Anyone with sleep apnea around here?

Dawgfish

I have it and wear a CPAP. Frankly having the study done and getting the CPAP was the best thing I've ever done. I couldn't do without and is the best quality of life thing I've ever done. I was so bad before it I would fall asleep at traffic lights waiting for the light to turn green! I feel great now. If you have sleep apnea it will literally and figuratively save your life!

nspindel

kn505 wrote: »

I had a sleep study done 20 years ago. If I recall correctly, I "woke up" 15 times every minutes. I was given several different machines to try for about a month, but I could not sleep with thing strapped to my face. I chose to go with the surgery. I was supposed to go back every 5 years for the sleep study, but didn't, because my wife had not complaining about my snoring or lack thereof. The doctor told me that as I am getting older and likely getting fatter, there would be more fatty tissues around inside my throat that would block my air pipe.
Before finding out about my apnea, I was always tired. I thought it was because of having 3 little kids. I was taking actuarial exams and having difficult times passing them because I could not remember what I read. I felt much better after the surgery and finished all my actuarial exams within several years.
Iam very happy with the surgery decision, even thought I was living with only Ensure for the first 3 weeks after the surgery.

Remember though that the surgery doesn't always work. When I first started using the machine, I absolutely hated it. Had a hard time falling asleep with it, woke up several times a night from it. I would pull it off in the middle of the night. It took me two months to get used to, but I forced myself to stick to it and it paid off in droves.

halo71

Well the study was done. I didn't sleep very well, as usual, even after them giving me a Lunesta. It was not that bad really an ordeal just a strange place. But they do have Sleep Number Beds! I still tossed and turned and woke up at least 7 times that I remember. I go back in a week to get the results.

boston1450

nspindel wrote: »

Remember though that the surgery doesn't always work. When I first started using the machine, I absolutely hated it. Had a hard time falling asleep with it, woke up several times a night from it. I would pull it off in the middle of the night. It took me two months to get used to, but I forced myself to stick to it and it paid off in droves.

same with me. I had the doctor call me & ask how it was doing ? I told him after 2 months of ripping it off at night-to come pick the darn thing up. He talked with me in a way to make me think (which im thick headed) so i pondered that day. Then it just happened. Ive been over 5 years & ready for a new improved machine with surround sound upgrade

boston1450

Did they say if you stopped breathing at all ?

boston1450

Reason i ask is i went to sleep at 9:15 or so---11:00 they woke me up. Stopped breathing 13 times. Sudden gasp for air-in my sleep. Then they hooked me to Cpap. So it was a yes for me on the spot. Everyone is different & yes it is weird--hope you hear good news vsoperation or something like that

halo71

No the tech is not allowed to talk about the results....gotta wait for the doctor to tell me.

cnh

halo71 wrote: »

No the tech is not allowed to talk about the results....gotta wait for the doctor to tell me.

I must say I "loved" the cloak and dagger component of the test. Ian Fleming's SLEEP APNEA 007!

The first time I tried to petition to even take the test I was DENIED! At the time I was normal weight and they claimed that my answers to the questionnaire did NOT make me an obvious candidate for the test. In reality, my HEALTH INSURANCE company did NOT want to cover the costs, so they denied me. I had to return to my physician and LOBBY for the test. You have to be "persistent"! Best Medical care in the world? Only for the wealthy, I'm afraid!

cnh

halo71

In my case I am really not overweight. This all came about after being hospitalized last year having to have a cardiac ablation performed. First half last November then the 2nd half this past February. They said in a check up in April that a chamber in my heart was still a little bit enlarged. But the "good news" they said was that it was not any larger than it was last year when I first started having issues...electrical issues that is. No blockages or anything.

So the cardiologist says that the enlarged chamber could be caused from sleep apnea. He started asking all the questions about my sleeping habits. And almost all fit me to a tee. So that's why I am having this done.

boston1450

halo71 wrote: »

In my case I am really not overweight. This all came about after being hospitalized last year having to have a cardiac ablation performed. First half last November then the 2nd half this past February. They said in a check up in April that a chamber in my heart was still a little bit enlarged. But the "good news" they said was that it was not any larger than it was last year when I first started having issues...electrical issues that is. No blockages or anything.

