Dreading titration sleep study

[johns019]

First off - I'm really glad that I found this board!
I finally did the sleep study after having being told that I stop breathing at night for over 25 years now.
I thought the study was horrible - I was only able to sleep for about 2 hours - I lasted 1 hour with the mask on and only slept about 15 - 20 minutes before tearing it off.
The Dr at my follow up visit said I stopped an average of 29 times per hour, but I'm surprised they got that much out of my study. I was ready to take the wires off and leave after about 2 hours, but I did manage to hang in there.
They are going to try me with the BiPAP titration next week. I tried it with nasal pillows in the resp. therapists yesterday and it wasn't easy.
Anyone have any suggestions for me that might help making the study go easier??
Bringing my own pillow (buckwheat sobokawa) with me this time.

Thanks for any advice you guys can give me.

[PaulaO2]

The best thing you can do is to stop worrying about it. But it is also the toughest thing. Pretend you are going on a business trip and sleeping in a hotel.

Ask the doc if you can have something to ease the stress slightly and go to sleep.

You can also ask if you can use an autoPAP at home instead of a sleep study. They already did the diagnosing part, now to get the pressure set.

Also ask why a bilevel CPAP. Is there a reason why this vs any other exhalation pressure relief.

[zonk]

Some say ask the doc for sleeping pill it might affect the result slightly so does not sleeping
Avoid caffeine beverages, alcohol, or taking a nap on the day
Bring favorite pillow if you like
Don,t go hungry and bring a snack just in case
Bring along a book to read
Good luck

[JJJ]

I finally did the sleep study after having being told that I stop breathing at night for over 25 years now.
I thought the study was horrible - I was only able to sleep for about 2 hours - I lasted 1 hour with the mask on and only slept about 15 - 20 minutes before tearing it off.
The Dr at my follow up visit said I stopped an average of 29 times per hour, but I'm surprised they got that much out of my study. I was ready to take the wires off and leave after about 2 hours, but I did manage to hang in there.

When I had my sleep study (end of March) I presented my sleep doc with the worst night of sleep I ever had. Like you, I slept for only a few hours. And when I got there I discovered that the room had no window. Not good for claustrophobics. I argued with the attendant and finally got him to agree to leave the door to the hallway open. And I need to eat before going to bed lest I wake up with severly low blood sugar. I forgot to bring anything with me, and all they had was candy - not good for long release. At 4 am I woke up sweating and my blood sugar was 42. I'm amazed they got any data at all, but the said I was 43/hr on my side and over 60/hr on my back. They didn't try a CPAP machine on me because I didn't stay asleep long enough.

Now I'm struggling to find a therapy I can tolerate. One thing I can say for sure: Whatever therapy and devices someone else is using will probably not be exactly perfect for you. We each have to find out own road, and that is frustrating and time consuming. Thankfully, everyone here has the patience of Job.

[BabyDoc]

I encountered the same problem with my sleep study. I only slept the last 2 hours of the night, which was enough time to diagnose my OSA, but not get the titration done. I was prescribed a C-pap machine with a low pressure setting of 7.0 and told to return in 1 month to get the titration study done. The c-pap wasn't working at all for me and I didn't want to continue using something that wasn't working. I also dreaded the idea of coming back to have the titration study done. So I begged my sleep physician to prescribe an autopap machine and bargained that if it didn't work, I would return to the sleep lab to see what would work. Well, the happy ending is the S9 Autoset is working great, and I feel better than I have in years. My AHI last night was 0.6; the night before it was 0.3. I have had my S9 for only a week now.

[zimlich]

In your case I'd ask for a tranquilizer, and I don't say that lightly. I know it's a big deal. I mean you can't fight panic in the short of time you have and there is no sense being miserable wanting to tear the wires off. If you suspect the titration is going to be as bad as your first study please talk to your doctor ahead of time- your sleep doctor.
Good luck.

[johns019]

The best thing you can do is to stop worrying about it. But it is also the toughest thing. Pretend you are going on a business trip and sleeping in a hotel.

Ask the doc if you can have something to ease the stress slightly and go to sleep.

You can also ask if you can use an autoPAP at home instead of a sleep study. They already did the diagnosing part, now to get the pressure set.

Also ask why a bilevel CPAP. Is there a reason why this vs any other exhalation pressure relief.

Probably dumb question but -
Which Dr should I be asking about a tranquilizer - my primary care Dr or the one at the sleep study facility?

Due to my not being able to sleep much (only 4 -5 Hrs / night - never mind during a sleep study) my primary Dr tried me on a couple medications last fall that have side effects of making you sleep. But I got such bad dry mouth from them (and I imagine my mouth breathing) that I couldn't take the medications. This is what led me to break down and do the sleep study.

I think the reason that they are having me try bi level is because I had a hard time breathing out against the pressure. The therapist said it wasn't because I needed high pressure. They had me try a Resmed Auto machine - I think it said quatro 25 on it?

Thanks for the advice!

[PaulaO2]

You could ask either one but it is best to ask the sleep doc so he/she knows about it.

[BabyDoc]

I would ask the sleep physician for a prescription tranquilizer, only because he has to interpret the sleep data in the light of knowing what you are receiving. Some medications are known to increase sleep apnea and might alter the results of the titration study. He might know of a tranquilizer that is less likely to do that. Most primaries wouldn't know.

[mjbearit]

I don't blame you. I went in for a new mask and one of the first things the guy said was "You should consider getting an updated sleep study". The word "NO!" was out of my mouth before he even finished the sentence! I still remember going through that 9 years ago and I have no wish to repeat it! Having said that, if the choice was to get another sleep study done or not have CPAP therapy and live with this on my own, I would just suck it up and do whatever was required. It's one night. Do the best you can and realize that on the other side, things will get better.