[SS427Rick]

Have any of you had a sleep apnea test? Results? In Dec. I had a company periodic medical and since I am now over 55 I had to have a hearing test as well as a sleep apnea screening test since I am in a safety sensitive position. My cousin is a retired MD (anesthesiologist) who I get together with to shoot pool and have beers occasionally. I told him about the sleep apnea screening and he says "The results will show you have sleep apnea. Anyone who is screened somehow seems to have it. How else do you think the sleep clinic sells the $1800 sleep apnea breathing machines." This kind of got me thinking so when I did the test at home on Jan.15. I put the testing device on, then sat watching movies with the wife for 6 hours while wide awake sitting in my recliner in the family room. I breathed normally the entire time.
Now here is where it gets interesting. I take the apparatus back to the sleep clinic and a week later I get a call from them. Apparently I have moderate sleep apnea and require a breathing machine! Surprise! The download showed I have an average of 17 breathing interruptions an hour while sleeping. I should go in and get fitted for the sleep apnea mask as soon as possible. I listened to this BS then informed the "sleep expert" that she was a scammer and I had not slept at all and she was full of crap. Silence. She then repeated her spiel and I repeated that she was full of it, not as nicely this time. She then says "Well, I am going to send the results to your employer anyway" as if that is some kind of threat. I tell her, go for it lady, then hung up. I called my employers occupational health nurse and explained the situation. She sounded kind of shocked but said that my benefits cover the cost of the machine. That still doesn't make it right and I may need those benefits for something I actually have. I hate scammers and this is the lowest of the low. Telling someone they have a medical condition they don't have for profit? Sickening.

 

[Shane 69 Hugger]

Sleep apnea is not a scam. I have it. My results were much worse than yours. If you had it as bad as I do youd be able to tell.

I also dont know what device they used to test you, when they did mine, they were able to tell if I was awake or asleep, when I moved and a bunch of other stuff.

When you dont wake up one day...

 

[67-468]

I also have it. The Cpap machine was a life changer for me. I used to fall asleep at red lights I had it so bad. My ex used to say I would stop breathing at night and then gasp for air. My doctor explained how if I slept for 7 hrs I was only getting 3 to 4 hours of rest. I’ve had my machine for 4 years now and I’ve never felt better. I used to have to sleep with a glass of ice water on my nightstand because I would be so dried out.

 

[kmakar]

My wife has it. It's no joke. She would stop breathing in the middle of the night. She snores really bad (she has really bad sinuses). She got tested some 20 years ago and she'd stopped breathing 17 times in one night with her longest episode being 2.5 minutes without breathing. Sleep apnea is usually associated with larger or heavier people, but my wife is small and not heavy at all. She has a constricted sinus cavity and when she lays flat, her head turns to the side and then she starts having problems.

I got her the sleep cpap machine, but she woke up 3 or 4 times screaming and freaking out. I stayed up one an entire night to watch her to figure out why. The mask was scaring her and thinking she was being choked. I got rid of the machine and did my own solution.

My solution was to buy a oxygen concentrator and adjustable beds (2 extra long twin beds that form a king size bed). She elevates her bed, puts on the cannula (like you see in the hospital when they give you oxygen) and she goes to sleep and no longer has breathing problems. If she forgets to put the oxygen concentrator on, she knows it in the morning and is tired all day. If she sits down the following day for any reason, she'll fall asleep in 1 to 2 minutes. In the last 19 years she's had 3 oxygen concentrators and only forgotten to use it 4 times.

Don't use my example to not use the cpap machine, but do your research. This solution works for my wife, but it might not work for anyone else. Seek a professional opinion, BUT get a solution that works for you. It's NOT a joke or scam.

 

[BillyGman]

Have any of you had a sleep apnea test? Results? In Dec. I had a company periodic medical and since I am now over 55 I had to have a hearing test as well as a sleep apnea screening test since I am in a safety sensitive position. My cousin is a retired MD (anesthesiologist) who I get together with to shoot pool and have beers occasionally. I told him about the sleep apnea screening and he says "The results will show you have sleep apnea. Anyone who is screened somehow seems to have it. How else do you think the sleep clinic sells the $1800 sleep apnea breathing machines." This kind of got me thinking so when I did the test at home on Jan.15. I put the testing device on, then sat watching movies with the wife for 6 hours while wide awake sitting in my recliner in the family room. I breathed normally the entire time.
Now here is where it gets interesting. I take the apparatus back to the sleep clinic and a week later I get a call from them. Apparently I have moderate sleep apnea and require a breathing machine! Surprise! The download showed I have an average of 17 breathing interruptions an hour while sleeping. I should go in and get fitted for the sleep apnea mask as soon as possible. I listened to this BS then informed the "sleep expert" that she was a scammer and I had not slept at all and she was full of crap. Silence. She then repeated her spiel and I repeated that she was full of it, not as nicely this time. She then says "Well, I am going to send the results to your employer anyway" as if that is some kind of threat. I tell her, go for it lady, then hung up. I called my employers occupational health nurse and explained the situation. She sounded kind of shocked but said that my benefits cover the cost of the machine. That still doesn't make it right and I may need those benefits for something I actually have. I hate scammers and this is the lowest of the low. Telling someone they have a medical condition they don't have for profit? Sickening.

