A question about sleep studies and CPAP: has anyone here ever been

[hedgehog]

evaluated by a sleep study and not been prescribed a CPAP? I understand that the device is a literal life saver for some people. However, given all the heavy advertising by hospitals here extolling the virtues of their sleep study labs, I have to wonder if the real function of the sleep studies is to generate easy cash.

On edit: it used to be that everyone got their tonsils taken out. Are we headed to a situation in which everyone gets prescribed a CPAP?

[unpossibles]

1. I have wondered that also

Everyone I know who has done their studies has been told to buy the machine.

Then again, most people don't seek out these studies unless they feel they already have a problem, so it's not a random sample either.

[TwilightGardener]

2. I would think only those with severe sleep apnea would need a CPAP.

Because those honkers are awfully uncomfortable, from my experience mashing them onto patients' faces and pulling the straps tight.

[mzteris]

3. Me.

They did not prescribe the CPAP but told me my ferritin levels were low so I needed to take Iron supplements (even though my iron was fine. :shrug:) It seems to have helped.

[PRETZEL]

me.

horrendously bad snorer. I've always been.

Did the sleep study, the ear, nose & throat MRI, the different meds and snoring devices.

Sleep study did exactly what I thought it would tell me. I snore.

The only thing they would do would be an elective surgery to make my air passage in my throat bigger. Insurance not covering it, I'm not able to afford it.

My wife and I sleep in serarate rooms now.

[MattBaggins]

21. Boy do we need the public option

Your insurance company is killing you slowly and they don't give a frack about it. That snoring if it is bad enough that your wife wants you to sleep in another room; is destroying your kidneys, your heart, your brain and many other parts of your body.

If your snoring is that bad then you really do need that surgery.

[PRETZEL]

26. Actually, in this case I'd disagree

I've seen the MRI and have had a couple of specialists agree.

It's a nuisance for both of us, but in my case, it's not critical. I don't sleep as well as I should but that's really about it.

In my case, I'm ok with this. I'd rather not have to have my insurance pay for something that's not medically necessary. And I have great confidence in the 2 ENT's that read the MRI.

[MissMillie]

4. Well, I think that usually

CPAP is a test done to confirm suspected sleep apnea.

(mind you, it's helpful in confirming other stuff too, but I'm betting that sleep apnea is the most common, especially given the high percentage of obesity in this country)

My sleep study also confirmed RLS and sleep bruxism.

[Canuckistanian]

5. If you need a sleep study, they pretty much know you have Sleep Apnea

The only thing the sleep study is for is to determine how bad it is so they can set the pressure properly.

[FlaGranny]

6. I had a sleep study and

was prescribed a CPAP machine. It worked wonders for me. It was the most wildly effective treatment I ever got for any other health problem. It's a bit hard getting used to the machine but you just gotta stick with it. I no longer need the CPAP, though, because I lost enough weight to make it unnecessary. If you think you have sleep apnea, get tested, before you fall asleep at the wheel. I could not drive more than 20 minutes without beginning to doze off before I started treatment. If you have severe sleep apnea, the CPAP, as clumsy as the machine is, will change your life and may save it.

I doubt there is much difference in the different sleep labs. The hospitals are competing with one another, just the way they do with other services. If you are covered with insurance, your insurance company will most likely pick the sleep lab.

[havocmom]

7. I had an staff memeber who jumped through all the sleep study hoops

Not CPAP at the end of all that. What she was actually working on was to find a medical report that would justify a nose job through the group insurance. Sorta pissed me off, actually. There were other people who could have used some real medical care and didn't go after it due to costs.

We have a real problem with health care delivery in this country.

[Gman2]

10. Do you know what the hell you are talking? Many have deviated septums.

[havocmom]

22. Yes, I do know what the hell I am talking about. 5 doctors said no deviated septum

She wanted cosmetic surgery, which was not covered by the policy. She spent 2 years doctor shopping, getting same tests done over and over with different medical teams in search of one who would do the paperwork she wanted so she could get her nose bobbed without much cost.

