First sleep study only 30 min sleep

[Wrz77]

I had a first sleep study as I was referred to a Pulmonologist specialising in sleep disorders by my endocrinologist who suspects I have sleep apnea because of elevated cortisol and cortisone. I had to discharge myself at 1am because I was feeling ill and I knew beyond a shred of doubt I would not be able to sleep further in a reasonable timeframe. The technician said I only slept 30 minutes.

Now two days later I view the EPIC / "MyChart" raw intake information PDF and notice it says "Obstructive sleep apnea - Primary" under "Visit diagnoses." Is 30 minutes truly enough time to determine OSA? Unfortunately my follow up appointment with my pulmonologist isn't until late January and the actual results like AHI and whatnot have not been published to me yet (I was told they wouldn't be until after the follow up appointment).

If I do need to take another sleep study I am definitely going to need a sedative next time. I didn't sleep for 30 hours prior to the sleep study (a deliberate action on my part to make myself super fatigued in time for the sleep study, as I NEVER fall asleep much if at all in unfamiliar environments) and yet thanks to adrenaline and anxiety I only slept 30 minutes in 5 hours.

But I am surprised to see a diagnosis from what seemed like a failed sleep study that yielded only 30 minutes of data. Anyone else got a diagnosis from such a small duration?

[JJJ]

I slept for only an hour in my sleep study, but the technician and the doc said it was enough for the diagnosis of severe sleep apnea. They rate the severity of the sleep apnea on the number of events per hour, so half an hour may be enough for the diagnosis. Of course, there are other problems besides sleep apnea that a sleep study can diagnose, and I don't know how much sleep time they might take for a proper diagnosis.

If you have ordinary sleep apnea without special issues and the doc will prescribe a data-capable APAP machine, you can fine tune the pressures yourself, so longer time asleep at the sleep lab may not be so critical. I am dismayed, however, to hear how long you will have to wait for the follow-up appointment.

[cate1898]

Welcome to ApneaBoard Wrz77! Hope you get all the answers you need and good luck getting your therapy going! Keep us posted.

[trish6hundred]

Hi Wrz77,
WELCOME! to the forum.!
Hang in there for more responses to your post.
Much success to you.

[usertc]

I would think 30 minutes would be enough if it's severe enough. I have 50 events per hour, so that would be 25 events in 30 minutes.

[Phill]

I was given the sleep study kit to use overnight at home, this would overcome any problems of sleeping in unfamiliar surroundings.