So the cardiologist says that the enlarged chamber could be caused from sleep apnea. He started asking all the questions about my sleeping habits. And almost all fit me to a tee. So that's why I am having this done.

thats good news there. Hope it continues

nspindel

I stopped breathing over 80 times per hour in my test.

billbillw

I had the test a a couple years ago. I barely slept at all. Seemed like a big waste of money at first, but the doctor said they saw a little bit of apnea, so they gave me a self adjusting CPAP. It takes a weeks to get used to it, but now I sleep much better with it, especially if I'm stuffed up at all. I think its pretty common for people to not sleep well in the studies, but if you have the symptoms, they will give a CPAP without too much hesitation. They set mine up with a radio transmitter that sent the data back every day. The pulmonologist can see the data later on and see if the CPAP is effective.

ZLTFUL

nspindel wrote: »

I have an off the charts case. It is rated as mild, moderate, or severe. They told me I am severe, only because that's the official title. But they said if there was such a title as "really, really, really severe" that'd be me. Mother has it, father has it, we are one big sleep apnea family. It took me two months of the mask annoying the crap out of me before I finally got used to it. Now, I wouldn't even take a nap without it. It's mind boggling how much better I feel because of it.

A lot of times, "mouth breathers" are breathing like that simply because that's the only way to get air (snoring, of course). I used to be one of them, could snore the roof off the house. But with the machine, my body is perfectly happy breathing through my nose. I thought I might need one of those chin straps to keep my mouth closed but I don't. So I am able to use the nasal pillows, which are far more comfortable than either the nose or full face mask.

A lot of what the sleep study measures is overkill. Bottom line - are you getting the oxygen you need in your blood or not? I bought an SpO2 sensor that connects to my iPhone, with an app that holds up to 12 hours of sensor history in 1-second intervals, and can display the results in a graph. Then you can email the results to yourself in a file that you can open in Excel and analyze however youd like. Sleep study you say? There's an app for that! I use it every once in a while to make sure all is ok. My O2 hovers at 95-96 all night long. When I had my sleep study, my O2 levels were in the low 60's. Life is good.

I am with you Neil. Family full of mouth breathers!
But seriously, mine is genetic and not weight (although I could stand to lose some).
When I was first tested, I would stop breathing for more than 15 seconds more than 45 times an hour. My chart looked like a mountain range for the first hour. They were so worried that they didn't go the normal 2 to 3 hours before switching to the mask.
They hooked me up to the machine and for the next 6 hours until they came in and woke me up, oxygen levels were 95+, chart was virtually flat in the REM zone and I felt more refreshed than ever.

It took some adjusting to get used to sleeping with it but I eventually did and couldn't go back now if I tried.

gdpeck

halo71 wrote: »

No the tech is not allowed to talk about the results....gotta wait for the doctor to tell me.

cnh wrote: »

I must say I "loved" the cloak and dagger component of the test. Ian Fleming's SLEEP APNEA 007!

The first time I tried to petition to even take the test I was DENIED! At the time I was normal weight and they claimed that my answers to the questionnaire did NOT make me an obvious candidate for the test. In reality, my HEALTH INSURANCE company did NOT want to cover the costs, so they denied me. I had to return to my physician and LOBBY for the test. You have to be "persistent"! Best Medical care in the world? Only for the wealthy, I'm afraid!

cnh

Gary,
I had a sleep study and was diagnosed with sleep apnea about 4 years ago. As others have said here, the machine is difficult to get used to, but once you are able to make that transition, and start using it regularly, it will make a positive difference in your life. I know it has in mine. The reason I quoted your post about the cloak and dagger stuff, and cnh's post about insurance issues is because those things are actually a big deal and can result in difficulties getting treated for what is a very serious condition. I won't detail my experience, here, but am happy to share it with you via PM.

The thing to remember is that you need to be your own advocate, learn as much about sleep apnea and its treatment as possible, and be prepared to fight for treatment options that work for you. Your doctor may have your interests in mind, but I'm convinced that many of the sleep centers do not, and I'm thoroughly convinced that the DME (durable medical equipment) dealers are purely profit driven and will specify the cheapest CPAP machine possible, while billing your insurance as much as possible. This is not a good thing for someone who is suffering from a potentially life-threatening condition, but that is how they operate. A good place to start your research is the cpaptalk.com forum. The "stickies" at the top of that forum have a wealth of helpful information. I'm not affiliated with that forum, but have found a lot of great information there.