What the hell makes YOU think you know more about the situation than I, her supervisor and the one who kept getting called in to the boss's office about what was obvious abuse of the group policy?

Is jumping to conclusions as good a workout as swimming or jogging?

[Gman2]

24. I asked a question, not an insinuation.

[havocmom]

32. If you had not asked it in the snarky manner you chose to...

the response would have been modulated downward too. Give a certain way, chances are you ge double barrel snark in response.

Lesson? Yep.

[tavalon]

8. My boyfriend had a sleep study at my behest

But he ended up giving up the ugly twins as his surgeon called them and it fixed his snoring, so no CPAP. My other boyfriend, also at my behest (I'm a really light sleeper and sleep apnea with snoring is no fun to listen to) did end up with CPAP and he's happy with it.

[Gman2]

9. Dont do the study. Get a machine off Craig's, Bipap.

Set the setting as allow as it is still fully effective. If it is set more than needed, it slowly sets you up for less motivation to breathe. Lose weight. I lost sixty pounds, no longer need it. And get a humidifier. I didnt need it, most do.

[FlaGranny]

14. I would still

recommend a sleep study, especially if he has insurance to pay for it. What a person thinks is sleep apnea may actually be something else that could go undiagnosed. It's a very easy procedure requiring nothing more than sticking electrodes in multiple places on your head and body and then sleeping in a big, comfortable bed for 6-7 hours.

[texanshatingbush]

11. Your physician probably wouldn't send you to a sleep clinic....

....unless you had some problems that MIGHT be caused by sleep apnea.

In my case, it was an irregular heartbeat which occurred while we were camping in the middle of nowhere, 120 miles (and 2-1/2 hours through desert & mountain country in the dark) from any hospital.

Atrial fibrillation diagnosed @ ER. Immediate problem rectified.

Returned to Houston to my regular physician--a GREAT diagnostician and healer, I think--and he ran several tests to check heart and determine what might have caused problem.

Long story short: heart OK, problem MAY have been caused by altitude & dehydration, BUT could also have been caused by sleep apnea. Probability of apnea = moderate (I'm overweight), and risk due to apnea-induced heart problems = high if it occurs. It's the old risk versus reward/bad results calculation. If the possible outcome is NOT GOOD, even though the risk is low to moderate, the wise will take heed.

I had the sleep test, was found to have apnea, and I can TRULY say that, since I got my CPAP machine, I have slept better, felt more rested in the morning, and most importantly, HAVE HAD NO ATRIAL FIBRILLATION RE-OCCURRENCE, even when camping at elevation again.

Good luck with your decision!

[hedgehog]

16. I'm going for sleep problems, I'm don't think my problem is apnea

and I'm wondering if the sleep studies ever diagnose anything else. I'm afraid I'll go through the study, be prescribed a CPAP and be left with my original problem unresolved.

[FlaGranny]

19. They do an EEG

so neurological problems can be diagnosed. Also, restless leg syndrome, which also causes you to have mini awakenings all night, can be diagnosed and some other things I can't think of right now. They use a LOT of electrodes. The heart, I believe, is also monitored (I could be wrong about that - I've forgotten).

[FlaGranny]

17. Before I started CPAP

we went to Colorado on vacation and the first couple of nights there I could not sleep at all - elevation about 6000 feet. I'm used to sea level. As soon as I would start to doze off I would get what I can only call "air hunger." I actually could not breathe at all unless I was awake. After a couple of days it went away.

[randome]

12. CPAP Changed My Life

I am a heavy snorer because of the odd way my throat is constructed. First time I went for a sleep study, they said my sleep apnea wasn't bad enough to warrant treatment, even though I knew it was.

A few years later and a different insurance provider and another sleep study and I was given a CPAP machine.

