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Sleep Apnea Screening. Pass or Fail?

hillsister

hillsister

Member
Hi all. So I did an in home sleep study 2 weeks ago. I met with a NP about my results. She said my level was at 3.7 and a 5 was obstructive sleep apnea. I said that’s great right? No. It was inconclusive. Why? I thought they just needed a screening? So I now have to have an actual sleep study.
 
I got my first sleep study at a facility and it showed some activity where I would have episodes where I would wake myself up before I stopped sleeping (I had no idea) so They needed to do a second test again and finally determined that I did have sleep apnea.
 
hillsister said:
Hi all. So I did an in home sleep study 2 weeks ago. I met with a NP about my results. She said my level was at 3.7 and a 5 was obstructive sleep apnea. I said that’s great right? No. It was inconclusive. Why? I thought they just needed a screening? So I now have to have an actual sleep study.
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I did an at home sleep study. A score that Of 1 to 15 means that you don’t have sleep apnea. My score with it was a 16. :) Sleep Apnea is common in individual who are overweight. When your surgery center submits to your insurance carrier, this will help in your approval process.
 
Years ago I had the full-blown sleep study and I did indeed have sleep apnea, but in that case it was because I still had my tonsils. Once I had them out I had another one and everything was great. Then I gained a bunch of weight and started snoring again (so much so that my wife made me sleep on the couch for several months!). Then I had the in-home test and it came back positive for sleep apnea. I got a CPAP and was able to sleep in my own bed again LOL. Now that I've lost almost 60 pounds, I feel like I don't really need the CPAP any more- some nights I don't wear it and my wife has no complaints. My next visit with that doctor is in March, so hopefully he'll do another sleep study and tell me to ditch the CPAP completely!
 
I had a CPAP overnight in the hospital's sleep clinic. The test confirmed my sleepwalking as well as my apnea level.

My level was 12, extreme apnea. The numbers are different than you can get at home.

The gave me a readout to show my pattern, and it was super-irregular. At one point I didn't take a breath for 1min and 20sec.

Once i got a CPAP machine, I slept through the night and woke up feeling rested. I hadn't slept consistently for at least a dozen years. There were many other changes in cognitive thinking. I was so glad it was found and treated.

When I go to the hospital, they put me on a bipap, which I hate.

Oh, also, I usually stop breathing while awake, only realizing it when I suddenly gasp for air. I don't know why.

If you've been diagnosed, you should have an apnea test once a year. And a lot of people can't have surgical sedation at all, unless the tube is placed deeply.

It's serious because apnea can kill you. And it doesn't necessarily go away with excess weight.
 
dianeseattle said:
I had a CPAP overnight in the hospital's sleep clinic. The test confirmed my sleepwalking as well as my apnea level.

My level was 12, extreme apnea. The numbers are different than you can get at home.

The gave me a readout to show my pattern, and it was super-irregular. At one point I didn't take a breath for 1min and 20sec.

Once i got a CPAP machine, I slept through the night and woke up feeling rested. I hadn't slept consistently for at least a dozen years. There were many other changes in cognitive thinking. I was so glad it was found and treated.

When I go to the hospital, they put me on a bipap, which I hate.

Oh, also, I usually stop breathing while awake, only realizing it when I suddenly gasp for air. I don't know why.

If you've been diagnosed, you should have an apnea test once a year. And a lot of people can't have surgical sedation at all, unless the tube is placed deeply.

It's serious because apnea can kill you. And it doesn't necessarily go away with excess weight.
Click to expand...
Diane, I had the same thing when I was in the hospital. They put me on a bipap and I couldn't stand it. So the nurses had me use oxygen at night. I wasn't able to bring my own machine because of Covid but it was allowed in the rehab center I was in. Strange.
 
Yeah, I brought my machine, obviously freshly sanitized.

I think they don't have liability coverage for patient-provided medical devices. I had to fight to wear my own jammies. That was a long time ago, though.
 
An AHI of 0-5 is normal, 6-15 mild, 16-30 moderate and over 30 is extreme. It seems a little odd they'd have you do a full study for 3.5, but they must have seen something to make them recommend it, perhaps low oxygen levels. It's possible you didn't stop breathing that often, but that you may stop breathing for longer periods of time. My sleep study AHI was 72...or as my sleep doctor put it: insanely high.

I've been on a CPAP for 11 years. I just had a two night home sleep study, because the pressure in my CPAP has been dropping as I've lost weight. I doubt I'll be in the normal range, but if it's low enough, I might be able to do a dental implant or something. It would be wonderful if it were normal, or even if it were mild I could at least go camping and travel with a CPAP for short periods of time and just use the CPAP at home.

Anyway, with an AHI that low, even if they put you on a CPAP after the regular study, I would put money down that you wouldn't need to be on it too long after surgery and some weight loss. Or, the sleep study might just verify that you AHI is normal and you'll be good to go! I hope it's the latter. Good luck!
 
Interestingly, my obstructive sleep apnea was diagnosed several years ago before I was obese. It has been well controlled with CPAP until about 4 months ago (I had the sleeve so in July 2020), where I was having up to 40 events/hour - it was insane. A sleep study a few months ago revealed central sleep apnea (caused in the brain). I have a new machine and am doing fine, but losing the weight won’t resolve central sleep apnea. :confused:
 
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If you do have any issue with it get a cap, if you have a partner they will love you for it. When I first got with my spouse it scared the crap out of me and I would jolt awake every time she gasped for air. She didn't have a clue it was happening until I said something and made her do a study.
 
I had a CPAP for years but in the last month or so, I've not been using it and wow...I so enjoy sleeping without a leash on my head. I just had a sleep study about a year ago, before I thought about WLS so I have a fabulous new machine that autocalibrates. I suppose I should use it again to see if it autocalibrates to the point it's not needed.
 
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