Confused About Last Night's Sleep Study

JayPSU · Post by **JayPSU** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 8:25 pm

Hello! Last night I participated in a split night sleep study. I had a terrible time falling asleep because I have ALWAYS slept on my stomach and this was not possible due to the sensors all over me. I went in and out of a light sleep having to stop twice to use the restroom. Finally sometime after 3am I fell asleep and woke up to the sound of the door opening at 5:30am to wake me and send me on my way.

My question is, how useful could that night have been to them? The tech said she got all the info she needed, but as nights of sleep go, that was an awful one! Also, they told me if I had sleep apnea that they would come in and put a mask on me. Since I woke up and did not have a mask on me, does that mean I more than likely do not have it? Or did they mot have enough data to go on during the first part of the night? I'm confused and starting to think that maybe I do not have it.

Moogy · Post by **Moogy** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 8:45 pm

Two hours is often enough for them to test to see if you have apnea, however, it might not have been enough for them to then test the CPAP on you. If the technician THINKS they got enough data, then yes, it is possible you don't have apnea.

Some technicians are told not to explain results to the patients, but to let them get the information from their doctors. So your technician might have been being vague for that reason.

Ask your doctor for a copy of the study results, and some forum members can help you understand what the different numbers mean (if your doctor does not explain it all to you).

What are the symptoms that make you suspect sleep apnea? There are other problems that can cause some of the symptoms. However, inadequate sleep studies are all too common.

When do you get the results?

Moogy

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 8:53 pm

Well, to be honest, it was my general doctor who suspected that I might have sleep apnea based on a rise of my blood pressure, a steady gain of weight (over 100 pounds) over the last 5 years (I'm now 30), loud snoring and me confirming to her that on long drives I often feel like I have to pull over and rest and often feel tired in the middle of the day and need to nap.

I was referred to a sleep specialist who had me fill out a questionarre and took a look at my throat. She said that I had an unusally closed back end of the throat and fairly large tonsils that made it look like I might struggle to get air down there.

The reason I felt like I may have sleep apnea was a combination of what people told me about it, and the fact that my Mom now has now recently been ordered to wear a mask because her oxygen levels dropped to the 60's during her study. For her though, they had her come back for another night to get a mask.

Anyway, when my study was over last night I told the tech that I guess I don't have it since I didn't get a mask. She said that I have to be really bad to be given a mask. That sounded different than what I was told PRIOR to the test, so I'm so confused! I'm supposed to get my results in a week, but I'm DYING to know what's going on!

Moogy · Post by **Moogy** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 8:59 pm

I can certainly see why you suspect apnea. However, the technician's remark about needing to be "really bad" to get a mask does not sound right. There is a wide range of "bad" in apnea, and there are several important factors, including how often you stop breathing, how long those pauses are, and how low your oxygen drops. Sometimes people who have marginally bad results are prescribed a cpap because their symptoms are so bothersome.

It is very hard to wait to get results. However, I think it is fine that you are going to your regular doctor instead of a sleep specialist. Your general doctor can prescribe whatever you need, and he or she will understand your overall health concerns more than a new doctor could. I have been very happy working with my family practice doctor.

Moogy

birdiebaby · Post by **birdiebaby** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:08 pm

Good for your GP for recognizing symptoms and following up on it! I'm sure it's not what you want to hear, but have a touch of patience. I had one month between my sleep study and my results (sure that I didn't have OSA since I had visited the ENT because of sore throats and not sleep issues).

From my experience, it was comforting once I knew I did have it and that there was treatment available. So, I do believe that I can understand your concern and desire to know quickly what's happening with you.

What I can share with you is that you have classic symptoms, especially considering the physical findings from your sleep doc and knowing that your mom is an OSA sufferer. You'll know in just a few short days, and in the interim, I'd check with your insurance about coverage for the equipment. Start to do your homework now, and you'll be better prepared next week when you get your results.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:17 pm

birdiebaby wrote:Good for your GP for recognizing symptoms and following up on it! I'm sure it's not what you want to hear, but have a touch of patience. I had one month between my sleep study and my results (sure that I didn't have OSA since I had visited the ENT because of sore throats and not sleep issues).

