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+--- Thread: How do I succeed in maximizing apneas? (/Thread-How-do-I-succeed-in-maximizing-apneas)
How do I succeed in maximizing apneas? - JohanKarl - 05-29-2012
Hello. Newbie here.
I need some advise.
I have suffered from mild apnea and snoring like forever. Eight years ago I was referred to the local sleep clinic (this is in socialistic Sweden, so there is public health care, but ONLY public health care - or not quite, but that's not the point here
) I had multiple sleep studies/apnea screenings performed. On my first, I had a max AHI of somewhere in the teens, but the Oxymetry sensor failed. On the re-run, I apparently had sub-5 AHI.
The clinic in question has a quite conservative approach to treatment - no treatment for Quality of life improvement, only for severe OxSat reductions. Long story short - a repeated sleep study a few years ago qualified me for therapy with a mouthpiece/bite thingy. Better than nothing, but certainly not perfect. Last fall I started to complain to the dental clinic that my jaw joints were aching, so they referred me back to the sleep clinic for xPAP treatment. Two months later (public health care, remember?) I receive a notification of an appointment.
At the clinic, the nice lady told me I was scheduled for a new sleep study (a screening test to be done at home). After discussing my case for a bit, she agreed to set me up with an APAP machine, and do the screening later on.
The APAP therapy is a bliss - finally reaching stage 4 sleep
So, now a few weeks into the therapy I have to do the screening again, and my fear is that it will show an AHI of 3-4 or something and they will take my beloved machine back.
So, plainly put, can I have some advise on how to make sure I have a screening test showing that I need the therapy?
Some ideas so far, and what I think of them:
- moderate exercise not too late on the day before - probably a good idea
- a glass of wine before bedtime - well, it will relax my muscles, but it may also disturb sleep, so probably not a good idea.
- sleeping on my back - well, that'll do, but since they will record AHI in supine position separately, they will simply tell me not to sleep on my back.
What to do, what to do?
RE: How do I succeed in maximizing apneas? - PaulaO2 - 05-29-2012
We cannot tell you how to fake the test. That would be unethical and not the purpose of this board.
Your profile states you are using the SleepyHead software. What is the data telling you? What is the pressure range the machine is giving you each night?
If the data reflects how you are feeling, then you are getting the treatment you need.
If, however, the data shows you are getting minimal pressure with few if any events, then this machine is not what you need.
RE: How do I succeed in maximizing apneas? - JohanKarl - 05-29-2012
(05-29-2012, 02:59 PM)PaulaO2 Wrote: We cannot tell you how to fake the test. That would be unethical and not the purpose of this board.I'm not asking for help to 'fake', besides being unethical I have doubts it could be done. Merely, what do I want to avoid, in order not to get a false negative.
Quote:Your profile states you are using the SleepyHead software. What is the data telling you? What is the pressure range the machine is giving you each night?I regularly have pressures in the range of 8-11, with max of 12.5
Quote:If, however, the data shows you are getting minimal pressure with few if any events, then this machine is not what you need.There are a few events each night, mostly central apneas now, the first two weeks did show a few obstructive apneas as well.
RE: How do I succeed in maximizing apneas? - SuperSleeper - 05-29-2012
My advice is this:
Don't do anything out of the ordinary to skew the test results in the sleep lab. With those pressure numbers, you probably do have sleep apnea enough to need a CPAP machine. By trying to change your normal routine, you could actually lower your AHI and have the exact opposite effect you want. For instance, alcohol consumption can lead to temporarily lower AHI in some people.
RE: How do I succeed in maximizing apneas? - JohanKarl - 05-29-2012
(05-29-2012, 03:20 PM)SuperSleeper Wrote: My advice is this:
Don't do anything out of the ordinary to skew the test results in the sleep lab. With those pressure numbers, you probably do have sleep apnea enough to need a CPAP machine. By trying to change your normal routine, you could actually lower your AHI and have the exact opposite effect you want. For instance, alcohol consumption can lead to temporarily lower AHI in some people.
Thanks, exactly the kind of advise I'm looking for.
(The screening/recording will be done in my home)
I agree on the alcohol remark, as I wrote above - e.g. while it will relax my muscle tone, the increased metabolism needed to handle the alcohol may hinder deep sleep, thus reducing the probability for apneas.
RE: How do I succeed in maximizing apneas? - zimlich - 05-29-2012
Don't use your machine for a week before the test. Good Luck.
RE: How do I succeed in maximizing apneas? - zonk - 05-29-2012
Ditto what SuperSleeper said with those pressure numbers most likely you,ll keep your S9
RE: How do I succeed in maximizing apneas? - BabyDoc - 05-29-2012
It isn't uncommon that people are going to sleep deeper at home and have more events there than they do in a sleep lab. Why not just print out the Rescan data or SleepyHead Data and share it with the sleep lab technician. It will be hard for the sleep lab to tell you that your home data is less reliable than their sleep lab data, unless they think you hooked your S9 up to somebody besides yourself.
RE: How do I succeed in maximizing apneas? - zimlich - 06-02-2012
JohanKarl, please keep us posted on the outcome of your test.
RE: How do I succeed in maximizing apneas? - JohanKarl - 06-05-2012
OK - I will keep you posted. It is scheduled for next friday, so I will stay quiet fo a while now.
Thanks for all advice. (advise? - English is not my native language)