[flanbiscuit]

I have severe apnea, I use a CPAP nightly.

When I got tested for it I did the full sleep study in a hospital with all kinds of wires and things attached to me. How does a "NightOwl Home Sleep Apnea Test" compare to the test I had? Is the NightOwl good enough? Or is it there to tell you that you might/might-not need to do more intense sleep study?

I'm curious about the oral appliance. I've seen people post about it on /r/SleepApnea. Curious if anyone here has had success with it.

[sithadmin]

'At home' diagnostic devices for sleep apnea are pretty good at identifying apneic events via various approaches to respiratory and cardiovascular monitoring. What they're not able to do is discern between obstructive and central apneas. In practice, this probably doesn't matter a lot for most, and direct providers that rely on at home testing generally lead with prescribing an APAP (auto-adjusting CPAP) with good results instead first of doing another sleep study like a traditional doctor might require.

Once you use an APAP, you actually are able to discern between apnea types with some degree of confidence if you dump the diagnostic data and use a tool like OSCAR to analyze it.

[kareemm]

Why does it matter if you know whether you’re experiencing central or obstructive apneas? Does the treatment differ?

[sithadmin]

Central apnea is sometimes a symptom of a more serious underlying neurological issue, so it can be important to follow up with a physician to assess other risk symptoms and risk factors.

As for treatment - yes. BiPAP, ASV and nerve stimulation are all more effective for central apnea than CPAP or APAP.

[z3ugma]

Very much! The treatments are completely different.

Obstructive apneas are caused by an anatomical problem - your upper airway is blocked by relaxed tissues.

Central apneas are caused by a neurological problem - your brain doesn’t communicate the signal to inhale to your diaphragm.

[progmetaldev]

I had a take home sleep study a few months ago, and the study showed that I stopped breathing 89 times an hour. I am now on a long waitlist for a ResMed CPAP machine, because the specialist wrote "prescribe as written." I honestly can't wait to finally get the CPAP, as I am constantly tired, which has caused high blood pressure and exacerbates anxiety that I mostly had under control through medication (which is why I originally sent to get a sleep study).

[dsr_]

Call your doctor's office, tell them that all CPAPs are currently facing major supply shortages. Get them to reissue the Rx for "*pap machine capable of range [x-y]mmH20". It should be ready by the end of the day.

Then go buy anything you can. If you're a mouthbreather at night, get a full face mask and a humidifier.

[sjg007]

In a few years the apple watch will be able to detect sleep apnea and probably be certified by insurance to qualify you for CPAP etc...

I have a CPAP and hate it, I need to switch to a dental appliance but these are $$$ ... CPAPs are also annoyingly $$$ and I think all of the telemetry and crap is just nonsense. 99% of them auto-adjust their pressures.

[stuffuru]

I'm one of those people who have had success with MADs in r/SleepApnea. Unfortunately I couldn't use it long term due to preexisting issues with my bite, and had to get surgeries instead.