Signs Of Depression Test. Sleep Test - No Apnea- Now What?

Q: Last night was my first sleep test. My short conversation with the tech who gave the test told me that I had no Apnea episodes, but he did say that I was snoring and was waking myself up with the snoring. But, my breathing was OK as well as oxygen level.

A:If you were "waking yourself up" (i.e., the test shows "awakenings" or "EEG arousals") despite no apneas, your doctor will likely consider the possibility of the Upper Airways Resistance Syndrome. Read up on it by searching Medline or other sources. Positive confirmation requires a more complex test that only some sleep labs do and some have not even heard of, but negative confirmation is also possible - if you doctor puts you on CPAP for a trial period, and the "awakenings" and daytime sleepiness disappear. Watch out, because some insurance companies do not recognize UARS as a problem, despite evidence of consequences similar to those of full-scale OS

A: Once again I had a difficult time sleeping; however, I slept more than I did at the first titration - both on my back and on my side. I'm hoping there was enough sleep time to get a good test/evaluation. And I felt quite rested when I was awakened after only 6 hours in bed, with no idea how much time I spent 'asleep'. It seemed like only a couple hours, if that. Finally, when I started getting ready for bed at home the night after the test, I discovered that there were still two electrodes on me - one on my back and one on my chest. No real big deal, but they had been on for about 24 hours. I could only see where the one was in front. There was an interessting indentation from where the electrode was and a nice red rash where the round piece of tape had been over the electrode. Anyone else come home with souvenirs?? I'm curious. Are you asking about the sleep doc that evaluates the test (that I saw a month ago) or my internist, who made the referral? I actually didn't plan on going to the sleep doc again, at this time. As I see it, there are only two things for me, personally, to do to minimize my OS

A: One is to lose weight, and I'm not sure that I will live long enough to do that. The other is re-pursue the chronic mucous in my throat. Maybe I'll go see the sleep doc again in a bit to see what he has to say about my throat. I remember one that said that (for another test), then she told me not to worry about getting the results... They almost always know EXACTLY what's going on. On the first sleep study, mine told me flat out that he expected me to be back for a CPAP titration. Mine was handled a lot better than that. I'm a night owl too, so I did as they suggested and made point of trying to keep more normal hours the night (and day) before the test. Since I was also suposed avoid caffeine, and not nap, that made the safternoon and evening before the test *lots* of fun. I forget the actual hours for the test, but as I recall, the test officially ending around 7am. And they let me sleep an extra 45 minutes since they didn't need me or need to do anything with the room anyway. I didn't get the "full test" other folks have described. I just had the mask (with all the tubes and flow sensors and the fingertip blood oxygen sensor. It *should* be the doctor after someone properly trained to review the raw test results looks at it and writes the report. This may be the same person who hooked you up for the test, but more likely it is not. While the tech who hooks up the electrodes may have an idea what apnea is that does not guarantee that they *know* if you have Apnea, UARS, PLMS, or Delayed Sleep Phase or are trained to recognize it. They may be able to give you an indication based on what they have seen in the past - but only the specialist can say for certain if you have hypopneas, Apnea, or unexplained arousals. That sounds suspiciously like a tech trying to cover his own rear end. I would suggest talking to the Director of the clinic about your test and asking for an immediate review of your results for possible apnea, and a possible re-testing with a properly trained technician and not the joker you had.

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