I’ve started suspecting I have sleep apnea. I snore a lot in my sleep and feel fatigued throughout the day. I’ve been seeing a lot of things online about home sleep testing. Are these tests actually accurate? I rather not deal with the hassle of going to a sleep lab to get tested but I’m a bit skeptical of home tests.
I was diagnosed with sleep apnea using WatchPat, as far as I’m aware they’re trustworthy. I got prescribed one from a doctor, I’m not sure if you can just order one.
When I was diagnosed years ago, I actually had to sleep overnight at a sleep laboratory, where they placed sensors all over my body. It was a weird experience, it would have been nice to take one of these at-home tests if they were available at the time.
Hello SimplyMonique, this is a great question! By and large, home sleep apnea tests are quite accurate, and are quickly becoming a common way to initially evaluate whether someone has sleep apnea.
Home sleep apnea testing devices generally consist of a device you put on your finger and wrist. They measure your oxygen levels and breathing patterns, calculating a sleep apnea severity score based on the average number of lapses in breathing per hour while sleeping.
The traditional method of testing for sleep apnea is called polysomnography, which is an overnight sleep study performed in a lab.
While polysomnography is the most accurate method, home testing is still quite accurate, and it’s a lot more convenient, so a lot of people start with that. You do need a prescription to get a test, but these can be obtained through real physicians online.
Here’s a link to our article on the matter, where you can learn more about these tests order one through a trusted partner of ours: https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-studies/at-home-sleep-apnea-test
Typically they will have you do the homestudy first and depending on the results you may or may not need to do the in-hospital study and then the sleep latency test the following day, also in the hospital this is all to determine if you have narcolepsy or idiopathic hypersomnia. If the homestudy shows sleep apnea you will still need to meet with the doctor to determine next steps. But if the results results of the homestudy are inconclusive they really do need to do the whole shebang at the hospital overnight with all of the wires and monitors and contraptions because that’s how they measure your brain waves and everything else to see what’s really going on. And then if that’s not conclusive you have to take a series of naps.
I did all of that and was diagnosed with idiopathic hypersomnia, which is excessive daytime sleepiness with no known cause. What they do know is that I don’t sleep efficiently enough, I don’t get enough deep sleep. So my choices are either Nuvigil which is basically speed, and then if that doesn’t pep me up enough I could fight to get a narcolepsy medication which you take at night which theory would help me sleep more efficiently.
Were they able to set up a CPAP for you based on the results? I’m trying to get one without spending millions of dollars. Thanks!
An at-home sleep study will provide you with a prescription if diagnosed, so you would be able to use that to go get a CPAP machine.
I was diagnosed a few years ago with sleep apnea. Like many areas of health care this experience has been full of frustration. The sleep doctor suggested I start with an at home sleep test. Maybe because it was during COVID or maybe this is normal. Anyway the at home test wasn’t hard to take albeit a bit cumbersome. I was able to sleep okay despite the wire leads and the equipment needed for monitoring and recording the sleep data. Unfortunately after I returned the test to the hospital for analysis I was told it didn’t record anything. I know I did everything correctly but the nurse said this was not uncommon with the equipment they use. So next I had to wait for the doctor to order a sleep lab test done at the hospital and wait for COVID to end.
The sleep lab test involved a whole lot more leads all over my head, chest, back, etc. This plus the small bed I was forced to sleep on made it hard to sleep. Turning over was difficult and anytime I needed to use the bathroom, the technician had to come in and undo some of the wires and unplug from the machine recording the sleep data. The whole process meant I only got a few hours of sleep and even less of the deep REM sleep which is necessary to draw a full and accurate picture of my sleep. The bottom line is the doctor said I had mild sleep apnea but he suspected it was worse than that but because I didn’t get enough of the REM sleep he couldn’t say for sure. Insurance wouldn’t let me re-test.
The doctor did order me a CPAC machine and I had to go and order a mask to use with it. Long story short, I hated using the CPAP equipment The machine is loud, the mask is leaky, you wrestle with the mask and hose especially if you toss and turn like I do. The worst part is I didn’t feel any better when using it. I am considering having a custom dental appliance made at my expense (around $3 to $4 thousand dollars).
Everyone’s experience will vary but if you need a sleep test I’d start with the at-home test and hope it works. It’s just one night so it’s worth a shot. Good luck everyone.