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I know it is a bad idea and I honestly don't know if I have sleep apnea. Always wake up not rested enough. I don't want go through the whole sleep study cycle

by rrgok 2y ago

I know it is a bad idea and I honestly don't know if I have sleep apnea. Always wake up not rested enough. I don't want go through the whole sleep study cycle because my insurance wouldn't not pay for it. Can I just get a sleep apnea machine and try it for, let's say, a week? Is it dangerous?

renewiltord 2y ago
I was thinking the same and apparently it has to be tuned (though I don’t know how real that claim is from the ENT). One thing to check quickly is to use an Apple Watch or similar device with continuous monitoring and see if you have any low blood ox levels. Pulse ox devices are pretty simple but the ones they give you for testing are the only ones that have passed the FDA regs.
relativeadv 2y ago
you could, but i would not recommend it. Sleep apnea comes in many forms. CSA, OSA, maybe you need a bipap and not a cpap. Sleep apnea machines tell you how many events youve had during the night but you could be given a false positive if you try to self diagnose with one of these. I should also add that for most people it takes months to acclimate to even keeping the damn thing on overnight. Do you wake up with headaches? source: i have sleep apnea and wear a cpap
- rrgok 2y ago
  No, I don't wakeup with headaches. But, I easily need at least 10h of sleep a day to feel normal. If I ever sleep less than 10h, my whole day is ruined. I don't know if this a good enough reason to doubt that I have sleep apnea.
  - relativeadv 2y ago
    I would get a sleep study performed then. I know its expensive but fortunately once you have the prescription you're set to get a calibrated machine for you.
Cthulhu_ 2y ago
Do you snore a lot? Have you ever used a mobile sleep tracker or just recorded yourself (audio or audio + video)? You should be able to do some at home research yourself to see if you stop breathing at night. You can also try a different sleep setup, like try and sleep propped up or add an extra pillow.
- rrgok 2y ago
  I don't snore unless I do yoga nidra and I end up with the mouth wide open. Never done any kind of tracking. The thing is that sometime I realize that, when I'm not sleeping, I hold my breath unconsciously for long period of time. Sometime I have to take a deep breath forcefully.
SailToSki 2y ago
https://decodebytes.substack.com/p/night-of-the-living-brain-fog-dead https://decodebytes.substack.com/p/night-of-the-living-brain... (not mine - but was an interesting read)
j33zusjuice 2y ago
Do you shake your legs a lot during the day? There are other things, disorders—-like restless leg syndrome (a misnomer, btw, it can present anywhere in the body, and sometimes doesn’t present physically except when trying to sleep), for example—-that can cause poor sleep. So, it seems to me your best bet is to do the study because they’d find (or rule out) non-apnea causes, as well, but I understand the cost concern.
colombiunpride2 2y ago
The lowest setting on most Cpap machines is 4.0cmh20. The lowest settings you barely even notice the pressure so I don’t think you would be mortal danger compared to not using it all at that level. The problem is finding the correct pressure level because going too high can cause central sleep apnea events due to co2 washout. That’s why titration is done under the guidance of a medical professional for liability reasons. I wouldn’t buy a used machine online because you don’t know what kind of gunk, smoker residue or bacteria build up the prior owner had. If they kept up with the cleaning and filter schedule etc. Most advanced Cpap users who have a prescription use the SD card and look at all the logs and data in a program called Oscar it’s open source I think. I used that data to fine tune to reduce my central sleep apnea events reduce my apnea, hyponea and rera events.
NelsonMinar 2y ago
There are at-home sleep apnea test for about $200 via mail order. $200 is still a lot of money for some people. Just want to put it out there that a basic diagnostic doesn't need to be complicated. We're a long way from the days of "spend the night at the sleep clinic". (Personally I first figured out my OSA with the help of an O2Ring oxygen monitor. But those are also about $200 to buy and only one part of a full sleep diagnostic. My life has been greatly improved by using a CPAP.)
panovodv2 2y ago
Instead of testing with sleep apnea machine, you can try to do remote test (google At-Home Sleep Apnea Test), costs less than $200.
benmccann 2y ago
Insurance companies may be more likely to cover home sleep studies, which cost less to run and are nearly as effective. A sleep doctor should be able to pre-authorize the study with the insurance company. If you want to do it yourself without going through insurance you could check out Wesper. You can also buy a Wellue O2Ring off Amazon and see if your oxygen saturation ever drops overnight, which is a large part of what Wesper does.
- runjake 2y ago
  > see if your oxygen saturation ever drops overnight Do you have information on what kinds of drops are bad vs normal? Or what should be watched out for?
j45 2y ago
It might not be a bad idea. If you can get a note from a Doctor with a history of sleep issues and trying different things insurance should approve it. Perhaps you can ask insurance what the criteria are.
kevingadd 2y ago
For a CPAP to work best it has to be calibrated for you, is my understanding. The results from the sleep study are used to do this. Might be a lie told by the health providers, but I've heard it multiple times.
neffy 2y ago
If you get one of the watches or other devices that can do continuous SpO2 monitoring (blood oxygen) overnight, then it should be possible to detect any form of severe sleep apnea just by looking for significant drops in SpO2. The proper kits look for more than that of course, but SpO2 on its own is actually a pretty good indicator.

