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Negative for OSA - Would love some advice - Printable Version

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Negative for OSA - Would love some advice - duude - 11-29-2023

Hello Everybody,

I'm 22M, 5'8 and 128lbs.

I've been having terrible sleep for the past 5-6 years and just recently got a home sleep test done, which showed me no signs of sleep apnea at all.

Here are some of the symptoms I've been having:
  • Fatigue/Brain Fog during the day regardless of how many hours I sleep
  • Headaches
  • Dry mouth sometimes
  • Multiple heart rate spikes while sleeping (I use an O2Ring)
  • Constantly waking up at around 3AM regardless of what time I go to sleep (checked for alarms or anything that might wake me up at that time, found nothing)
Another thing is that I always had trouble breathing through my nose and managed to get it fixed about 2 months ago using nasal dilators, saline spray and air humidifier however, not only did that not improve my sleep quality at all, it seems like it's been losing efficiency the last couple of weeks.

I had an online appointment with a doctor and he said that I should try taking 2.5mg of melatonin and going to sleep a little bit later than usual, then make a sleep diary for a couple of weeks before we proceed.

I'm tired of feeling tired and would love to know what to do next. Would it be stupid to just buy a used CPAP to give it a try? If it's worth the try, which machine should I get? In-lab sleep studies are gonna be impossible and I would like to solve this as remotely as possible.

If anything in this post isn't clear or you would like more information, please feel free to ask me anything.

Thank you for you time.

RE: Negative for OSA - Would love some advice - Rhitta - 11-29-2023

Hi you should check those first to see if they can cause your fatigue :
  • Vitamin D
  • Vitamin B12
  • Iron
  • Hormonal (test, t4, t3, thyroid)
  • Sugar

Then checking nasal problem: scan for turnibate/sinusitis+ allergy test. If you can't nose breath at night, then you will sleep badly, regardless of a possible apnea. Dry mouth is a huge sign


The home test are inaccurate in getting sleep stage/when you sleep or not but they are fine i believe for obstructive events. Position can also play a role. For exemple i have had on a home test negative yet its almost 30 on a PSG. Because of hypopneas. Still trying to see if they are positional or not (bad sleep at lab and i slept on my back, which isnt something i do intentionally)

RE: Negative for OSA - Would love some advice - Sleeprider - 11-29-2023

Your respiratory disturbance index is not insignificant and the PAT study is not the most sensitive test for RDI and sleep arousals and is more of a screening device, especially for mild or borderline cases like your own. You probably don't qualify for insurance to pay for CPAP treatment, but you could still pursue that avenue if you're willing to self-finance or can borrow equipment, or you could do things to improve your sleep position like use lower pillows to avoid chin-tucking that can cause obstruction. You are still young, and low BMI, so you are not expected to have significant obstructive sleep apnea or flow limitation. If you choose to go with a machine, avoid Philips (there are a ton of recalled defective machines out there) and prefer the Resmed Airsense 10 which provides exhale pressure relief and data and is particularly good at treating upper respiratory resistance (flow limitation) which is the source of disrupted sleep.