New to CPAP – The Process

New to CPAP – The Process

Denial

Why is denial first? Simply because this is where many of us started. What we have is mostly “normal” for us, we don’t know any other way because it is the way it has always been. Occasionaly the root cause is something else and OSA sneaks in, but more often than not we have had it for a very long time. If you have any doubt, get a sleep test. My story: Like many here I did NOT have sleep apnea, I didn't stop breathing in my sleep, I didn't snore. Sound familiar. JUST to tell her "I TOLD YOU SO" I took a sleep study. I had 90 events per hour, an AHI of 90!! Go figure.

I didn't have a problem, I was driving off freeways at exits because I was driving to stay on the road. It was the rumble strips on the side of the city road that woke me up, rumble strips you ask, most know them as driveways, I was driving across driveways, and scared to admit it. 2nd sleep study, the titration study, and I woke at 5:30am actually feeling awake and refreshed, I was stunned! My DME told me 6-8 weeks to get a CPAP device and I said no way. I said find one elsewhere and I'll travel as far as it takes to get it. End result was about 1.5 weeks to get an appointment and the device, and I've never looked back. My Rx was CPAP at 18 cmH2O and I took to it like a duck to water. I was lucky, I was immediately feeling better. That was in 2003.

Your Doctor(s)

Let’s start with your GP (General Practictioner), the Doctor you see for most things. Talk to him/her about your symptoms, mention that your SO says you snore most of the night, tell him that you are really tired most of the day and ask if he/she thinks you might have sleep apnea. The goal is to get to the next step, the initial sleep study. What doctors can write prescriptions for CPAP related issues? GP Sleep Specialist Doctor Dentist PA (Physicans Assistant)

Initial Sleep Study (without xPAP)

You now have a referral from your Doctor for a sleep study. What do you do now? First the normal speed all this occurs at. I’ll put it Naval terms, Flank Speed means fast, get from point A to point b as fast as you can. This is where you want to be. Unfortunately the most common speed things move at is, again in Naval terms, DEAD SLOW. You need to expedite these steps so you can get them done and out of the way quickly. It is not uncommon for each step to take 1-2 MONTHS!!!

Types of Sleep Studies

• In Lab Initial Study: IMHO the better choice, A study performed without a mask or xPAP machine to establish you base level of Apnea. For this you will be connected every which way you can think of, ok not every way but . .
• In Lab Split Study: Actually two sleep studies in one night, At least two hours (per Medicare) without a mask followed by a titration study with a mask to determine your treatment settings. Sometimes there is not enough time left to perform the titration thus requiring a second night in the sleep lab.
• Titration Study: a study with a mask to determine your treatment settings.
• At Home: TBD

A Sleep Study (also known as a Polysomnography or PSG), is a multi-parametric test used in the study of sleep and as a diagnostic tool in sleep medicine. The test result is called a polysomnogram, also abbreviated PSG. The name is derived from Greek and Latin roots: the Greek πολύς (polus for "many, much", indicating many channels), the Latin somnus ("sleep"), and the Greek γράφειν (graphein, "to write").

Polysomnography is a comprehensive recording of the biophysiological changes that occur during sleep. It is usually performed at night, when most people sleep, though some labs can accommodate shift workers and people with circadian rhythm sleep disorders and do the test at other times of day. The PSG monitors many body functions including brain (EEG), eye movements (EOG), muscle activity or skeletal muscle activation (EMG) and heart rhythm (ECG) during sleep. After the identification of the sleep disorder sleep apnea in the 1970s, the breathing functions respiratory airflow and respiratory effort indicators were added along with peripheral pulse oximetry.

You will need to shampoo your hair after this study

[study] Wiki Article

Your Diagnosis

Your diagnosis comes from your Initial Sleep Study

Here are the AHI levels of severity for Sleep Apnea:

Mild: 5-14
Moderate: 15-29
Severe: 30+

http://www.apneaboard.com/wiki/index.php?title=Sleep_apnea

Second Sleep Study – CPAP Titration

Titration Study: a study with a mask to determine your treatment settings. You will need to shampoo your hair after this study.

The result of this study is a recommendation for settings that your Doctor will use for your Prescription.

Note: This is an opportunity to try different masks on. Use it for this. The lab will get the data they need from any masks you use. The chance to try on multiple masks is few and far between. Take advantage of the opportunity to talk to your sleep tech, they work with many people that have never used a mask and are practiced at fitting them. Occasionally I have received the samples I tried to take home.

Prescription

Your Doctor now has the information he/she needs to complete your prescription.

Call your doctor and ask what machine he/she is recommending. If it isn't a fully data capable auto cpap, then don't accept it.

Be sure you know what the prescription says. The DME (Durable Medical Equipment) provider can only give you what the doctor writes on the script.
Just a heads up...a DME may try to give you a Cpap instead of an Apap (auto machine), or worse a "brick", this is a machine that cannot give you any useful data.

Read the wiki article for Prescription - CPAP - APAP - BIPAP

Specialized Titration Sleep Studies – BiLevel or ASV Titrations

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