<p>Yes, before DH had his sleep study done his doctor asked me a number of questions. I was able to tell him that even when he was in his 20’s DH would at times stop breathing long enough that I would wonder if he was dead. Then he would move and start breathing again. </p>
<p>CPAP was a lifesaver for me and my kids. My kids play hockey, and I noticed that I was struggling to stay awake when driving them back home from late games and practices. Problem solved literally overnight after I got my CPAP machine. I also feel better, etc., but most importantly I no longer have to worry about driving at night. </p>
<p>I also used to wake up in the middle of the night, repeatedly. One day I had an epiphany: when I woke up I would read for a few minutes before going back to sleep. DUH! I love reading, so why reward myself for waking up and be surprised that I kept waking up??? No more reading when I wake up, no more waking up, life is sometimes simple. </p>
<p>While you wait for your evaluation, take the Berlin Questionnaire or the STOP BANG questionnaire. Just Google those terms.</p>
<p>DH has extremely severe sleep apnea. O2 sat rates dropped into the 70s. He would stop breathing during the night and then start gasping. I would lie in bed and count 15-20 seconds before he’d start breathing again, and then there would be the horrible gasping. Because he is also diabetic and overweight, his doctor (bless his heart) suggested the sleep study. I had been pressing the issue for a while, to no avail.</p>
<p>He now has a CPAP, but says he does not feel like he has more energy because the mask interrupts his sleep. He has gotten to where he can wear it for about six hours, but he often wakes up at 4 am to take it off and then has trouble going back to sleep. At least he is compliant, and he does take it when he travels. <em>I</em> am sleeping better without the constant roar of snoring (I could hear him downstairs).</p>
<p>@CountingDown, I say this with complete understanding that sometimes it’s uncomfortable, but if your husband takes it off at 4 AM, he’s not being compliant. Have him call the care provider and see what they can do for him. Good luck. </p>
<p>He’s on his second mask. He has talked to the sleep doc and they are encouraging him to stretch the time longer, which he has over time. He gets up at 5:30-6 am most days, so he really is getting through most of the night.This is a guy who does not take good care of himself in the first place, so I am thankful for any level of compliance.</p>
<p>Frugaldr, the clinic did have me fill out a questionnaire online that seems similar, but was about 3 x as long as the BERLIN questionaire. Im also not obese, although admittedly not thin.
I do have exercise asthma and allergies.
My night driving problems are because I cant see, not because Im tired.
Last night when picking up D from the bus stop in a sketchy area, I had to have her tell me which way to go. i even turned down a one way street!
With all the construction down town, the faded street signs and markings, you need xray vision to drive.
I should have had her drive, even though she doesn’t have her license, but in retrospect it would have been safer.</p>
<p>I look in wonder at people who are in their 80’s and seemingly doing everything they did in their 40’s.</p>
<p>I have two of the marpac sleep conditioners and LOVE them! They must be the highest rated product on amazon. </p>
<p>Asthma can also affect sleep and can be smoldering. But sounds like your diagnosis will take a good doctor to decipher. How about an ophthalmologist too LOL.</p>
<p>@Countingdown: your husband can try nasal pillows, nasal mask or even an auto-CPAP machine. I went to YouTube to reprogram my machine because my pulmonologist did not prescribe auto-CPAP modes. I tried regular CPAP and could not tolerate that. Auto-CPAP was absolutely easy to get used to.</p>
<p>Ya,I just went to the opthamologist, he has me on drops.</p>
<p>Emerald - You are in the Seattle area right? I have worked in the sleep business here in the Seattle area for many years. PM me and I can hook you up with a home sleep testing company. I also know coverage guidelines for most of the local insurances. Some of them actually require a home study FIRST before they will pay for a lab study.</p>
<p>I had a required sleep study done prior to surgery. I also doubted I would be able to get to sleep, and after it was over, I really didn’t feel like I’d had much at all. I know I fell asleep at one point because I woke myself up ripping the wires off my face because they were irritating. This then required the tech to come in and fix things back up. 
But apparently I slept enough for a meaningful report and diagnosis of mild sleep apnea.</p>
<p>I always tell my sleep apnea patients that they will sleep in the sleep lab. Folks with this disorder are usually exhausted and fall asleep right away in any location. Keep in mind that you do not need to sleep for an entire evening in the sleep lab to have a valid study. Your apnea-hypopnea index is scored per hour given that you had a valid study. Even a few hours of sleep can be diagnostic.