From my experience, it was comforting once I knew I did have it and that there was treatment available. So, I do believe that I can understand your concern and desire to know quickly what's happening with you.

What I can share with you is that you have classic symptoms, especially considering the physical findings from your sleep doc and knowing that your mom is an OSA sufferer. You'll know in just a few short days, and in the interim, I'd check with your insurance about coverage for the equipment. Start to do your homework now, and you'll be better prepared next week when you get your results.

Thanks for the advice, and thanks to you too, Moogie! It's tough because I did not even remotely have a typical night of sleep for me until MAYBE after 3am. So perhaps 2 hours of semi-normal sleep. lol, I remember telling the tech at 3am when she deattached the wires so I could go the restroom that they must not be getting any data from me because I just can't sleep. She said, "oh your fine." I'm assuming she was being polite .

Anyway, I would have no problem accepting the results whatever they are if I knew they were based on how I always sleep, aka. snoring loudly, sleeping on my stomach, drueling way too much, sometimes kicking my feet around a bit. Last night I felt so much pressure to both sleep and NOT knock off my sensors that I barely moved and barely slept. I guess that I have to trust that they know what they're doing! One possibility of good news is that my Mom had oxygen levels in the 60's and she wasn't given a mask that night either.

All I want is to have the ability to get through my days without needing a nap or feeling deathly tired if I don't get one, and I don't want to snore so loudly that you can hear it in the next bedroom!

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:40 pm

JayPSU (I think) wrote: Anyway, I would have no problem accepting the results whatever they are if I knew they were based on how I always sleep . . .

Jay, from what you describe, you had an inadequate sleep study. A negative result in this instance means next to nothing. Trust me on this, I personally failed two sleep studies about a dozen years apart, for some of the same reasons you have described.

If you get a negative result, I would strongly recommend you continue to pursue it. Your history sounds pretty convincing. You have at least a few options that I know of:
1) The easiest way would be to rent an APAP with monitoring capability for a few days. That would tell you everything you need to know provided you can tolerate the mask right away.
2) Get an oximeter for a few days and record you oxygen saturations. Then take that back to you physician. (This is the approach I took, and my sleep doc wrote me a machine prescription without argument.)
3) Go back for another sleep study, maybe get another lab or at least get it in writing that they are not to wake you up until, say 10:00 a.m. That way if they do wake you up anyway, you can come back again for free.
4) See about an at-home sleep study. There are such things, although it may be hard to find a physician who knows about it or is willing to prescribe it.

Good luck.

Regards,
Bill

Linda3032 · Post by **Linda3032** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:59 pm

Two hours is plenty - in almost all cases. If the results are negative, then re-read what NightHawkeye wrote.

Follow Moogy's advice. Get a copy of your sleep study. And as she said, you don't have to go to a specialist to get the prescription. You probably are better off with your family doctor.

Trust me. Many specialists don't know much more about sleep apnea than your family doctor anyway.

Keep reading this forum. Most people here are very knowledgeable - we've are been there and are doing that. We will help you. If you run into anything that seems unusual, we'll tell you to get your butt to the doctor.

If you have sleep apnea, come back here and post - before you get your equipment. Too many get their equipment (obsolete junk), and then come here trying to find out how to rectify the problem.

Good Luck.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:49 pm

Linda3032 wrote:Two hours is plenty - in almost all cases. If the results are negative, then re-read what NightHawkeye wrote.

You said that 2 hours would be plaenty of time to get accurate results, but considering that it wasn't until after 3am, could that be a reason that they didn't try a mask on me?

Linda3032 · Post by **Linda3032** » Tue Jun 06, 2006 10:56 pm

Many sleep clinics plan on two sleep sessions - even if you sleep 8 hours. That's just how they do it. Others, are set up to run what they call a "split-night" study. So they let you sleep part of the night, and then wake you up and put a mask on you.

But, if you didn't get to sleep good until late, they probably just wanted to collect more data - rather than wake you up and take the chance that you might not go back to sleep with the mask.

snoregirl · Post by **snoregirl** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 3:28 am

Since you knew that you were going in for a Split night study then if it really was one and you actually had some apnea then yes they would have put a mask on you.

