Re:Is this apnea test ok?

[Guest guest]

Nope, it is not.

It would show only very severe sleep apnea where you were getting so little

oxigen you would be at heart patient levels. If some doctor is prescribing this

he is either not very knowledgible about sleep apnea or his boss has him over a

barril and is trying to cut costs.

Your brain can help you manage to get enough oxigen by playing guard dog and

waking you up every slow down and stoppage so you do gasp for breath and manage

to get enough oxigen, and yet be very very tired from all the interupted sleep!

The oxigen meter would show, " she got enough air last night. " Yes, you did, just

not enough sleep.

They are just now begining to " get it " that even so called mild sleep apnea can

cause lots of depression, fatique, poor quality sleep. " They " being those

precious few that are in the same rare vleague with the edocrinologists who know

to use the new ranges for thyroid tests, use armour and treat the adrenals too.

In other words, very, very rare.

A better home test than that, though also very poor and one which may not be

accepted by " by the numbers " doctors, is, just tape record yourself all night.

If the mike is sensitive enough it will pick up any breathing stoppages. But

good luck at finding a doctor willing to prescribe a CPAP based on that, and you

might need a VPAP instead if your problem is central not just obstructive. A

tape recorder would not show that.

.. You might try " haunting " all the online classified ads and even the paper

ones. Everyone in a while someone sells a CPAP machine, legal or not. Not always

cheaply but start putting a few dollars a way each month and pray. Then haunt

eBay. A couple of folks there sell the top secret respiratory technicians manuel

that will show you how to set the machines air flow yourself. Write them if you

don't see your machine listed. Post a " want It now request. " Get that manuel.

Its not complicated to follow what it says. They are short, only a few pages.

Then experiment with different settings. Find one that works for you. This is

terrible! But with no insurance and dumb doctors who can't learn and/or smart

but scared doctors who need to cover their legal butts, what else can some of us

do?

Is this apnea test ok?

Posted by: " sol " solbun@... cat_thump

Thu Dec 20, 2007 4:38 pm (PST)

I think I should have asked this first: The test I can get here is some

kind of oximeter that clips to your finger (I think they said finger)

and that goes to a box that records your oxygen levels while you sleep.

Is that an adequate test for sleep apnea? If this test works, I figured

it is so easy, I should go ahead, while I still have any medical

insurance, even if crappy, LOL.

I guess if it isn't a reliable test, I'll go back to putting off testing

apnea for the forseeable future.

sol