Sleep Apnea Support/Questions Thread

[kaisersozei]

Originally Posted by ahc4353

kaisersozei - Gerard May 14

Tonight's the night--depending on how tired I am tomorrow I'll post up some "educational" information & pictures for those of you who are being evaluated or considering an evaluation.

[eber]

I have a consultation scheduled tomorrow with the sleep wellness institute, then an appointment for the study will be made

Originally Posted by kaisersozei

Tonight's the night--depending on how tired I am tomorrow I'll post up some "educational" information & pictures for those of you who are being evaluated or considering an evaluation.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by eber

I have a consultation scheduled tomorrow with the sleep wellness institute, then an appointment for the study will be made

Great news!!

[jkim05]

My dad finally got his results, I'm not sure of all the details, but I think he said he got a 99 so he does in fact have sleep apnea.

[Nabinger16]

Originally Posted by jkim05

My dad finally got his results, I'm not sure of all the details, but I think he said he got a 99 so he does in fact have sleep apnea.

If he had an AHI of 99 he does indeed have some pretty severe sleep apnea. Anything over 30 is considered severe.

My wife read thru this thread, and is now going to talk to her doctor.

Originally Posted by Junior

My wife read thru this thread, and is now going to talk to her doctor.

Your post just made my day. I have a huge smile right now. Tell your wife, thank you, from me.

Keep us posted please.

[eber]

I had my consultation today and scheduled my sleep study for 5/26, they showed me the sleep rooms and WOW they are nicer than my bedroom at my apartment o

Updated List:

eber - Erik (5/26)
beeradvocate - Travis - (Father-In-Law)
dentonparrots - Carl
kaisersozei - Gerard May 14
tripp - Tripp
ggainey - Greg
emjaysmash - M.J.
awsmith4 - Albert
jkim05 - Jeremy - (Dad - awaiting results)
junior - (wife)

[kaisersozei]

I went in for my study Thursday night. Thought I would chronicle my experience for those of you thinking about this.

The sleep center is part of my doctor’s office, and I arrived there just before 10pm. The sleep tech took me back, got my vitals and then escorted me back. The room itself was very comfortable, complete with an adjustable bed, flat panel DirectTV and a well appointed private bathroom. There was also an infrared camera mounted high up on the wall (kinky,) a voice activated intercom system, the clinical monitoring device & associated electrodes (seen on the bed in the picture below,) and a CPAP machine tucked away in the nightstand.



Once I got settled in and changed into my sleeping clothes (you can’t sleep nude…. so what's the purpose of the camera?) the tech returned to hook me up. The monitoring device itself looks like this:



The diagram on the device gives you an idea of all the electrodes and where they are placed. I don’t know how many were attached to my scalp—a lot--but there were also electrodes on my calf muscles, an EKG heart monitor, one on my throat, two on my chin, one next to each eye, and a nasal canula with a breathing sensor. I also had elastic bands around my chest and stomach. All of the electrode leads were pulled out of the way and collected up behind me, so they weren’t as obtrusive as I expected. Once I was hooked up, the tech made me get right into bed so she could test the equipment. I didn’t have a chance to take any pictures. Lucky me. Or lucky you.

The night before my study I stayed up later than normal and I was restricted from drinking caffeine after noon on Thursday, so I ended up being much more tired than normal. Fell asleep pretty quickly and only woke up once in the night. I had to sleep on my back or side, but wasn’t nearly as restricted in my movements as I thought I’d be. The head & face sensors felt a little awkward but not painful. I felt like Pinhead. I was also concerned about the room being too quiet or too hot (we have a floor fan in our bedroom that runs constantly for white noise & air circulation,) but it was very comfortable. Was also surprised when the tech called in to the room at 6:30 to wake me up—I normally get up at 5:30. I felt better than I expected when I awoke.

This was supposed to be a split-night study, meaning that if the tech witnessed apnea episodes, she would come in and hook me up to the CPAP and continue to monitor me. She didn’t do that, and wouldn’t tell me why, but did say that she saw some things on my study which “the doctor will discuss” with me. Whatever that means, probably that they’ll want to bring me back in for a second full night with the CPAP. Or perhaps the apnea she saw wasn't severe enough for CPAP. We’ll see.

I also found this short video that does a better in demonstrating what goes on in sleep studies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZTzrVGSOvw

In my former professional life, I set up a number of sleep centers as hospital businesses. I knew what to expect as a patient, but I was still anxious to undergo the study. Turns out it really wasn’t that bad. Maybe my experience will help take away some of your concerns.

[skullnrose]

Thanks for sharing you experience. It's always nice to know as much as possible before going into something like this.

First, thanks to the OP for starting this thread and to all who have replied thus far. I've found this to be very informative.

I was advised to go to a local sleep clinic a year or three back, but when I found out it costs at least my $250 annual per person deductable and I needed to have a colonoscopy as well, I opted for the latter. Perhaps I'll schedule an appointment in the near future.

I snore a lot and currently use Breath Rite strips that seem to help a little. I often wake up two to four time a night, but most often at least once around 02:30 - 03:00. I have some lower back issues as well and frequently switch from left to right side during the evenings rest. I'm not a very sound sleeper and when I travel, which is very seldom, I have much difficulty sleeping through the night, often waking up hourly or more. I don't know that I could sleep well or at all in a clinic regardless of the setting and comforts.

Again, thanks to all who have shared their experiences.

Respectfully,
Michael

[kelmac07]

Great pics Gerard...my sleep study clinic wasn't that nice (plush recliner). But equipment looked identical. When do you find out your results?

