mild' to me. He said we should try to do another study with the CPAP only IF insurance will approve another one. He also prescribed me a trial of Provent to try if wanted to.

My question is what do I do now? Have any of you had insurance approve CPAP for similar test resutls? I am fit and thin, so losing weight is not something I need to do in the lifestlye area. I frequently exercise as well (5-6 days per week). I have several devices for the bruxism, including a bio feedback device, so I don't think my sole probem lies there. I am concerned that the one night of the sleep study just may not have caught me on a night were the apnea was very apparent....there ARE nights when I sleep ok, so I think that night may have been one of them and thus results aren't representative of my usual sleep!

Thanks for any feeedback!

Hi - a couple of questions - do you sleep on your back most of the time? Are you a mouth breather when asleep? Do you snore?

And get a copy of your study report from the doctor (legally yours by right) so you can tell us what your actual # of apneas were overnight... e.g. 7 would be minimal and I'd look for other answers, but 25 would constitute definite apnea and a Cpap (or related) would be called for. Find out what your 02 saturations dropped to - if any fell below 90, and for how long... that's a crucial part to deciding if you're a patient or not.

I'm asking because there are people who register very few events and are told they need Cpap, but in fact they have what's called 'positional' apnea, e.g. they're a bit borderline (as you wonder about), but it generally clears if they learn to sleep on their side vs back, if they e.g. get possible nasal blockage problems dealt with, or lose 50 lbs (losing weight though in a 'real' apnea patient is no guarantee at all that they can quit Cpap). And if they've already been on Cpap for a time but no longer feel they need it, they have a new study done to confirm that, because you can't assume you're ok without one. Then come back here with as much of the above info as you can and we'll see if we can help.

I am always tired, have headahces, affects me at work, etc

Do you have interrupted sleep at all? Insomnia? Is it more at certain times of the year, certain days per week, etc. Did your doc screen you for other health conditions? blood tests, etc? Be persistent with the doc even if the insurance company does not approve another sleep test. If your doc can't figure out why you are tired, then I would get another opinion, just to have another set of eyes look at your information and status. Gotta be your own advocate.

wilkster79 wrote:Hi all,

New here on the forum. Quick background....I have been having sleep issues for maybe a few years now. I know for a fact I have 'bruxism', or grinding of teeth, but also wake up tired and lathargic at times, and with headaches. Went to sleep doc, did sleep study and had follow up yesterday. Bascially he said my sleep study was 'pretty clean'. He says if anything it's mild sleep apnea. Said I had a few cetnral apeneas as well, but nothing major. Oxygen level good, slept 81% of night, went into REM, etc.

So my question is what now? He said he may have problems getting a CPAP covered by insurance with the study results and that even if they did, it may not be much of a benefit given the mild nature of my apnea. I countered to him to that I am always tired, have headahces, affects me at work, etc, so it's not that 'mild' to me. He said we should try to do another study with the CPAP only IF insurance will approve another one. He also prescribed me a trial of Provent to try if wanted to.

My question is what do I do now? Have any of you had insurance approve CPAP for similar test resutls? I am fit and thin, so losing weight is not something I need to do in the lifestlye area. I frequently exercise as well (5-6 days per week). I have several devices for the bruxism, including a bio feedback device, so I don't think my sole probem lies there. I am concerned that the one night of the sleep study just may not have caught me on a night were the apnea was very apparent....there ARE nights when I sleep ok, so I think that night may have been one of them and thus results aren't representative of my usual sleep!

Thanks for any feeedback!

Are you married? Or more to the point, does someone share your bedroom with you? If so, has that someone noticed snoring? You could also video yourself sleeping to see if you do snore. Not all snoring is OSA, but all snoring has the potential to disturb your sleep (as well as your partners).

When you wake up in the middle of the night, do you feel an urgent need to use the bathroom? Does this happen multiple times each night? These could be signs of the body in distress when asleep. But it's not definitive.

I'm looking for circumstantial evidence to back up what you might tell a doctor to get them more involved.

Doctor's are so specialized these days. If you're not in their area of specialty they sometimes act like there is no problem. I have a friend who experiences pain in her hip. She had the other hip replaced 4 years ago, and thought she might need this one replaced. The doctor, who specializes in knee and hip replacements, said after reviewing images, etc, that she doesn't have a hip problem and sent her on her way. He implied it could be a back problem ... but didn't offer ANYTHING, even the idea she should see another doctor. From his perspective he was done with anything he could offer.

My general doctor is a family physician ... no specific specialties. I use other doctors when necessary, but this ONE doctor is the only doctor I go to when starting a new problem. Why? Because he'll keep looking for ways to help even if he's not the direct provider of that service.

Sometimes we have to be that person and take charge of our health care, which you are doing by continuing to pursue this. Excellent attitude!

I'm with Julie on you getting a copy of your report. Ask them for the breakdown of the info, not just the summary. This should tell you if your sleep apnea was positional and other details that can really matter when deciding how to move forward, like if it captured you in REM while supine, which would give them the best opportunity to capture your worst case scenario. Anything less and they can't say for certain if your OSA is really mild, just that in that night they couldn't capture it any worse. Alos look for any other cause for arousals, like limb movements, that can mask the true extent of your OSA. As to the headaches, jaw clenching can cause that. My jaw clenching stopped after starting CPAP. Once you have more info hopefuly the path forward will be clearer.