Sleep study success and horror stories

[Sluggish]

Been on CPAP (apap) over a year and still feel terrible about 95% of the time. I've never done a full sleep study at a facility.
All of my local sleep study clinics have 3 star Yelp reviews. As we all know, there are no refunds in the medical industry no matter how shotty the work or how bad the experience.
My experience with sleep apnea and all the doctors or "professionals" I've seen so far has been a unsavory mix of guesswork and misinformation. The same people have suggested a full sleep study which will cost me over $1000 and is of course non-refundable. I believe once again, this suggestion is coming simply from a place of "we don't know what to do so lets try this". I don't need to pay professionals to guess when I can do that myself and my guesses tend to be more accurate anyway since I am the one with the issues.

My questions are for those who have had full sleep studies done at a facility....and mainly for those who had to pay out-of-pocket or have large annual deductibles like me.

Was it worth the money?? Did you actually learn anything new and useful? Did you walk away with any new and valuable insight? Did the information gathered actually help you sleep? Did you feel like it was an accurate snapshot of your typical night or did you have trouble sleeping in the "lab" and hence have a skewed study?? Overall was it a satisfying experience and worth the $$$?

I can video tape myself sleep to watch my legs for less than $50. I can get a used apple watch to monitor my pulse rate. I already know my o2 levels are out of whack from the at home apnea test. What exactly can I hope to gain from my $1000 sleep study??

I welcome both success and horror stories. And for those who only had a $20 co-pay, would you have paid $1000+ for that??

[babydinosnoreless]

I had a zero copay. My two sleep studies, both the original and the tritiation were fully paid for by insurance. I didn't sleep hardly at all, the pressure they came up with was wrong and the reports contradict themselves in several spots. The only good thing was that I knew I needed a bilevel right from the start so I didn't get the wrong machine.

[Sluggish]

I had a zero copay. My two sleep studies, both the original and the tritiation were fully paid for by insurance. I didn't sleep hardly at all, the pressure they came up with was wrong and the reports contradict themselves in several spots. The only good thing was that I knew I needed a bilevel right from the start so I didn't get the wrong machine.

Perfect. And thank you. I tend to see more of these types of examples than success stories. Hence my reluctance.
I realize the question is a bit subjective and perhaps I’d be more willing to throw down the $$$ if I wasn’t living paycheck to paycheck.

[Pugsy]

I think you are hoping that having an in lab sleep study will tell you why you don't sleep so good.
Now it might confirm that you don't sleep so great (but you already know that don't you?) but it can't always tell us why we aren't sleeping so great.
Now it might show that your poor sleep is related to some sort of respiratory thing going on...and it might not.
It might show that you had a spontaneous arousal (or a lot of them) that is unrelated to breathing...but it won't/can't tell you what it might be related to.
It might show arousals related to limb movement...and it might not.

It might confirm that your sleep is crappy but there's no guarantee that it will tell you why your sleep is crappy.
Docs that want to do another sleep study when people aren't feeling so great....they are just going on a fishing expedition and hoping they catch something.

[babydinosnoreless]

I had a zero copay. My two sleep studies, both the original and the tritiation were fully paid for by insurance. I didn't sleep hardly at all, the pressure they came up with was wrong and the reports contradict themselves in several spots. The only good thing was that I knew I needed a bilevel right from the start so I didn't get the wrong machine.

Perfect. And thank you. I tend to see more of these types of examples than success stories. Hence my reluctance.
I realize the question is a bit subjective and perhaps I’d be more willing to throw down the $$$ if I wasn’t living paycheck to paycheck.

I get it. This stuff is expensive. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't do it again unless I had a bad health issue (i.e. heart problems, lung problems ) that would need doctor supervision and input.

[Miss Emerita]

You can order a kit for an at-home polysomnogram for around $300, though I have no idea whether this would turn out to have hidden costs or some highish degree of unreliability.

But before you consider that, you might want to ask yourself whether you have yet tried following all the advice you’ve received from this community, and whether you’ve followed it consistently for a reasonable period of time.

Also, as I recall, you often work until around 10 p.m. and then try to go to sleep a couple of hours later. That right there would not be optimal for most people. Can you leave more time between the end of work and your bedtime? Start and end work earlier?

And have you followed all the “sleep hygiene” recommendations that can be easily found on the web? They may seem kind of mickey mouse, but they do actually help a whole lot of people. I used to think I was somehow exempt from them, but I finally made the recommended changes and they helped. Not right away, but within a month or two.

I have tremendous sympathy for you, and I hope that you will find a way to have better sleep. A test might lead to an “aha!” revelation, but there is a real chance it won’t. Maybe try the cost-free stuff first?

[Sluggish]

You can order a kit for an at-home polysomnogram for around $300, though I have no idea whether this would turn out to have hidden costs or some highish degree of unreliability.

But before you consider that, you might want to ask yourself whether you have yet tried following all the advice you’ve received from this community, and whether you’ve followed it consistently for a reasonable period of time.

Also, as I recall, you often work until around 10 p.m. and then try to go to sleep a couple of hours later. That right there would not be optimal for most people. Can you leave more time between the end of work and your bedtime? Start and end work earlier?

