There are some changes taking place in
sleep apnea testing. More people are being tested at home rather
than being tested in sleep study labs. This is sensible from a cost
standpoint and a reality in setting. Many people have strong
objections to having wires attached to their head and other places.
Then to sleep with an infrared camera watching them is often more
than some people will tolerate. Other procedures vary between sleep
labs.
“Lots of people are reluctant to
let a stranger watch them sleep,” said Dr. Michael Coppola, a
former president of the American Sleep Apnea Association who is now
the chief medical officer at NovaSom. NovaSom is the manufacturer of
a home sleep-test kit that promises to streamline the process. In
this blog, this will be the only one discussed. Other brands will be
in a future blog, as I am not recommending any one home testing
method. Read this blog in the NY Times about this home test.
Strict warnings come with home testing.
Using the home sleep apnea test is not recommended for those with
heart failure, emphysema, seizures, and a few other health
conditions. The home test does not record brain waves as a hospital
lab does. A home test can be fooled, but it is useful for many
people who exhibit the warning signs of sleep apnea.
Severe apnea can be lethal. By
starving the brain of oxygen all night quadruples the risk of stroke.
This is the reason to be tested. If you have sleep apnea, you will
often be given three alternatives. The first is lose weight, the
second is have airway surgery, and the third is sleep with a CPAP
(continuous positive airway pressure) machine.
Thank goodness, most sleep doctors do
not recommend surgery. For most people surgery seldom solves the
problem. If the surgery does not solve the problem, you cannot go
back and repair or replace what was removed, plus surgery can be sore
and irritating for several months. For some people losing weight
will take care of the sleep apnea problem. Most people need to use
the CPAP machine. If you use the CPAP and do lose the weight later,
then you may be able to stop using the CPAP machine. I would urge
talking with the sleep doctor before just stopping.
The NovaSom home testing kit requires
three consecutive nights. The device arrives by mail and is returned
by mail. You will wire it up yourself. A belt goes around your
chest, a finger is poked into a blood-oxygen sensor, and a breath
sensor is hooked over the ears and taped beneath the nose. Then each
is plugged into a box about the size if a computer modem that is
strapped to an arm.
Each morning, the device is plugged in
to recharge it and while recharging the night's data is sent to
NovaSom. After the three nights and a few days you will receive a
call from a doctor as NovaSom, at which time you will be given the
results of the test.
Sleep apnea is measured on the
apnea/hypopnea index, or how many time per hour a person stops or
nearly stops breathing for at least 10 seconds. The guidelines state
that below five times per hour is minimal, five to 15 is mild, 15 to
30 is moderate, and more than 30 is severe.
One word of caution, the people
promoting home test results may use statements to give you a false
sense of security. While it is true that your own home is a more
natural setting, claims that the home sleep apnea test kit is more
accurate is very questionable. They also claim that lab monitoring
creates false sleep scenarios.
From the two sleep studies I have had
done, the hospital was the best even though I was watched the entire
night. The other lab as not as comfortable, but it still proved I
suffered from sleep apnea.
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