LOL....that sounds very familiar. I did a sleep study in the hospital, and it was summer time and their sleep study room wasn't even air conditioned. I complained that it was too hot so they put this huge fan in there with me after they hooked me up with bazillion wires, and that thing made so much noise that between the noise and all hte wires they had ne hooked to, I could not sleep at all, and after one hour I left at went home so I could get some sleep.

Here's the kicker....Two weeks later they sent the "test results" to my doc and he told me that "you have an extreme case of sleep apnea!! In one hour you stopped breathing fifty seven times!!" but that's funny because I wasn't able to sleep at all which is why I left after one hour of trying to fall asleep. And I sure wasn't holding my breath either.

 

[Shane 69 Hugger]

If you ask, you can be tested in your own bed.

What's funny, people at work, home, the dr all knew I had it before I was even tested.

Always tired, headaches, snoring, falling asleep just after I laid in bed for 8 hours and slept. Falling asleep in 10 seconds was the real give away.

The machine is testing brain functions as well as sleep and all that other stuff, if you think you beat the results because you really didnt sleep, you ought to get retested.

It's a game changer for me also.

 

[cage2592]

I did my sleep study at a 3rd party test facility that specializes in sleep Apnea and other Sleep related issues. They had a single room Apartment set up and I had probes all over me from 5pm to 7am. They and I already knew I had it prior but need to be officially verified.

Mike

 

[Stickman]

Might sound crazy, but playing the Didgeridoo helps strengthen the pharyngeal muscles in the throat and tongue. Two contributing factors with sleep apnea. I bought one and tried it for about a month straight. My wife said it did improve my snoring and stoppage of breathing. Takes awhile to get the hang of it and once you get the circular breathing technique down, you really benefit. That's where you are using your cheeks like a bellows while inhaling short breaths thru your nose. Kinda cool once you get the hang of it and is relaxing in a meditative way too. I'll try other options or change lifestyle before taking pills whenever possible...

 

[BillyGman]

Might sound crazy, but playing the Didgeridoo helps strengthen the pharyngeal muscles in the throat and tongue. Two contributing factors with sleep apnea. I bought one and tried it for about a month straight. My wife said it did improve my snoring and stoppage of breathing. Takes awhile to get the hang of it and once you get the circular breathing technique down, you really benefit. That's where you are using your cheeks like a bellows while inhaling short breaths thru your nose. Kinda cool once you get the hang of it and is relaxing in a meditative way too. I'll try other options or change lifestyle before taking pills whenever possible...

At first, I thought your entire post was a joke, or was just pure sarcasm. I have to admit that I have never heard of a "didgeridoo" before. I thought that might have been some type of slang expression on your part. But I just did a web search, so now I realize that you were serious. Thanks for sharing that.

 

[smitty454]

Im going to get tested at the VA. Im only 33 and skinny but I frequently wake up in the middle of the night gasping for air as if I was submerged in water and got to the surface just in time. Im honestly starting to worry that I might go to sleep and not wake up.

 

[MFortie]

I did the at-home study years ago and my results were negative. Didn’t need a machine. So, I wouldn’t be inclined to paint all the studies as a scam.

 

[BillyGman]

Im going to get tested at the VA. Im only 33 and skinny but I frequently wake up in the middle of the night gasping for air as if I was submerged in water and got to the surface just in time. Im honestly starting to worry that I might go to sleep and not wake up.

I used wake up like that once in awhile. It became obvious to me that my breathing was being stopped while I slept, and it was waking me up. I haven't done that in awhile. Ever since I had my deviated septum corrective surgery done, as well as my uvula cut out at the same time, (that punching bag that hangs down in the throat is the uvula) I'm sleeping a little better although still not as good as I did when I was in my 20's, and I still snore although my wife tells me not quite as often as I used to.

