I got my report, now what
Well, last month I did a home sleep study using the ApneaLink Air HST. I had a miserable experience with the doctor - she didn't want to give me anything on the results until I came in, and I flat-out refused. I don't do surprise result doctor visits. So she said over the phone that I probably have mild OSA, with an AHI around 8 or 9. She wouldn't give me the results directly - I had to wait a couple weeks to get them delivered from medical reports.
I got them today, and they are almost illegible, but I think I've got the gist of it. Basically, over the course of two nights (about 11 hours of sleep), I had one apnea event. The REI (this is the home study equivalent of AHI?) is based solely on an average of 8 or 9 hypopnea events. My oxygen saturation average was 92% one night and 94% the other, so a little low, but close to within norm (according to the report).
Now, I'm not overly surprised at the hypopneas for a couple reasons. One, I did a clinical sleep study about 17 years ago that showed hypopneas, but not apneas. Two, I now weigh about 40 pounds more than I did 17 years ago.
The sleep doctor, of course, wanted me to come in and get fitted for a CPAP. I know this is a board that really supports CPAP, but there is no way short of much more drastic test results that I would try it. I am firmly in the camp of a) losing weight and b) trying out some of these exercises I've seen for the throat and mouth to get the hypopneas under control.
My REAL sleep problem everyone seems to insist on ignoring: I am, by nature, out of phase. I am a natural night owl working a 9-5 job. I take Benadryl every single night to fall alseep at a "normal" time unless I'm on vacation - this leaves me groggy every morning. So my grogginess has much, much more to do with Benadryl than apnea events. How can I confirm this? While on vacation, if I go to bed between 3 and 5 am and wake up seven hours later, I feel amazing!
Also, I am a side sleeper, I'm a singer, and I am hypersensitive. With my existing sleep phase issues, I just don't see myself as a successful CPAP user. Plus, I refuse to have my insurance company monitoring me. It's none of their darn business whether I use the device or not - I and my employer are paying for my insurance.
So - any of you out there with mild cases staying away from CPAP and trying other measures? Did they work? What do you think of my above results?
RE: I got my report, now what
Good luck. We'll be waiting for you when your ready.
RE: I got my report, now what
I can't figure out what you need help with. Could you maybe clarify?
RE: I got my report, now what
(10-31-2017, 07:55 PM)HalfAsleep Wrote: I can't figure out what you need help with. Could you maybe clarify?
Yes, thanks. I'm wondering what non-CPAP measures those diagnosed with mild apnea have tried and how successful they were. Particularly if anyone was significantly overweight. Anyone try the exercises? Did losing weight help? Did anyone else not choose CPAP or find CPAP unbearable to sleep find other (non-surgical) success?
RE: I got my report, now what
Surgery did not work for me, tonsils and anoids . I am on cpap. It is not like you make it sound. I find it sooththing . I feel a whole lot better. Now I won't with out it.
RE: I got my report, now what
The fact that you had a sleep study indicates to me that you (or somebody close to you) thought you might have a problem with your sleep. Did you have other symptoms typical of sleep apnea? The fact that you had 8 or 9 hypopneas (per hour?) indicates that yes, you do have mild sleep apnea. Hypopneas are like a partial apnea, or one which doesn't develop fully.
However, as you say, the main problem might be that you're a night person trapped in a day person's system. A couple of thoughts come to mind: a) Is there any possibility of changing your job or working hours to better suit your body clock? b) Have you looked at ways to re-synch your body clock with your working hours? People who travel a lot do this all the time. c) Have you considered doing the sleep study when you're able to sleep during the day?
RE: I got my report, now what
(10-31-2017, 10:29 PM)DeepBreathing Wrote: The fact that you had a sleep study indicates to me that you (or somebody close to you) thought you might have a problem with your sleep. Did you have other symptoms typical of sleep apnea? The fact that you had 8 or 9 hypopneas (per hour?) indicates that yes, you do have mild sleep apnea. Hypopneas are like a partial apnea, or one which doesn't develop fully.
