Does split night study mean worse apnea?

[mwarn]

I had my sleep study done on Tuesday night, didn't know how it was ordered, but it ended up being a split night. I first slept on my stomach and was woke up maybe 2 hours later (guestimate as I have not idea what time it was) and told to sleep on my back. I fell back a sleep on my back and about a half hour later was (again guestimate) woke up to have a CPAP applied. When I was woke up after the study, I asked the tech, how long was it from when I was told to sleep on my back to when the CPAP was applied and was told, not long. I was told I would be contacted about getting a CPAP setup, so I know I qualified.

I have no results yet, but I'm thinking I might has positional apnea as there seemed to be no issue when I was on my stomach. I googled and searched the form, and it looks like a spit night is normally done if the AHI is >or = to 40 or whatever the lab specifications are. I'm waiting to see the doctor, but my question is, is a split night done when your apnea is worse? That's what I get out of the searches I have done. I didn't think my apnea would be that bad, but maybe it is.

Thanks in advance.

[Cardsfan]

Contact the Docter and get a copy of your sleep study results. Without those, you are just guessing.

[Pugsy]

No, being put on cpap for the second part of the night doesn't necessarily mean that the apnea is "worse".
Different sleep labs can have different criteria for meeting the requirements of being put on cpap the second part of the night.
All it means for you is that whatever requirements they have to start cpap...you met those requirements.

Conversely someone who doesn't meet the requirements for starting cpap doesn't mean much either.
Maybe they met the requirements late and there just wasn't enough time to do the titration.
That happened to me. I didn't meet the requirements until there just wasn't enough time left to do the titration and my OSA is classified as "severe" at least in REM sleep at 53 AHI.

So you really can't infer anything about severity just by the fact that they started you on cpap...it might be and it might not be...you just met whatever criteria that lab uses for starting cpap.

[Cardsfan]

I think you had 2 things going for you to get it all done in one night. You were able to get sleep, so they could get data. And,, you had a tech who was efficient and got it all done in one nite.

[Guest]

The split-night really saves you from having to return for another uncomfortable nite and another bill to you or your insurance. But first it has to be ordered by your doc.

I would say you did have a sharp doc & tech who took care of you - it has nothing to do with severity. But I would request a copy of your results too - often have the techs notes available also.

[Goofproof]

I think it comes down to Billing, more than need, they are going to go with whatever they can make the most profit from, most things in life, "Follow The Money"! Jim

[jnk...]

With simple OSA and a person who fulfills insurance requirements for trying PAP early in the night, it makes perfect sense to titrate right away.

In a sense, yeah, those of us with moderate-to-severe OSA are probably more likely to meet that criteria early in the night, so the basic answer to your question could be considered "yes" on that level. But on the deeper level that your question seems to be, it isn't a bad sign or anything.

It is best to be tested on one's back, even if that makes the problem appear to be worse, since a person needs to be able to breathe on his or her back. Even when a patient believes he or she is not a back sleeper, experience has shown that people usually end up on their backs at some point on some night eventually. For example, an injury one day, or a hospital stay, could require back sleeping for a time at some point in the future. That is one of the reasons that a person really needs to be titrated for back sleeping in order to be considered properly and completely titrated.

[chunkyfrog]

My doctor approved a split night, but the lab said, "You did not have enough events during the first half".
I suspect the lab drew their line high in order to do that $econd $leep $tudy.
Hmmm, I wonder why?

[D.H.]

It depends on your doctor orders and what your insurance will pay for. In 1999, my sleep doc ordered a baseline (which included a daytime Narcolepsy test the next morning), an initial titration, and an eight week follow-up. I don't think that any insurance would agree to this anymore (those were the good old days).

In some cases, they might determine that it is unsafe for you to sleep without CPAP, no matter what kind of study was initially ordered. In that case, they would presumably send you home with a loaner until you got your machine.

[Gryphon]

Some of it can depend on the company/clinic doing the testing. I can imagine there are places that will drag it out no mater what the results so they can make more money. Then again I can see that going the other way as well. Going in with the expectation of having two nights and having them do it in one doesn't necessarily mean your apnea would be really bad or "hard to treat" but maybe that it was "Obvious to track and detect" I imagine if they hook you up and very quickly you start showing classic signs of apnea that it makes sense to move on and start treating it then and there.


When they did mine it was kind if up in the air. My understanding was that I could sleep all night and get the results and come back for a follow up titration study but if my apnea was bad enough they'd stop the testing portion and just start me on cpap. Well when I hit REM my Oxygen stats dropped down in to the 50's and they came and woke me up. Set me up right away on the machine. The sleep lab tech was like "Get to know this machine. It's going to be your life long friend" I still remember the odd feeling I had that morning. They woke me up so early I thought they were crazy. But I put my feet on the floor and looked around the room and I felt so odd. It was like I was awake/alive for the first time in over 10 years or more. I was thinking in my head "is this what normal people feel when they wake up?"

I learned real fast that I was going to have to take responsibility for my own treatment. I needed to own it as it was my life and no one would care more about the finer points of my treatment then my self. I did a lot of research online and managed to learn a lot from this forum as well. With that information I helped 3 other members of my family and my father specifically. IE: mouth breather and they had him on a nose only mask as one example.

I wouldn't worry too much about what a split night study means but I would make sure you get copies of all your records and your test results.
Wish you the best of luck!

Gryphon