Initially diagnosed with OSA then told I do not have it

[Billymadison420]

Hey folks. I'm sure you all remember me

Hanging in there.

Around a year ago I was diagnosed with sleep apnea from a home sleep study test that was a pulse oximeter. It showed I had an AHI of 21. When I had a follow-up PSG with CPAP titration they got my AHI done to three. It showed that I had obstructive sleep apnea as well.

When I did a PSG this year it showed basically no sleep apnea whatsoever. I was told I could stop using my CPAP and I have not been using it. I can't tell you if I am more tired because of that or because of existing issues with idiopathic hypersomnia.

I messaged to my doc the other day and asked him if it could hurt anything to try the CPAP again and he said you're welcome to try to see if it helps.

So either the initial test was faulty and I never had obstructive sleep apnea, or it was just a weird night? Any thoughts?

[ChicagoGranny]

You were last using a pressure of 12.0 CPAP. Set it to 8.0 and look at your AHI tomorrow.

[Billymadison420]

You were last using a pressure of 12.0 CPAP. Set it to 8.0 and look at your AHI tomorrow.

Will do. thx!

[kteague]

I am curious about the test that showed no sleep apnea. Do you happen to have or can you get a copy of those tests results?

#1 Was there enough sleep time recorded to have a good representative sample of your usual nights?
#2 Did you get a good chunk of REM sleep? OSA is often worse during REM stage.
#3 Were any limb movements reported on the study? Arousals from limb movements can preempt impending apneas and thus record fewer apneas than one might have when the limb movements are not active.
#4 Any chance you were on a sedating medication on the first test but not the 2nd, or lost a lot of weight between the tests? Inexplicably stopping having sleep apnea isn't usual.

Idiopathic hypersomnia - I would be hesitant to accept there is no answer to be known unless I was satisfied that everything within reason had been investigated. Have you been assessed for narcolepsy? One thing my doctor did was order an overnight lab study with me using my machine at its proven effective pressure all night. That could be revelatory in your situation. Took me a while and a change of doctors for one to see the value in that.

Best wishes finding answers. I'll chack back in a few days and see if you've responded.