This is my first post so please bear with me. I would love to hear from a few of you that have had experience on sleep apnea and sleep tests. My PCP ordered a in hospital sleep test but I decided I would rather pay out of pocket and get a at home test. I wake up often and Im nervous about needing to use the restroom while hooked up to all of the monitors. I did this test about a week ago using iSleep . During the night of the study I asked my husband If he could check on me and make sure I was still connected properly. He did and in the morning he told me that he could hear me snoring and stop breathing. It scared him to the point that he wanted to wake me but thought it might mess up the test. I of course thought that I for sure had OSA. I got the results today and it came back negative with 1.4 AHI an hour, which is practically nothing. Should I still do the hospital testing?? I have not had the VSG yet and this would be my co-morbidity to get insurance to pay for the surgery. So Im pretty sad about it. Has anyone had experience with a sleep study that didn't seem to be right and then get retested with different results? I know I should be happy that I dont have OSA but I still think I may. I would love to here from any of you about your thoughts on this matter. XOXO, Stephie

Hi! Welcome to the forum.

I have severe sleep apnea, so I have some experience with sleep testing. To be honest, I am not a fan of the "at home" sleep tests. Several people I know personally, including family members, had a false negative for apnea results with the home tests only to turn around (within a few weeks or months) to actually show they DID in fact have severe apnea when given a true sleep study.

If you really think you may be having apnea events you should try to do an overnight, in a facility, sleep study. Sleep apnea is no joke, it kills people. Also, whether you ultimately have weight loss surgery or not, I guarantee nothing is going to mess up your ability to both lose and keep weight off more than not sleeping normally due to apnea events.

Good luck to you on your journey!

Edited April 30, 20197 yr by FluffySaysForkIt!

I have slept well all my life and my boyfriend says I snore but I have never stopped breathing in my sleep. I agreed to do the sleep test in the hospital- overnight the results came back that I had severe sleep apnea and needed to be put on a machine. (Results I completely disagree with) I never followed up about the machine and had me surgery last week.

It couldn’t hurt to do the overnight sleep study in the hospital while being monitored by professionals. What do you have to lose?

Best of Luck

Thanks so much for your input!

Stephie

Edited April 30, 20197 yr by Goal_Digger

Last year my husband was sick. He kept going to Dr. And was treated for sinus/asthma - breathing difficulties. This did not clear up with antibiotics or steroids. We saw Dr again and he did an EKG and then sent us straight to the CICU. He was not having asthma but flutter and afib in his heart. He is 47 and has heart failure. Turns out undiagnosed sleep apnea caused the heart problems. This has changed our life. If you snore or are at risk, please get checked. We both now use CPAP and I sleep great.

Sent from my SM-G965U using BariatricPal mobile app

On ‎4‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 10:52 PM, LoLo130 said:

I have slept well all my life and my boyfriend says I snore but I have never stopped breathing in my sleep. I agreed to do the sleep test in the hospital- overnight the results came back that I had severe sleep apnea and needed to be put on a machine. (Results I completely disagree with) I never followed up about the machine and had me surgery last week.

It couldn’t hurt to do the overnight sleep study in the hospital while being monitored by professionals. What do you have to lose?

Best of Luck

Hi LoLo130-

Why do you disagree with the results of your sleep study?

On 05/01/2019 at 18:12, FluffySaysForkIt! said:

Hi LoLo130-

Why do you disagree with the results of your sleep study?

Well, my doctor says people with sleep apnea usually wake up with headaches, and feel like they didn’t get enough sleep. For the most part, I wake up well rested and never with any headaches unless I haven’t had enough hours of sleep

During the sleep test, I was so uncomfortable being hooked up to all those monitors, on you head, arms, legs, stomach, I really don’t think it accurately picked up how I actually sleep- it took me forever to fall asleep, I kept waking up, I did not sleeping in my normal position(on my stomach), they come in and wake you up if one of your monitors disconnect.

There is supposed to be a microphone placed near you mouth, mine would not stay in place all night. It was just a really uncomfortable experience for me and I take my sleep serious, I would never do a sleep test again.

On 4/28/2019 at 6:05 PM, AngieBear said:

I had surgery on Thursday, went home on Friday. Getting enough liquids was a struggle. I’ve always been a Water drinker, but since surgery it tastes like metal. Now I’m drinking 4oz of broth an hour. I’m going to try to drink some shake again tonight. Overall I feel good. The nausea is almost gone, as is the gas. Like you guys, I’m really interested to see what my weight loss will look like.

I think the taste for water will return soon. You may drink fat-free milk, very diluted fruit juice no sugar added, herbal or fruit tea, sugar free popsicles. There is protein powder with no flavor that you can mix in any beverage if you want. I hope that you are doing well and the hydration is improving.

20 hours ago, LoLo130 said:

Well, my doctor says people with sleep apnea usually wake up with headaches, and feel like they didn’t get enough sleep. For the most part, I wake up well rested and never with any headaches unless I haven’t had enough hours of sleep

During the sleep test, I was so uncomfortable being hooked up to all those monitors, on you head, arms, legs, stomach, I really don’t think it accurately picked up how I actually sleep- it took me forever to fall asleep, I kept waking up, I did not sleeping in my normal position(on my stomach), they come in and wake you up if one of your monitors disconnect.

There is supposed to be a microphone placed near you mouth, mine would not stay in place all night. It was just a really uncomfortable experience for me and I take my sleep serious, I would never do a sleep test again.

I would agree those sleep tests are no fun! I hate them myself.

What I am about to say isn't to change your mind or anything- you seem pretty made up on the subject.