However, as you say, the main problem might be that you're a night person trapped in a day person's system. A couple of thoughts come to mind: a) Is there any possibility of changing your job or working hours to better suit your body clock? b) Have you looked at ways to re-synch your body clock with your working hours? People who travel a lot do this all the time. c) Have you considered doing the sleep study when you're able to sleep during the day?
Thanks for the response! I agreed to do the sleep study because my doctor wouldn't listen to my complaints about being out of phase causing my tiredness. I figure it doesn't hurt to have the info, regardless of what I do with it.
Oh, how I dream of a night job. Unfortunately, it is not going to be a possibility with my position as a library director. I worked a 4-12 job for about a year before I went to library school and it was amazing. Best sleep of my life. I slept from about 3 or 4 am to 11 am and woke refreshed every day. Short of changing careers, though, it's not going to happen. Like I said in my first post, when I go on vacation I allow myself my natural schedule and feel great.
I have tried light therapy, I've tried the thing where you go to sleep an hour later every night until you've supposedly adjusted your clock. I do nothing in my bedroom except sleep. I don't go to bed until I feel tired. I've played around with blue light filters. I just recently got a humidifier (which might actually be helping some). I definitely don't have insomnia (though, like most, I'll have the occasional bout of it).
Regardless, my mind is just abuzz at around 11 pm and, psychologically, I hate giving up that time when my brain is working so well. As an academic as well as a librarian, I need those "buzzing" hours for thinking and writing and planning. The night owl thing runs in my family as well. I am, starting tonight, giving melatonin another try despite the fact that right now I'm freaking out about not having taken my Benadryl at 9:30 (I usually take it at 9:30 so I can fall asleep around midnight).
I also wonder what, if any, effect the Benadryl might have on sleep study results. So, if I could find a place to get a study done where I could start the study around 2 or 3 am, I would actually be interested in that to see what kind of sleep I get on my own schedule and without a sleep aid.
RE: I got my report, now what
This is what I would have liked to have known from day 1. I would cut the Sugars: including fruit/juice. Cut Starches: including breads, pasta, rice, potato etc. Eat lots of low carb vegetables, salad, moderate protein and add healthy fats..
This gives a simple overview to how it works for me. The more carbs I eat, the more carbs I want. They don’t give up easy and it’s biochemical
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEayi6IB...D8&index=6
what to expect the first week, besides being hungry for the first 2 days, then it stops
https://www.verywell.com/getting-through...ek-2242037
RE: I got my report, now what
Look up non24 on webmd
I don't believe this is what you have but similar, and you have done several of the things suggested. They do suggest hormones to shift and steady the cycle.
But you do have mild Apnea which I suspect you would have any time you are sleeping. While this is not your primary concern it is a factor in your sleep health.
Fred
11-02-2017, 10:01 AM
(This post was last modified: 11-02-2017, 10:05 AM by HalfAsleep.)
RE: I got my report, now what
If I were a singer, I'd be concerned that any exercises, tongue placements, jaw moving would change my embouchure. (This is voice as wind instrument.) You might find that CPAP is the most benign solution.
You can avoid compliance issues by buying your own machine, masks, supplies, etc. You can minimize having a doctor monitor you for effectiveness of therapy by using a machine you bought privately and getting help from a tech forum like this one.
Your monthly insurance premium is unlikely to get you full ownership of a machine right off the bat. That's normal and predictable, since it is difficult to get adjusted to CPAP and most people don't. The CPAP is expensive hardware and would be wasted were it not for rentals.
Insurance (in the US) generally doesn't buy an insured a CPAP until after 13 months of rental, which covers a compliance period monitored by the contractor who issues the equipment, as well as your doctor. The contractor and physician's office monitor the machine via cell signal; this is not your decision or negotiable. No monitoring=no compliance=no insurance coverage for CPAP.
There are multitudes of academics  who do well with CPAPs and probably thousands more who might benefit, judging from statistics. Same goes for detectives: the odds are about 1/20 that Campion might have needed a CPAP.
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