Thanks!
George

nspindel

It really is annoying that Step 1 of diagnosing sleep apnea is the full-on sleep study. I know mine was billed to my insurance at over $6000. And they had me take two studies - one without the machine, one with. So over $12,000 was billed to insurance just to diagnose my condition. Obviously the insurance company doesn't actually pay the full amount, but I agree that the sleep centers do seem to have somewhat dubious practices to try and milk the profit as much as they can. Speaking to my family doctor about this, it is just downright silly that Step 1 here is not something similar to what I do myself. As I mentioned before, I have an SpO2 that I can connect to my phone, and then wake up the next morning and view my oxygen levels for the entire night's sleep. I paid $250 for the meter, but I own it and can use it over and over again. This is a perfectly reasonable initial screening tool. If your oxygen levels are in the 90's all night long, then you don't have obstructive sleep apnea, and you don't need a $6000 test. If the SpO2 shows large dips in oxygen, then send the patient for the full study. Fortunes would be saved, but the sleep centers would rather continue billing higher.

billbillw

nspindel wrote: »

It really is annoying that Step 1 of diagnosing sleep apnea is the full-on sleep study. I know mine was billed to my insurance at over $6000. And they had me take two studies - one without the machine, one with. So over $12,000 was billed to insurance just to diagnose my condition. Obviously the insurance company doesn't actually pay the full amount, but I agree that the sleep centers do seem to have somewhat dubious practices to try and milk the profit as much as they can. Speaking to my family doctor about this, it is just downright silly that Step 1 here is not something similar to what I do myself. As I mentioned before, I have an SpO2 that I can connect to my phone, and then wake up the next morning and view my oxygen levels for the entire night's sleep. I paid $250 for the meter, but I own it and can use it over and over again. This is a perfectly reasonable initial screening tool. If your oxygen levels are in the 90's all night long, then you don't have obstructive sleep apnea, and you don't need a $6000 test. If the SpO2 shows large dips in oxygen, then send the patient for the full study. Fortunes would be saved, but the sleep centers would rather continue billing higher.

I agree with you 100% on that. I took one test, billed about $4500, my out of pocket was something like $700. The test was inconclusive because I didn't get into deep sleep at all. Did the nurse offer me any sleep aids medicine? No. At first, the doctor talked about doing a second study. I said flat out, no way would I do another. Luckily, they did see some stoppage and the Dr. agreed to set me up with the self adjusting CPAP with the radio.

I think a monitored SpO2 test would be much easier sleep with, and obviously much cheaper to implement.

halo71

Thanks guys! George I will check out that website for sure...thanks!

halo71

Forgot to update this thread. But my last visit with the sleep center was to get my results. Well they say I have moderate to severe apnea. In a 5.5 hours that I slept in the study I stopped breathing 24 times for more than 10 seconds a hour. In REM I stopped breathing for more than 10 seconds 36 times. I was only in REM for 48 minutes of the 5.5 recorded hours.

I go back on the 27th to spend another night with a machine on.

BUT....in the meantime....my truck is in the shop getting new head gaskets! YAY ME! lol While it's there I am getting the tranny rebuilt and new ball joints. Not having the money to do this, I am borrowing money from a life insurance policy to cover the repairs. Other good news is I may finally have a reliable truck to head to Arkansas and pick up those SDA 1B's my brother is giving me. And the Carvin guitar amp half stack is an added bonus to boot! lol

nspindel

Like I said, my diagnosis was that if there was such a thing as "really really really severe" it'd be me. I stopped breathing 80 times/hour.

boston1450

If they set you up with a machine,it will take some time to get use to it. I almost gave up on it the first 2 months. 5 years or more now & i wouldnt go without it. I feel so much better rested & wife doesnt miss the snoring i use to do. Good luck. Hope your truck gets fixed also,so you can pick up the speakers:biggrin:

rromeo923

I was off the charts severe too Nspindel. The doctors were really surprised because I wasnt overweight and only in my 40's. I ended up getting surgery. I had a deviated septum from a broken nose in my past that wasnt helping either. They took my tonsils out, my uvula out, widened the air passage in throat, and fixed deviated septum. It totally sucked for a week or two but now I sleep great and dont snore. My wife is very happy as am I. I did not want a CPAP machine. However my father in law has one and swears by it. Anyway Sleep Apnea sucks. Do something about it if you can.