After a week on CPAP, I was euphoric, almost manic 24 hours a day. Thankfully, I've settled back into a somewhat normal routine now.

I realize now that I had not had a good night's sleep for probably 20 years before CPAP. I was in a state of suspended animation, just barely muddling through each day and feeling anxious and irritable the entire time.

Untreated sleep apnea has been compared to untreated depression. I am a different person now because I use a CPAP machine.

Don't underestimate the need for a good night's sleep.

[scheming daemons]

36. Mine too... have had one since 2007. Sleep normally now

...before, I didn't.

[AngryAmish]

13. My buddy Eddie

We went to spring training and shared a hotel room. Man, did he snore. Then he would stop breathing. Sleep apnea.

After some prodding from me and a lot more from his wife he went to the doctor. Sleep study and all that jazz. They took out some nodules from his thyroid and about a month later took out his tonsils, trimmed his soft palatte.

Now his wife says he doesn't snore.

[lukasahero]

15. There are more options becoming available

My husband was on a cpap for a little over 5 years. Recently he had dental plates made that 'forces' his airway to stay open. He sleeps better (he hated the cpap) and has had no signs of returning apnea.

[dysfunctional press]

18. is this some kind of CPAP smear?

:silly:

[hedgehog]

25. More a smear of medical specialists. My insurance company has already coughed up

$500 for a 15 minute visit with a nurse practitioner. She listened to my lungs and had me do a spirometry test. my own doctor has done the same several times for much less money.

What I'm afraid of is that the sleep studies are being used as a cash machine. Some people need the CPAP and clearly benefit. I'm just wondering if other people are being prescribed the CPAP when they need something else.

[Douglas Carpenter]

20. frankly, my observation with sleep studies and CPAP is that like with other

therapies - people who gain genuine relief - know it and want it.

As with brocho-dilator inhalers - the genuine asthmatic who gains relief from an inhaler - does not have to be persuaded to use the inhaler. They know that they are brocho-spastic and they know that the inhaler is giving them relief.

The Same with CPAP as a treatment for sleep apnea. The one who has genuine and treatable sleep apnea and who actually responds to CPAP can feel the difference. The improvement in their quality of sleep is significant enough - that the inconvenience or mild discomfort of wearing a CPAP device more than compensates. Most likely, they are getting the first genuinely refreshing sleep they have had in a long time.

If one finds that CPAP is helping them feel refreshed with healthy sleep - most likely they need it and most likely they will want it.

I do agree that sleep studies and CPAP, like many other modes of therapy, are sometimes revenue therapy for the facility and practitioners as much as they are genuine health care therapies.

[seabeyond]

23. my hubby went in about 6 months ago. snores heavy, holds breath

was really interesting. but they gave him a clean bill of health. no nothing, just bye bye. sleep well.

[randome]

34. You might consider buying a CPAP yourself.

I would have done that earlier if I'd known how much of a difference it would make.

[seabeyond]

35. i will google it. dont know anything about it. jsut got bothered always nudging the guy

so he would take a breath.

not like he didnt figure to at some point when i wasnt nudging.

thanks. will google it

[laughingliberal]

27. I worked as a clinician for a medical supply company that supplied CPAP

We generally got patients referred first for an overnight oximetry which measured oxygen saturation levels during the night. If the patient was showing desaturations in their sleep they would then be scheduled for a sleep study. And, yes, I did have patients whose sleep studies did not show a need for CPAP. I really support having people tested for this. We know desaturations for a cumulative 5 minutes during the night is enough to damage heart and other organs. We also know that sleep deprivation is a public health concern. Many modern day disasters have been traced to a sleep deprived individual making a call that resulted in catastrophe. Among these are the Exxon Valdez, Chernobyl, explosion of the Challenger. Sleep deprived drivers are many times more deadly than drunk drivers. In short, sleep deprivation (often caused by sleep apnea) is a serious health problem for the victim and the rest of society.

