Sleep Apnea Support/Questions Thread

[BigCat]

Originally Posted by BeerAdvocate

Im giving my father in law an oximeter to wear over night to see what his O2 stats drop to. I am hoping he can take the report to his doctor and that Dr will see how bad his sleep apnea is, and just bypass the sleep study and prescribe him a CPAP.

They will still need to determine what CPAP pressure setting is necessary through a study, so he won't be able to skip it entirely. You could save him one of the two trips though.

One thing I hadn't mentioned before but should have is that my dad actually had the studies conducted at home. They came out and set everything up before bed, and returned in the morning to get all the equipment, data, etc., so he could do it from his own bed. One of the most unpleasant parts of the sleep study is sleeping in the lab (though they do a nice job of making it kind of like a bare-bones hotel room as opposed to a hospital). If you can avoid that aspect, perhaps some of you who are reluctant to go through with the process will give it a shot.

[BeerAdvocate]

Originally Posted by BigCat

They will still need to determine what CPAP pressure setting is necessary through a study, so he won't be able to skip it entirely. You could save him one of the two trips though.

Some doctors (around here anyway) will have the patient skip the sleep study all together, and prescribe them a Bipap machine that has a vairable pressure setting. I work for a medical supply company and sometimes Dr's will send a patient over with his O2 sats and an RX for a Bipap machine.
It just depends on how bad their sats are.

I think I'll get this checked out when I get back home. My wife thinks I may have an issue, but I don't have problems with my sleep. I do snore, but I don't ever recall waking up short of breath. I'm mostly a side sleeper, and sometimes sleep on my back.

However, if there is a potential issue, I want to get it taken care of ASAP.

[Don Fernando]

Originally Posted by kayaker

I think I'll get this checked out when I get back home. My wife thinks I may have an issue, but I don't have problems with my sleep. I do snore, but I don't ever recall waking up short of breath. I'm mostly a side sleeper, and sometimes sleep on my back.

However, if there is a potential issue, I want to get it taken care of ASAP.

Ian, I never noticed waking up with gasping for breath, even though I have severe apnea, so that is no indication.