I am posting it, however, because I don't want anyone else reading this to think that a true sleep study isn't accurate for the reasons you have given above. I think someone believing that could actually be dangerous.

1. Headaches (or lack of) do not indicate sleep apnea reliably one way or another.

2. Lots of people feel "rested" enough, even with severe apnea, because they don't know anything different sleep wise.

3. Any sleep position that picks up OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) means you have OSA. Period. It may be lessened (not gone) in some positions, but it is still there. Particularly for people with severe cases.

4. No test is going to pick up anyone's normal sleep as they would at home, but it is designed for that and it IS still accurate .

5. There are two different types of apnea, central and obstructive. A person can have one or both types at once. The only way to know is to have a sleep study.

6. Again, this KILLS PEOPLE- EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

So for anyone else who ever reads this now or in a search later PLEASE do not ignore this problem. If you think you have it get a true sleep test. If you get a sleep test that says you have apnea events that require treatment please (PLEASE!) follow through. It will make it much easier to be healthy, lose weight, you WILL feel better and it may save your life.

I would agree those sleep tests are no fun! [emoji4] I hate them myself.
What I am about to say isn't to change your mind or anything- you seem pretty made up on the subject.
I am posting it, however, because I don't want anyone else reading this to think that a true sleep study isn't accurate for the reasons you have given above. I think someone believing that could actually be dangerous.
1. Headaches (or lack of) do not indicate sleep apnea reliably one way or another.
2. Lots of people feel "rested" enough, even with severe apnea, because they don't know anything different sleep wise.
3. Any sleep position that picks up OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) means you have OSA. Period. It may be lessened (not gone) in some positions, but it is still there. Particularly for people with severe cases.
4. No test is going to pick up anyone's normal sleep as they would at home, but it is designed for that and it IS still accurate .
5. There are two different types of apnea, central and obstructive. A person can have one or both types at once. The only way to know is to have a sleep study.
6. Again, this KILLS PEOPLE- EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
So for anyone else who ever reads this now or in a search later PLEASE do not ignore this problem. If you think you have it get a true sleep test. If you get a sleep test that says you have apnea events that require treatment please (PLEASE!) follow through. It will make it much easier to be healthy, lose weight, you WILL feel better and it may save your life.

Thank you for taking emotion and beliefs out of the discussion. Very well said!

Sent from my SM-G965U using BariatricPal mobile app

3 hours ago, FluffySaysForkIt! said:

I would agree those sleep tests are no fun! I hate them myself.

What I am about to say isn't to change your mind or anything- you seem pretty made up on the subject.

I am posting it, however, because I don't want anyone else reading this to think that a true sleep study isn't accurate for the reasons you have given above. I think someone believing that could actually be dangerous.

1. Headaches (or lack of) do not indicate sleep apnea reliably one way or another.

2. Lots of people feel "rested" enough, even with severe apnea, because they don't know anything different sleep wise.

3. Any sleep position that picks up OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) means you have OSA. Period. It may be lessened (not gone) in some positions, but it is still there. Particularly for people with severe cases.

4. No test is going to pick up anyone's normal sleep as they would at home, but it is designed for that and it IS still accurate .

5. There are two different types of apnea, central and obstructive. A person can have one or both types at once. The only way to know is to have a sleep study.

6. Again, this KILLS PEOPLE- EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

So for anyone else who ever reads this now or in a search later PLEASE do not ignore this problem. If you think you have it get a true sleep test. If you get a sleep test that says you have apnea events that require treatment please (PLEASE!) follow through. It will make it much easier to be healthy, lose weight, you WILL feel better and it may save your life.

Very well said, I never meant for the statement to influence anyone’s opinions or treatment, I was asking a very specific questions about MY experience and MY results.

Thank You!!

Thanks for understanding.

2 hours ago, LoLo130 said:

Very well said, I never meant for the statement to influence anyone’s opinions or treatment, I was asking a very specific questions about MY experience and MY results.

Thank You!!

Hi Fluffy S.F.It, just checking in again to tell you both Tomkitten and I will be having in- hospital testing on July 25th. I have lost now about 170 pounds from my HW, that's when I got my C-Pap originally. Now when I try to wear it I may fall asleep with it on, but seem to remove it while sleeping. So I am being re-evaluated to see 1. To see if it still is needed or 2, my OSA has relented enough after surgery that I no longer need it or 3. that it needs to be readjusted so it does fit again. When I got it in late Autumn 2017 I had big puffy chipmunk cheeks, now my face is angular, looking hollow in my cheeks, cheekbones very obvious. Do I look prettier now? Well that is up for discussion, but at the very least I sure don't look like the preconceived notion of what I once did. There are a lot of people telling me " If I hadn't recognized your voice, I would not have believed it could be YOU ! I now look like an older more weary version of what I looked like at High School ? graduation. And yes, before I went through surgery and the ensuing weight loss, I never would have suspected I would or could appear like this.
Now that I weigh at least 50 pounds less than Tomkitten , I no longer get hasseled by PCP, his new one is TK, told him " I would like you evaluated for Sleep Apnea, you do know it runs in your family! Your mom and her Dad were both diagnosed with OSA" Fine , said TK , but if I do I want you to consider recommending me for Bariatric Surgery to Mom's Surgeon Dr Needleman in Columbus. TK' s BMI is nearly 40 now, he already has GERD, another co- morbid would be putting him in contention even if he is Sub-40. So since I was scheduled on July 25th they scheduled him the same night, that way we both should get answers on this subject. Neither of our insurances will pay for home testing, so in- hospital it is! Please think positive thoughts for us both!!! ?&?

@frust8 I hope both you and your son get good news after your studies.