Home sleep studies are fine if patients meet the criteria. You do lose a lot of valuable information (sleep staging, limb movements, positional information) that you garner from a proper in lab, monitored study.</p>
<p>Im anticipating not being able to sleep much at all also, but I am going to get up when my H leaves for work at 5am
Instead of going back to sleep.</p>
<p>EK, better to agitate your dog than suffer the consequences of sleep apnea. It can do a number on your heart and kidneys, and cause other problems as well. My (now dead) dog got used to my ventilator (a more complex machine than a cpap) in no time. He even figured out that the best way to wake up during the night was to disconnect the hose from the ventilator, since that makes an alarm go off. Fortunately he was a lab with a very soft mouth, so it didn’t destroy the hoses.</p>
<p>My husband and daughter have sleep apnea. The husband swore he would never use a cpap and refused to accept my opinion that he has SA. After a surgeon convinced him to have the sleep study following some issues during the operation he was a changed man. He came home from the titration study (when they hook you up to the cpap all night and determine your pressure settings) and said he’d never slept better in his life! He couldn’t wait to get the prescription filled for his cpap.</p>
<p>So, I had my sleep appt. the Dr & I agreed it is probably a case of sleep hygiene.
I have several things I can be better about. If I can move a dresser that is at the end of the bed & put the pups bed there, that should help, as he currently sleeps on our double bed and he is not so comfortable to sleep around. ( & if I wake * him * up, then he wants to go outside.
I brought home , the home study apparatus, that they need back tomorrow, or else I will be charged $1,500. Ok.
Im going to try sleeping in Ds room, because I worry that the dog might start chewing on it to save me.
Have to get better about listening to books on tape, instead of reading on my ipad, & also taking the pet in to work on his barking everytime a big truck goes by that might have a toy for him.</p>
<p>EK4- hopefully it is just habits you can change, good luck. Otherwise CPAP can be worth all of the inconveniences if indicated. Reminds me of needing glasses or braces. They are worth it. </p>
<p>frugaldoctor has excellent info. Another physician here, on CPAP. For some the worst apnea spells come with REM sleep, which occurs more towards the end of the night. Hence quitting the CPAP nearer to wake up time for some may be bad. Poor sleep habits plus sleep apnea can occur. Also- sleep apnea can lead to the kidneys not doing the usual anti diuresis (decreased need to urinate while asleep), a real issue during a study when they have to unhook you so you can pee so you can go back to sleep… I thought the nasal cushion would not work for me- after trying the mask that gave me a bridge of the nose skin infection I switched and it was terrific, even better as the product was improved. The variable pressure prescribed is also wonderful. Unfortunately I have seen primary care docs who don’t know much about it and are not interested in learning what I can teach them. My anesthesiology training helped me and my pulmonologist would spend a bit of the appointment going over my results and most of the time talking about other stuff (we both had the time as it would happen).</p>
<p>I sleep 3 - 5 hours. If I sleep longer, most likely I will have a headache and/or feel tired whole day.
“But I cant imagine going to sleep with something over my face, let alone being hooked up to a machine” - I will not fall asleep at all with any of this. More so, I would not sleep in any strange place, it takes awhile to get used to sleeping in hotels. I did not sleep for 5 minutes in a hospital after my D. was born and I was there for 4 days. not a single minute of sleep.<br>
I have no problem working. I just have problem at the meeitngs but my just does not require many. I specifically bought a non-smooth car. I need to “feel the road” otherwise, I am falling asleep even after 10 min. of driving. My current car is great, I had no problem traveling in it for about 2.5 hours and back in the same day.<br>
There are other things. I can have only 3 cups of regual coffee / week. I cannot have ANY, including decaf after 2 pm, I aslo cannot have chocolate after 2 pm. I cannot eat heavily in afternoon. Thank goodness, I do not care for meat, that one takes about 3 hours to digest.<br>
TV is a greatest sleeping pill out there. I do not need study, it is my salvation. I cannot have any “natural” sleeping aids either, they do not work for me, but they put me to sleep the day after. No melatonin, no valerian. I also found that regular advil and cough drops are somewhat helpful.<br>
I absolutely have to be outside for at least one hour / day.<br>
If I am outside for the most day (vacation time), I sleep better despite sleeping in a strange place.
I cannot sleep with anybody snoring close to me. This includes next room.
I would say that anybody could do analysis of what is affecting them. there is no study in a world that would cover everthing. Doc. said that in my case, my brain got rewired after my D. did not sleep well for the first 3 years of her life. He said that brain can forget how to sleep and he gave me antidepressants, which I piched right after I read the description of the drug and I never complain about sleeping habits to any doc. after this episode.
On the bright side, I have more time than most others. I have several hobbies that I enjoy every day after work. I also have time to exercise for about 2+ hours every day. I enjoy my exercise routine and my hobbies greatly, so I have no complains about my sleeping habits.</p>
<p>I was worried about the dog chewing on the tubes, so I slept in Ds room.
Ha, I slept great! I think the solution is - a better mattress.( ours is viscofoam and I think it is too soft) and the dog sleeping on his own bed.
I had the door closed all night, but H must have opened it in the morning when he went to work to say goodbye ( he leaves at4:30, I slept a while longer) because then doggy went looking for me and hopped up to join me.</p>