New to CPAP – The Process

New to CPAP – The Process

Denial

Why is denial first? Simply because this is where many of us started. What we have is mostly “normal” for us, we don’t know any other way because it is the way it has always been. Occasionaly the root cause is something else and OSA sneaks in, but more often than not we have had it for a very long time. If you have any doubt, get a sleep test. My story: Like many here I did NOT have sleep apnea, I didn't stop breathing in my sleep, I didn't snore. Sound familiar. JUST to tell her "I TOLD YOU SO" I took a sleep study. I had 90 events per hour, an AHI of 90!! Go figure.

I didn't have a problem, I was driving off freeways at exits because I was driving to stay on the road. It was the rumble strips on the side of the city road that woke me up, rumble strips you ask, most know them as driveways, I was driving across driveways, and scared to admit it. 2nd sleep study, the titration study, and I woke at 5:30am actually feeling awake and refreshed, I was stunned! My DME told me 6-8 weeks to get a CPAP device and I said no way. I said find one elsewhere and I'll travel as far as it takes to get it. End result was about 1.5 weeks to get an appointment and the device, and I've never looked back. My Rx was CPAP at 18 cmH2O and I took to it like a duck to water. I was lucky, I was immediately feeling better. That was in 2003.

Your Doctor(s)

Let’s start with your GP (General Practictioner), the Doctor you see for most things. Talk to him/her about your symptoms, mention that your SO says you snore most of the night, tell him that you are really tired most of the day and ask if he/she thinks you might have sleep apnea. The goal is to get to the next step, the initial sleep study. What doctors can write prescriptions for CPAP related issues? GP Sleep Specialist Doctor Dentist PA (Physicans Assistant)

Initial Sleep Study (without xPAP)

You now have a referral from your Doctor for a sleep study. What do you do now? First the normal speed all this occurs at. I’ll put it Naval terms, Flank Speed means fast, get from point A to point b as fast as you can. This is where you want to be. Unfortunately the most common speed things move at is, again in Naval terms, DEAD SLOW. You need to expedite these steps so you can get them done and out of the way quickly. It is not uncommon for each step to take 1-2 MONTHS!!!

[[1]Sleep study] Wiki Article

Types of Initial Sleep Studies

• In Lab: IMHO the better choice, For this you will be connected every which way you can think of, ok not every way but . .
  • EKG to monitor heart,
  • pulseox to monitor O2 Saturation,
  • EEG to monitor your brain and sleep stage (about a dozen leads there
  • Chest strap to monitor chest expansion (Resipritory effort)
  • Stomach strap to monitor belly expansion (Resipritory effort)
  • A small air flow sensor in each nostril
  • A small air flow sensor near your mouth
  • Motion sensor on each leg.
  • An infra red camera to record your nights sleep.
  • No mask, no xPAP machine at this one.

Every thing attached to wires while you are trying to sleep in an unfamiliar room, on an unfamiliar bed, with a pillow other than your own. This study measures how you are sleeping pre-xPAP, presumably similar to at home. It measures what kind of Apneas you are having, Obstructive, Hypopnea, Central, Periodic Breathing, Chyne Stokes Respiration, other factors, side sleeping, which side, back sleeping, Restless Leg syndrome, etc. Are you better in one position or another? This is the reason I feel you get the best data from an Initial in-lab sleep study.

• At Home

Your Diagnosis

Here are the AHI levels of severity for Sleep Apnea: Mild: 5-14 Moderate 15-29 Severe: 30+

http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php?title=Sleep_apnea

Specialized Titration Sleep Studies – BiLevel or ASV Titrations

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