[Semi_subversive]

28. I've been using CPAP for about eight years

The sleep study determined I had 98 episodes in an hour and the blood/oxygen levels were very low(diagnosed as extreme severe sleep apnea). When they hooked me up to CPAP, I had no episodes and 95% oxygen. They were supposed to wake me after a couple of hours, but let me sleep for several because I was sleeping so peacefully. I've only skipped using it a few nights over the years and I can really feel it in the morning.

[canoeist52]

29. I think you can buy the c-pap machine but need a presctiption for the mask.

I've been on c-pap for about 10 yrs. I only need about 6 or 7 hrs sleep now. Before, I needed 8 or 9 hrs and was tired all day.

[roakes10190]

30. bpap

I underwent four sleep studies and was prescribed a bpap. I asked my primary care physician to read the results for me. She said she didn't understand them and sent to me to yet another sleep study doctor. She finally interpreted my results: Medicare covers cpaps and bpaps if a person has a 5 (I think this means 5 episodes a night but maybe an hour) Medicare will cover the device. I had a 6 and she agreed to send a script to the machine provider to cancel the bpap service. So, although I had all these sleep studies (at a great cost to Medicare and that makes me mad), I finally got off the darned thing. I do think prescribing cpaps is a fad of late. But, if you take control of your own health, you can get what you really need and not excessive procedures. I should have stopped before all the sleep studies. I will never need the public option but for my children and yours, if you're on Medicare, a public option is essential. One thing my experience indicates is that there is no one between me and my doctor. I have learned that she treats aggressively and I decline some of the procedures she suggests. I will say that Medicare would only cover a consultation with the final sleep doctor, which I got. So Medicare does prevent excessive procedures.

[CTyankee]

31. I have. I had a sleep study done at the Yale Sleep Center in 1994

and they did not find sleep apnea at all. So, no CPAP. But then I don't know if it was available then.

My SIL has one b/c of her sleep apnea (she is diabetic and obese)...

[gemdem]

33. Recently had a sleep study

Apnea was found, but apparently not to the degree that a CPAP is needed. Instead, I'm having a dental appliance made that is supposed to keep my airway from closing. I'm hoping that this does the job because I'm tired of being tired. I feel more tired when I get up for the day than I do when I go to bed.

It wouldn't surprise me to find out that all my years of poor sleep are the cause of my high blood pressure (I'm on several meds for that) and the aneurysm on my aortic root. I used to keep a reasonably active schedule of exercise, but any more it takes all the energy I have to get through the day -- not much to spare for exercise. If the doctor told me that having my tonsils out would do the job, I'd request that it be done as soon as possible -- I just want some relief.

I'm really counting on this dental appliance. If I could just get some quality, uninterrupted sleep maybe I'll have the energy again to be more active, and perhaps get off some of the meds that I'm having to take. If it cuts out my snoring, well, that'd be a bonus -- but right now I'll be happy for a good night's rest.

[randome]

37. I tried everything before CPAP.

I had the dental plate, throat sprays, nasal tape. I even had my palette tightened. Nothing worked except CPAP.

I don't mean to imply it's the only thing worth trying. Everyone has different needs and results. But I personally wasted a lot of time before finding relief with a CPAP machine.

[gemdem]

38. Thanks!

If this appliance doesn't do the job, then I'll push for the CPAP. I'm not keen on the idea of using one, but I'm to the point where I'm just about willing to try anything. I'm just two weeks out from having had the sleep study, and had to have that before insurance would pay for the appliance let alone a CPAP. My preference is for the appliance, but if it doesn't do the job then it'll be time for the CPAP.

I'll keep folks posted.

[randome]

39. For what it's worth...

I remember the doctor who specialized in jaw straightening appliances practically guaranteeing me this would solve my problem. But of course specialists always think in terms of their specialty.

Just something to keep in mind. I hope you have better luck than I did.