Sleep Study

My hubby had a couple done to find he had a mild form of apnea. I told the dr he did. He got a cpap machine and used it maybe for a few weeks but ended up stopping as it is quite cumbersome. I have insomnia but no apnea so I was told that a sleep study wouldn't do me any good. I found they are very expensive, $1500 for the over night ( about 10 years ago and the machine was over $500. I'm sure that has gone up in price. We had insurance that covered most of it. I thought it was a huge waste of money. Didn't help me at all--husband still snores so we are in separate rooms now. And there isn't alot of things that will "cure" insomnia so I have learned to do what I can to get what little sleep I do. I take a sleeping aid that helps alot and both sleep dr and my primary care dr approve as the amount is so small.

I had mine at an outpatient facility. When i arrived at 8PM I was put in a hospital gown and hooked up to many sensing devices - all over your head - in your hair etc and a cardiac monitor. I was placed in bed in a private room with a large mirror that I assumed was a window where they could look in and see me. I had taken my asthma meds already so I was sleepy and soon fell asleep - it was very early but that med makes me very sleepy - that's why i take it at bedtime. I was there being tested for sleep apnea - they came in a few times and woke me up to readjust some of the monitors - and after only about an hour they came in and put a CPAP mask on me - telling me I definitely had sleep apnea - i was able to sleep through the remainder of the night. when I woke up it was very early - like 5AM, as I had fallen asleep around 9PM. They took me off all the monitors and I was allowed to shower to get the sticky stuff off me. Then I got dressed and had a nice breakfast - I had called my DH and when he got there I left. About a week later a Resp. therapist called and made an appointment to bring me CPAP gear. You really don't need anyone to drive you - you can easily drive yourself but we had just moved here and I was afraid I'd get lost, so DH had taken me. There is really nothing to it at all.

On 2/10/2015 wagirl said:

My hubby had a couple done to find he had a mild form of apnea. I told the dr he did. He got a cpap machine and used it maybe for a few weeks but ended up stopping as it is quite cumbersome. I have insomnia but no apnea so I was told that a sleep study wouldn't do me any good. I found they are very expensive, $1500 for the over night ( about 10 years ago and the machine was over $500. I'm sure that has gone up in price. We had insurance that covered most of it. I thought it was a huge waste of money. Didn't help me at all--husband still snores so we are in separate rooms now. And there isn't alot of things that will "cure" insomnia so I have learned to do what I can to get what little sleep I do. I take a sleeping aid that helps alot and both sleep dr and my primary care dr approve as the amount is so small.

People who have sleep apnea and do not use the equipment they are prescribed will develop a heart & lung condition called pulmonary hypertension. A very serious condition. It is also very hard on the kidneys because when experiencing apnea the body builds up carbon monoxide and becomes acidotic - which can be fatal - so the kidneys kick in to try to alleviate the acidosis and to do that they make urine - that is why people with sleep apnea have to get up to pee often during the night. Perhaps your DH should see an ENT doctor - sometimes they can do surgery to relieve what is causing the apnea.

OP - when they do a sleep study they can tell if you are getting deep enough into the sleep cycle to get to REM sleep - which is vital.

I would advise you to get this done. If you have insurance it should pay for some of it. It is very important to do this in case you do need a C pak. They have one that goes over the face, one that goes in the nose and I have a new one that goes over my ears. I could not do without it. When I would wake up, I felt so tired even if I slept 8 hours. Just was not getting a good rest due to the sleep apnea. Get you one and you will feel much better.

On 2/10/2015 slimjudi said:

I would advise you to get this done. If you have insurance it should pay for some of it. It is very important to do this in case you do need a C pak. They have one that goes over the face, one that goes in the nose and I have a new one that goes over my ears. I could not do without it. When I would wake up, I felt so tired even if I slept 8 hours. Just was not getting a good rest due to the sleep apnea. Get you one and you will feel much better.

It is called CPAP - continuous positive airway pressure. What does the one that goes over your ears do? I have not heard of that.

I had an outpatient and inpatient sleep study. They had to stop the inpatient sleep study because I could not use the machine. It was just too much air pressure blowing up my nose. I have had sleep apnea for for about 20 years now. I never get up to go to the bathroom, so apparently, my kidneys are still in working order. I also never heard of that. I know people with sleep apnea who don't use the cpap machine and they are well into their 90's. I imagine each person is different. Good luck with yours.

Since I do not fall asleep until 3am or later they had me do a sleep apnea study at my home. They give you everything that you need. Can't remember because it was so many years ago but I think you did it for 7 or 10 days and then sent it back. After they determine if you have sleep apnea they set you up to get a CPAP. Good luck with your test.

I have had the test done several times. It is painless, but as was mentioned the gook they use for the electrodes gets all over your heard so you do need to wash your hair in the morning. I have mild sleep apnea and I faithfully use my CPAP machine. I just accept that it is for my health and get on with life. It is like a white noise that helps me sleep. My problem with the overnight test is that I do not sleep well in the strange place and I feel like I really did not sleep at all....they assure me I did, but did not reach the level of sleep necessary in time to do the CPAP titration during the same visit. So each time I have had to come on 2 separate nights. Some people are able to get dental appliances that fit in your mouth instead of the CPAP machine. My brother has one of these (sleep apnea runs in my family). The dental options are fairly new and not usually covered by insurance and not everyone had the appropriate bone structure to do this.