But since you got so little sleep they may not have had time for the mask part. The 5:30 booting out of bed is the problem with this. I had the same experience being booted out of bed at an ungodly hour but I was scheduled for 2 seperate sleep studies anyway.

I was told on my first sleep study (no mask expected) that if I was really bad they would put a mask on me even though it wasn't split night. (I had to sign a form agreeing to this). My apnea was not sufficient to warrent this emergency masking. What would interest me is if it had been does someone provided a temporary machine that day so the patient doesn't go home with no treatment for really bad apnea and have to wait weeks for the study results....

What MAY have happened to you was since you got so little sleep and the center was inflexible enough -- booting patients out of bed at 5:30 am that they changed your study to just analysis and intend to call you back for another study for titration ($$$)

So don't conclued that you don't have apnea yet. Frustrating isn't it to deal with techs who can't or won't talk to you?

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 3:43 am

if the tech said they got everything they need, that means they got 240 minutes worth of data in order to satisfy the insurance requirement for payment.

you slept longer than you feel you did, that is normal.

Split Night Study: Only way to go if your sleep lab has any morals left of not ripping the patient off.... First part is monitoring the patient to determine if OSA exists, 2nd part or half is an attempt to titrate the patient and hopefully they reach REM sleep and both halves of the test are then successful. If you don't reach REM, then you have to go back for another $3k+ titration study to determine your cpap pressure.

Problem when I had my PSG's: They never told me about the split-night study (how it worked) or in that you should go as you normally sleep and that if awakened during the night not to be alarmed or fight the mask and try and fall back asleep in order to reach REM sleep again. My sleep lab was more interested in me coming back for a separate titration study so they could ding the insurance another $3200 bucks, and they used every bit of my insurance allowance for PSG's for the year. A license to steal it is.

OwlCreekObserver · Post by **OwlCreekObserver** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 5:20 am

JayPSU wrote:Also, they told me if I had sleep apnea that they would come in and put a mask on me. Since I woke up and did not have a mask on me, does that mean I more than likely do not have it? Or did they mot have enough data to go on during the first part of the night? I'm confused and starting to think that maybe I do not have it.

That's exactly how mine went. They told me that my blood-oxygen level didn't drop below their standard for putting on a mask on the first night, so I assumed I was free and clear.

However, during my follow-up visit, the doctor said that I stopped breathing about every five minutes -- not as bad as some, but certainly not good either. So it was back to the sleep lab a couple of weeks later for another night of torture.

I've had my equipment for nearly two weeks now and am finally getting some good sleep. I've never needed a lot of sleep -- five or six hours usually does me -- but now I'm waking up really refreshed again and that's a good feeling.

Don

snoregirl · Post by **snoregirl** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 5:44 am

Snoredog,

I my case with the two studies, I was told that my insurance wouldn't pay for the titration on the first study (split study) and that I HAD to do the two study method for coverage. I do not believe my doctor was lying. I didn't check with insurance myself at that time -- was still too ignorant about all this, but it is possible that doc was wrong about benefits. But given the other stupidity I have seen with my insurance I wouldn't be surprised if the doc was right and the insurance company just likes to waste their money and mine.

I would have loved to go once and get the split night study. I agree it is the way to go if possible. But I wouldn't just assign blame to the sleep center, might just be the insurance company.

vicinsb · Post by **vicinsb** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 7:43 am

I truly understand your just wanting to know whats going on right away, I feel the same way. I hated the time between SS and Doctor visit to go over results, it took about 9 days. My Doctor warned me that if it did not show up strong enough early in the first night, I would have to go back for a second night.
I went in for SS #1, slept thru the night without a mask being put on. When the tech woke me, I asked him if I had it or not because he didn't put a mask on. He said I definately had apnea but it did not show up in the first part of the study and he needed the entire 5 hours to monitor. My results showed I definately have it and I am going back tomorrow night for 2nd SS to have CPAP (any advice for 2nd SS would be appreciated from readers). I fell asleep within 5 minutes so hopefully I won't have a problem tomorrow night. I just want some equipment to feel better!
Best of luck!

Confused About Last Night's Sleep Study

Confused About Last Night's Sleep Study

Re: Confused About Last Night's Sleep Study