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My pulmonologist gave me a prescription for (one) 10 mg. Ambien at the office visit prior to the sleep test. It was filled at pharmacy and I took it with me to the clinic. I was to take it 15 minutes before going to bed and I was asleep "almost before the technician returned to his monitoring room" quoting him.
Two reasons I was so glad for this sedataive .. I had had two other tests and could not sleep..thus..Medicare paid for two useless tests (that bothers me) and I did not want them to pay for a third failed one. Also, I knew I had problems and did not want to waste more time.

Hiya folks.

A couple things I thought I'd snip out of several posts here:

dllfo wrote:My wife has taken one sleep apnea test at home. They said she did not sleep
enough to get enough info, so last night she went to their lab and the tech
told her this morning she didn't sleep enough to get good readings. They did
not even try a mask on her.

What it sounds like (Just a guess) is that they were unable to get 2 or more hours of recorded sleep. That has been a basic guideline for a long time now. There are certainly variables, but most Labs are shooting for that 2 hour minimum.

Understand too, that's 2 hours of SLEEP. Not total time in-bed, but SLEEP. Big, big, big difference.

Without that, it can be much harder to get a valid baseline and therefore begin treatment.

dllfo wrote:I thought about
putting the smart card in...putting her on it and seeing how she sleeps??

I would strongly urge you to discuss this with a Pulmonologist specializing in Sleep Disorders before doing so. There are situations where doing this can have significant ill effects (Including making any present disorders such as OSA much worse!).

needingu wrote:My dr. prescribed Ambien 10 mg. saying it would not interfer with the test.

Most MDs that specialize in Sleep Disorders would not have a problem with a low dose of certain sedatives/sleep aids. Again, this is an excellent topic to discuss with such a specialist.

Linda3032 wrote:The sleep clinic I went to always does two sleep study sessions - or so I was told. Anyway, I know I barely slept the first night, but they were able to get a reading - finally.

The second night is when they put a mask on me.

Probably more bucks to have two sessions.

The 2-night test has historically been far more common than a split-night study. In recent years, insurance companies have pushed to have split-night tests be the norm as a cost saving measure.

A standard 2-night test is often much more beneficial simply for the obvious reason of more time to get a true Baseline, as well as more time to perform the titration and therefore really dial in the best pressure settings.

One interesting side-note - with a full night available for titration, more patients would be put on Bi-level and similiar machines. The first criteria required by insurance companies for Bi-level machines is that a patient was first tried on CPAP therapy, but failed.

Well, guess what 6-8 hours of sleep study gives a Sleep Lab? Time to try you out on CPAP and actually SEE if it will work!

dllfo wrote:My family doctor just told my wife you aren't allowed to have any meds to help you sleep.

This is exactly why I always suggest people speak to a Sleep Disorders Specialist, such as many pulmonologists. A family doctor simply cannot be expected to truely know all the ins-and-outs of performing a Sleep Study. Not a knock on a PCP, it's just a fact of life, it's why we HAVE specialists.

I hope some of this information is of some use to you.

Good Luck!

Bingo

She was there from 10pm to 6am. She says she never really slept..in her
opinion.

What I find odd is that I felt that way and at 2am they came in and put a
mask on me. But they didn't do that with her. Maybe I was having problems
and didn't "feel it"?

She is going back next Wed. and they say they will start out with the nose
mask....if she can get good data, then I plan on being at the doctor's office
the next day. I want to ask him if he will let her have the Respironics Auto
BiPap and humidifier. THEN ....with prescription in hand, I will buy her the
Auto bipap and humidifier for $1,099. ANY required DME under $2000 does
NOT require an approval or authorization. So I save the govt a couple thousand dollars and get her exactly what she wants. She has tried my unit,
with my medium mask and she liked it. So why not get her the one she likes.

With a sleeping pill she should sleep ok and hopefully get enough data.
I am the only one I know who went one time and got a machine. Three
relatives and two friends on CPAP machines...none of them got thru on one
test.

i just went once for a polysomnogram, a week later the dme guy called and said that my machine was ready, and to come pick it up at my earliest convenience. they did not even titrate me with another overnight, they just said that since my condition changed so much over the course of my sleep that the sleep doc just wrote the script for the auto.

During my second sleep study I was asked if I wanted a Lunesta tablet to help me sleep. Unfortunately, I am still using 2 mg. Lunesta every night just to eek out 4-5 hours of sleep. I hope that changes but with a new mask (Mirage Swift) can't expect changes to happen that fast and last night I know I had severe mouth breathing...