And have you followed all the “sleep hygiene” recommendations that can be easily found on the web? They may seem kind of mickey mouse, but they do actually help a whole lot of people. I used to think I was somehow exempt from them, but I finally made the recommended changes and they helped. Not right away, but within a month or two.

I have tremendous sympathy for you, and I hope that you will find a way to have better sleep. A test might lead to an “aha!” revelation, but there is a real chance it won’t. Maybe try the cost-free stuff first?

Thanks! I’m not sure I’ve tried absolutely everything. It’s hard to recall. I do know that I have yet to try a full face mask. I’m eyeballing the Resmed one with memory foam and diffused exhaust (the f20 I believe it’s called). Currently I can’t really afford it and if being honest am probably a bit reluctant for other reasons. I struggle with the psychological hurdles of having to start all over and “adjust” to the new mask. Especially since I’ve had enough leak free nights with the P10 to know that It can be done with the mask I have.

Sleep hygiene... I work 4-10pm every night. It was suggested in another post that going to bed at 2-3am probably isn’t great. I am now trying to force (acclimate?) myself to bed by midnight in an effort to establish a more normal sleep schedule. I could work earlier shifts but ironically I asked for this schedule after struggling with daytime shifts due to poor sleep. This schedule allows me to nap daily from about noon-2:30pm which makes work a bit more bearable.

[Sluggish]

I think you are hoping that having an in lab sleep study will tell you why you don't sleep so good.
Now it might confirm that you don't sleep so great (but you already know that don't you?) but it can't always tell us why we aren't sleeping so great.
Now it might show that your poor sleep is related to some sort of respiratory thing going on...and it might not.
It might show that you had a spontaneous arousal (or a lot of them) that is unrelated to breathing...but it won't/can't tell you what it might be related to.
It might show arousals related to limb movement...and it might not.

It might confirm that your sleep is crappy but there's no guarantee that it will tell you why your sleep is crappy.
Docs that want to do another sleep study when people aren't feeling so great....they are just going on a fishing expedition and hoping they catch something.

Agreed.
It seems like it's hit and miss..... but mostly miss.
Considering about 58% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, a $2000 study is well out of reach for the majority of us. For me I have a $1000 deductible but it still seems not worth it.

[jwesbrooks]

I was lucky in that the sleep studies I had done ( a week apart) was paid for by insurance. I was only out $50 deductible for sleep study and $50 deductible for Resmed 10 machine. The 1st study showed I had major issues ( which I had no idea) and 2nd sleep study hooked up to a cpac machine determined the best settings for me. It took me about 2 weeks to get use to it (cpac) but now I wish I had had it tested long ago. I sleep great! and feel alot better ....forgot what great sleep was like.
I find it best to eat no later than 630 or 7pm and go to bed about 10 pm. I get anywhere from 6.5 to 7.5 hours of sleep.

[chunkyfrog]

My sleep studies were both held just after the first of the year, so my deductible was satisfied early,
And my supplies were well covered for the remainder of the year.
After that year, I found that shopping at cpap.com was better and cheaper
than dealing with DMEs and BCBS--both as crooked as witch fingers.

[Woody]

The sleep lab wanted to verify my insurance and coinusuance would pay so had to check and call me back.
Well a week or so later they called back and needed my insurance information again. Then a week later
they called and needed my insurance info again then they finaly said at long last it was ok ! The day of
the test for some reason I was having some muscle cramps in one leg and hand. Well I get to the hospital
where the sleep lab was and watch 2 winos combine change to get a bottle while some homeless man is
pounding on my car window ! So check in at the front desk and guess what no record of approving my
coinsurance and that would be a $270 copay up front. I finale got that cleared up and went to the lab.
After connecting 90% of the wires the teck. discovers something is wrong and has to start over. Because
of my leg cramps I didn't sleep all that well. Right when I was leaving I asked the teck how long they had
been doing this , the answer was priceless something like " I have been doing this over 12 years, you know
I think I may have sleap apnea too ! I then asked why not get tested ? She reply's my insurance won't pay for it ! "
And I thought my previous test when one of the bed slats fell out was bad .

[Sluggish]

The sleep lab wanted to verify my insurance and coinusuance would pay so had to check and call me back.
Well a week or so later they called back and needed my insurance information again. Then a week later
they called and needed my insurance info again then they finaly said at long last it was ok ! The day of
the test for some reason I was having some muscle cramps in one leg and hand. Well I get to the hospital
where the sleep lab was and watch 2 winos combine change to get a bottle while some homeless man is
pounding on my car window ! So check in at the front desk and guess what no record of approving my
coinsurance and that would be a $270 copay up front. I finale got that cleared up and went to the lab.
After connecting 90% of the wires the teck. discovers something is wrong and has to start over. Because
of my leg cramps I didn't sleep all that well. Right when I was leaving I asked the teck how long they had
been doing this , the answer was priceless something like " I have been doing this over 12 years, you know
I think I may have sleap apnea too ! I then asked why not get tested ? She reply's my insurance won't pay for it ! "
And I thought my previous test when one of the bed slats fell out was bad .

Now that’s a horror story for sure!