by rrgok 2y ago

renewiltord 2y ago

I was thinking the same and apparently it has to be tuned (though I don’t know how real that claim is from the ENT). One thing to check quickly is to use an Apple Watch or similar device with continuous monitoring and see if you have any low blood ox levels. Pulse ox devices are pretty simple but the ones they give you for testing are the only ones that have passed the FDA regs.

relativeadv 2y ago

you could, but i would not recommend it. Sleep apnea comes in many forms. CSA, OSA, maybe you need a bipap and not a cpap. Sleep apnea machines tell you how many events youve had during the night but you could be given a false positive if you try to self diagnose with one of these. I should also add that for most people it takes months to acclimate to even keeping the damn thing on overnight. Do you wake up with headaches? source: i have sleep apnea and wear a cpap

rrgok 2y ago
No, I don't wakeup with headaches. But, I easily need at least 10h of sleep a day to feel normal. If I ever sleep less than 10h, my whole day is ruined. I don't know if this a good enough reason to doubt that I have sleep apnea.
- relativeadv 2y ago
  I would get a sleep study performed then. I know its expensive but fortunately once you have the prescription you're set to get a calibrated machine for you.

Cthulhu_ 2y ago

Do you snore a lot? Have you ever used a mobile sleep tracker or just recorded yourself (audio or audio + video)? You should be able to do some at home research yourself to see if you stop breathing at night. You can also try a different sleep setup, like try and sleep propped up or add an extra pillow.

rrgok 2y ago
I don't snore unless I do yoga nidra and I end up with the mouth wide open. Never done any kind of tracking. The thing is that sometime I realize that, when I'm not sleeping, I hold my breath unconsciously for long period of time. Sometime I have to take a deep breath forcefully.

SailToSki 2y ago

https://decodebytes.substack.com/p/night-of-the-living-brain-fog-dead https://decodebytes.substack.com/p/night-of-the-living-brain... (not mine - but was an interesting read)

j33zusjuice 2y ago

Do you shake your legs a lot during the day? There are other things, disorders—-like restless leg syndrome (a misnomer, btw, it can present anywhere in the body, and sometimes doesn’t present physically except when trying to sleep), for example—-that can cause poor sleep. So, it seems to me your best bet is to do the study because they’d find (or rule out) non-apnea causes, as well, but I understand the cost concern.

colombiunpride2 2y ago

The lowest setting on most Cpap machines is 4.0cmh20. The lowest settings you barely even notice the pressure so I don’t think you would be mortal danger compared to not using it all at that level. The problem is finding the correct pressure level because going too high can cause central sleep apnea events due to co2 washout. That’s why titration is done under the guidance of a medical professional for liability reasons. I wouldn’t buy a used machine online because you don’t know what kind of gunk, smoker residue or bacteria build up the prior owner had. If they kept up with the cleaning and filter schedule etc. Most advanced Cpap users who have a prescription use the SD card and look at all the logs and data in a program called Oscar it’s open source I think. I used that data to fine tune to reduce my central sleep apnea events reduce my apnea, hyponea and rera events.

NelsonMinar 2y ago

There are at-home sleep apnea test for about $200 via mail order. $200 is still a lot of money for some people. Just want to put it out there that a basic diagnostic doesn't need to be complicated. We're a long way from the days of "spend the night at the sleep clinic". (Personally I first figured out my OSA with the help of an O2Ring oxygen monitor. But those are also about $200 to buy and only one part of a full sleep diagnostic. My life has been greatly improved by using a CPAP.)

panovodv2 2y ago

Instead of testing with sleep apnea machine, you can try to do remote test (google At-Home Sleep Apnea Test), costs less than $200.

benmccann 2y ago

Insurance companies may be more likely to cover home sleep studies, which cost less to run and are nearly as effective. A sleep doctor should be able to pre-authorize the study with the insurance company. If you want to do it yourself without going through insurance you could check out Wesper. You can also buy a Wellue O2Ring off Amazon and see if your oxygen saturation ever drops overnight, which is a large part of what Wesper does.

runjake 2y ago
> see if your oxygen saturation ever drops overnight Do you have information on what kinds of drops are bad vs normal? Or what should be watched out for?

j45 2y ago

It might not be a bad idea. If you can get a note from a Doctor with a history of sleep issues and trying different things insurance should approve it. Perhaps you can ask insurance what the criteria are.

kevingadd 2y ago

For a CPAP to work best it has to be calibrated for you, is my understanding. The results from the sleep study are used to do this. Might be a lie told by the health providers, but I've heard it multiple times.

neffy 2y ago

If you get one of the watches or other devices that can do continuous SpO2 monitoring (blood oxygen) overnight, then it should be possible to detect any form of severe sleep apnea just by looking for significant drops in SpO2. The proper kits look for more than that of course, but SpO2 on its own is actually a pretty good indicator.