[Diagnosis] Hypothetically- could you do your own sleep study at home with a decent CPAP?

[treehugger]

I have a daughter in her 20s, who suspects OSA. She planned on booking a sleep study right before covid hit, then the hospital stopped doing them. They're taking limited appointments now, but are booked out several months, till just after our deductible resets. In pondering our options, and while also researching a gently used replacement CPAP for my husband, I wondered whether it would be possible to do your own unofficial diagnosis and titration with, say, a resmed S8, monitoring nightly data with Oscar, over the course of a week? Cost is a concern.

Thoughts, pros, cons, dangers?

[OpalRose]

The S8 is an outdated machine and not supported by OSCAR.  There would be no data to monitor.  

You would need to look for the S9 or S10 series, preferably the ResMed A10 AutoSet.  Check the Supplier list at top of page.  Supplier #2 offers good low hour lightly used and also new open boxed machines.  

To answer your question, you could use an Auto Cpap set at the default setting of 4 min and 20 max to get an idea if there is an Apnea problem.  It wouldn't be ideal, nor give you the same detail as a hospital study.

Another option is an overnight home study. Many vendors offer it or check to see if insurance would cover it.

[Mogy]

Hi treehugger,
An oximeter might be a cost effective way to get some info about whether your daughter may have sleep apnea. Contec sells a few models that posters here have used.
The medical establishment have been using oximeters for a long time to 'screen' for OSA.
This study below says that oximeters are approx. 90% accurate with severe OSA, and about 87% with moderate OSA.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4407425/

[SarcasticDave94]

If one were to use a CPAP on 4, the minimum pressure most goes down to, an OSCAR image could be posted or the on screen data may show enough to say a person is most likely to have apnea. It's obviously not very accurate, but you could get an idea if apnea of any sort is an issue. And FWIW someone in their 20's could have apnea. I probably had apnea then as an undiagnosed issue.

[sleepyp]

CPAP is a therapy device, not a diagnostic tool.
It can’t not provide therapy no matter what pressure it’s set at.
It also can’t tell whether you’re asleep or what sleep stage you’re at, so cannot really provide any useful diagnostic info.

[Gideon]

We cannot say she is apnea free, only the she is "well treated" at the pressure used. If Al low pressure such as 4 there is significant apnea present you can conclude that she has apnea.

Again, there is no way to conclude that she doesn't have apnea

[tiredofbeingtired]

I have a hunch a CPAP machine might even be better at detecting sleep apnea than the little airflow sensor they use in a lab attached to your nose. Though as the last poster noted even with a pressure of 4 you might be treating it to some degree so you can't rule it if out but you could possibly confirm its presence.