My ear nose and throat doc who did the surgery told me before he operated that the septum deviation wasn't the primary cause for me being sleep challenged, but that it was just adding to the problem. At least now I can breath easier through my nose when I lay down. Before the surgery it seemed that most nights, as soon as I laid down, I had a tough time breathing through my nose.

 

[Stickman]

At first, I thought your entire post was a joke, or was just pure sarcasm. I have to admit that I have never heard of a "didgeridoo" before. I thought that might have been some type of slang expression on your part. But I just did a web search, so now I realize that you were serious. Thanks for sharing that.

Guess I should have included a pic. You can spend a fortune on these, or get a cheap resin model for about $60. First thing people think is your smokin' a bong, but it does strengthen the muscles that flop around in the night when sleeping...

 

[Monkey]

Gents,

My FIL and MIL both use them and wow what a difference it made to both of them, for the positive.

The one thing that they don't tell you in that if you machine breaks or isn't working the best you must get it fixed right away. And keep them clean.

They can be serious medical complication if you stop using the machine (and you need to be using it) you can google this on your own time. Think of it as leaving the nitrious tune and 100 octance while running 87 pump gas.

 

[joeyv69ragtop]

To the OP, sorry you had this experience. Definitely sounds shady in your case. I'll agree with others, though, that it is no joke. my cpap is a game changer. It's wonderful not waking up gasping for air multiple times a night or having the wife complain about snoring.

is there a reason you wore the test device sitting around watching tv instead of wearing it when you went to bed? seems like you were out to make a point from the get-go.

 

[Stokerboats]

I sleep like crap, insomnia. Tested at VA, they stick all the electrodes in your scalp then tell you to go in the little faux room they have set up with a small hospital bed in there with tv monitors video taping you, they hook up all the wires, turn out the light and tell you, "ok go to sleep"!!! Wrong............. I don't go to bed at 9pm, period, if lucky I can get a little shut eye around midnight or so. They did diagnose apnea and gave me a machine. I found the mask to be quite awkward but grew accustomed to it after a while. First thing I began to notice is no sore throat from snoring but still didn't get great sleep quality although it did improve. I use my machine 100% of the time while sleeping however, they keep making masks cheaper and cheaper and they are as disruptive as they are helpful. I had grown accustomed to the first mask but of course it was discontinued because they came up with cheaper from China masks. For myself sleep is elusive regardless.

 

[kmakar]

I sleep like crap, insomnia. Tested at VA, they stick all the electrodes in your scalp then tell you to go in the little faux room they have set up with a small hospital bed in there with tv monitors video taping you, they hook up all the wires, turn out the light and tell you, "ok go to sleep"!!! Wrong............. I don't go to bed at 9pm, period, if lucky I can get a little shut eye around midnight or so. They did diagnose apnea and gave me a machine. I found the mask to be quite awkward but grew accustomed to it after a while. First thing I began to notice is no sore throat from snoring but still didn't get great sleep quality although it did improve. I use my machine 100% of the time while sleeping however, they keep making masks cheaper and cheaper and they are as disruptive as they are helpful. I had grown accustomed to the first mask but of course it was discontinued because they came up with cheaper from China masks. For myself sleep is elusive regardless.

I have insomnia as well. My brain never shuts off and I'm always thinking (work / project related). I take over the counter sleep aid (wally world brand) to get me to sleep. It's usually good for 5 to 7 hours worth of sleep.

 

[thebeast]

I did my sleep study at a 3rd party test facility that specializes in sleep Apnea and other Sleep related issues. They had a single room Apartment set up and I had probes all over me from 5pm to 7am. They and I already knew I had it prior but need to be officially verified.

Mike

I went to a similar facility .... They only tested, and didn’t sell CPAP machines ....
they sent the results to my doc.... I had stopped breathing 99 times in 6 hours...
The average was 44 seconds ... Yikes !!
My drive to work was 53 miles .... Many days I drove home with the windows
down, to stay awake ... Even in the winter ....
The first morning after using my machine, I couldn’t believe how much better I felt ...
Its been 13 years since I started ....

 

[Ialone]

I probably have it, however, not sure if this makes a difference or not, I sleep on my side or my stomach, never on my back. And I think it's because I have it, and sleeping on my side or stomach is like a band aid. Does this make sense.

I could be wrong, I am just guessing.

 

[Stickman]

I probably have it, however, not sure if this makes a difference or not, I sleep on my side or my stomach, never on my back. And I think it's because I have it, and sleeping on my side or stomach is like a band aid. Does this make sense.

I could be wrong, I am just guessing.

Makes perfect sense. Sleeping on your back is the worst position if you have apnea...