Originally Posted by skullnrose

Thanks for sharing you experience. It's always nice to know as much as possible before going into something like this.

Originally Posted by nozero

First, thanks to the OP for starting this thread and to all who have replied thus far. I've found this to be very informative.

I was advised to go to a local sleep clinic a year or three back, but when I found out it costs at least my $250 annual per person deductable and I needed to have a colonoscopy as well, I opted for the latter. Perhaps I'll schedule an appointment in the near future.

I snore a lot and currently use Breath Rite strips that seem to help a little. I often wake up two to four time a night, but most often at least once around 02:30 - 03:00. I have some lower back issues as well and frequently switch from left to right side during the evenings rest. I'm not a very sound sleeper and when I travel, which is very seldom, I have much difficulty sleeping through the night, often waking up hourly or more. I don't know that I could sleep well or at all in a clinic regardless of the setting and comforts.

Again, thanks to all who have shared their experiences.

Respectfully,
Michael

Seeing people getting the info, helping a family member, going for their tests or getting info for a more comfortable head set truly makes me smile. I really do hope you can get your test soon. I have traveled a lot with my sons hockey over the years and I never leave home without my machine.

I need to post up some travel tips for the traveling Apnea members.

Thank you for the very nice PM.

Updated List:

eber - Erik (5/26)
beeradvocate - Travis - (Father-In-Law)
dentonparrots - Carl
kaisersozei - Gerard TEST DONE! AWAITING RESULTS!
tripp - Tripp
ggainey - Greg
emjaysmash - M.J.
awsmith4 - Albert
jkim05 - Jeremy - (Dad - awaiting results)
junior - (wife) - Read thread and is going to schedule test! Great news!
nozero - Michael

[tchariya]

Originally Posted by icehog3

My name is Tom and I have sleep apnea.

Diagnosed 4+ years ago, I had the somnoplasty (surgery) twice, and it improved my condition but did not cure it. Had the option for a 3rd surgery, and declined based on the horrible after effects of surgery #2.

May go the the mask at some point, but my symptoms and blood pressure are much improved so I won't be doing it any time soon.

Brent, I would love a link to the pillow you speak of when you get a chance.

Folks,

Tom is an example that sleep apnea can happen to anyone. The majority of the sufferers are people that are overweight.

I am overweight...morbidly obese as a matter of fact and I have obstructive sleep apnea. I primarily sleep on my back. I am congested almost every night if I don't use some sort of nasal spray or decongestion medication. Recently I have adjust my sleep style and sleep on my side. (I place something annoying behind me just i ncase I roll on my back to wake me up or readjust my position) This had made a huge difference and the loved ones have noticed less snoring and I have had a deeper sleep. But I know I have to shed lbs as additional treatment to reverse my OSA.

t.

[tchariya]

Those are nice pics of your sleep study.

The infra red camera in the ceiling monitors any movements that would correlate to any episodes you might have during the night.

They should have taken you through steps to calibrate the monitor. Wiggle your feet..your hands...your head ...etc etc.

I had 92 sleep episodes avg per hour.

[kaisersozei]

Well fellas, my doc called this morning to review my test results.

Turns out that I do have sleep apnea. It's not severe in its frequency (avg 17 episodes/hr,) but it is rather dramatic when it occurs: my O2 sats fall to 84%. Apnea is more prevalent when I'm sleeping on my back, and during the second half of the night during my deepest "dream sleep." Which is exactly why my wife pressured me to investigate this in the first place. Guess she knew what she was talking about...!

Next steps are to complete a CPAP titration study. This is the same set up as last week's evaluation, just hooked up to a CPAP for the night. The tech will then adjust the pressure to determine the right setting to correct my problem. Once that's completed, it will be off to home health to get my own equipment.

It's hard to capture my emotions about all this right now. On the one hand, I'm glad to have been diagnosed and am actively seeking treatment for this problem. As my wife & I discussed, it might explain a lot that's been going on with me in the last 6 months or so. Maybe longer. On the other hand, I'm anxious about this life-changing diagnosis and what it will mean. At the ripe young age of 46, I'm getting set in my ways. And this will definitely be a change. I suppose it will be a change for the better, but it will still require an adjustment. My family tells me that I'm kind of a stubborn old guy. "Old dog, new tricks" and all that stuff.

Oh well.

Hopefully I'll be a positive influence for some of you guys reading this. I never would have pursued testing if my "sleep partner" hadn't pointed it out in the first place. That seems to be a big influence a lot of times in making these diagnoses. As I said before, I don't fit the body profile of your typical apnea patient, although I suspected that there was some inherited trait. That I just ignored. Probably for too long.

In any event, I'll post up more once my second study is completed.

[BeerAdvocate]

My father in law completed his Oximetry test this weekend. He dropped all the way to 67% at one point, and spent around 40% of the night below 90%.
Needless to say, this convinced him and he is contacting his Dr.

Gerard, I was a couple of years younger than you when I found out. All it means is you sleep with a mask of some sort and you feel a hell of a lot better when you wake up! Plus little things like you live longer and the wife sleeps better.

It's a change for the better trust me.

Congrats for having the courage and the open mind to do the testing.

Anything we can do going forward just let us know.

Originally Posted by BeerAdvocate

My father in law completed his Oximetry test this weekend. He dropped all the way to 67% at one point, and spent around 40% of the night below 90%.
Needless to say, this convinced him and he is contacting his Dr.

That is great news Travis!!