Frustrated. Considering Lofta sleep study

Hi all,

I’m a 53 year old woman with probable sleep apnea. Two weeks ago, I turned in my sleep study kit to a local hospital-affiliated sleep center in NM, as instructed. They said I should call in 2 weeks. So I called yesterday... and was told it would be another *month* before I’d have my study results, & that six weeks is their usual turnaround time. I also was diagnosed with iron deficiency a week ago and no one’s called me to follow up about a prescription for iron supplementation. I’ve called three times and left messages. AAARGH.

Maybe I’m being unreasonable, but I really feel terrible. I sat on the couch and cried yesterday. I’m wearing a Wellue SpO2 device at night and my O2 levels look like a random sawtooth, dropping as low as 78%. I am not performing well at work. Four weeks feels like an eternity.

The CNP I’m working with already told me I likely have apnea. She even recommended I study this site for advice on getting used to a machine. She did not tell me that I’d wait over a month for diagnosis! I’m just at the end of my rope.

I’m thinking of doing Lofta - I have the resources to pay cash - because I feel desperate. I think it will be faster turnaround. I’ll share the findings with the local sleep center - I don’t want to fire them & I like the idea of having someone locally who knows my history. I’m just so sick and tired of feeling like I’m permanently jet lagged.

Thoughts?

This sounds so frustrating! Nurse practitioners can write prescriptions for CPAP machines, so you might try asking yours if she would do that for you, even in advance of getting the study from the sleep center.

It would probably help if you could tell her more about your night-time O2 sats. How much of the time would you estimate you're below 90?

It might also be persuasive (if it's true) to say you're afraid you'll lose your job soon if you can't get more sleep and perform better.

At the very least, could the CNP herself contact to sleep center to request a much quicker turnaround?

I just looked at the Lofta web site, and I don't see any information about their turnaround time. You would need to factor in the time for the kit to be mailed to you and for you to mail the kit back.

Miss Emerita,

Thank you for getting back to me. Normally I'm a very patient person but I'm sleep deprived, depressed, and generally miserable. I'm sure you understand.

The CNP is my provider at the sleep clinic. She's really nice but I think she's overloaded, and apparently the sleep center requires a board-certified sleep physician review before she can issue the prescription. ACK.

Last night...

• I was asleep for 7 hours.
  I spent 56 minutes under 90%.
  Looking over my Wellue records, I usually spend between 45 and 90 minutes under 90%.

I have no idea how that compares with others. My daytime O2 sats are fine, 95-100%. I don't think it's asthma or my lungs, since this only seems to happen at night.


Thank you so much!

I sure do understand.

Your O2 sats call for a quick response. Does the CNP have the information you gave us here? Could she use it to get your sleep-doc review expedited? I would pester her about this. You are spending way too much of the night without adequate oxygen.

Do you have a primary-care physician? He or she can also write a prescription. You could explain your sense of urgency and the sluggish response of the sleep center. Ditto for your dentist, who can also write a prescription.

Keep us posted. Given what you've just told us, I'd say if you strike out again with the CNP, and also your primary care physician and your dentist, Lofta is a reasonable way to go.

When you get within hailing distance of a machine, please feel free to share information from your sleep study. We might be able to make some recommendations about the machine that would work best for you.

Yeah, I've sent everything to our local sleep center, messaged my providers, etc., etc. Crickets. New Mexico suffers from a lack of medical personnel and everyone's overwhelmed right now.

Yesterday I took the plunge and called Lofta. I talked to a sleep coach, explained what was going on, and purchased the home test. This morning I had a telemedicine appointment with one of their contracted sleep doctors. I'll have the test this evening, and if I wear it tonight and upload the results tomorrow, they'll have a report for me by Monday. If my test is positive, they'll issue the prescription and work with Lofta to get the right PAP to me by Friday. WOOT!

Since I'm a self-payer, I can pick whatever machine I want. Assuming I don't need an ASV, I'm keen on the ResMed AutoSet for Her - I've been reading up on different options and that seems like a nice machine. One of the nurses at our local sleep center has one and she says it's great.

In the meantime I'll just try to stay breathing. Last night I slept sitting nearly straight up on a pile of pillows, on my side. It really helped; I only spent 15 minutes under 90%. Then again, I was awake for much of the evening, so who knows.

Thanks for the virtual shoulder.

Laura

LauraElizabeth wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 12, 2021 12:46 pm

Since I'm a self-payer, I can pick whatever machine I want. Assuming I don't need an ASV, I'm keen on the ResMed AutoSet for Her - I've been reading up on different options and that seems like a nice machine. One of the nurses at our local sleep center has one and she says it's great.

hell of a machine and you won't get much argument against it here.

good luck to you on your cpap journey!

Oh bravissima! I'm so glad to hear you've taken matters into your own hands. This is important for your health. And yes, unless you very definitely need a bilevel machine or an ASV, the ResMed Airsense 10 Autoset for Her would get the votes of many people on this forum.

Let us know how it goes, would you?

I will indeed. Thanks for the encouragement.

Update: Got my Lofta results this morning, 3 days turnaround.

AHI of 20, though that was one of my very good SpO2 nights, and I bet that AHI is actually higher on my bad nights.

I immediately ordered a ResMed AutoSense for Her and an N20 memory foam nasal mask. The Lofta ‘sleep coach’ uses that mask and says he’s really liked it, but he also warned me that masks are pretty individual I went ahead & signed up for the ‘RightStart’ coaching, too. That gives me direct support with an RT who’ll read the data and help me get adjusted. Also gives me free mask exchanges for 60 days, I think??? Something like that.

THANK YOU ALL for being so encouraging! I’m so excited about not being hypoxic all night long!

Congratulations on being so proactive and for getting your machine ordered...that is a great one! It allows you to choose your mode, straight CPAP (single pressure), APAP (adjustable pressure), or APAP for her (adustable pressure with a slightly different response algorithm and not just for women!).

Your sleep coach is right, mask choice IS individual and it can take a while to find one that works. Some people are fortunate and find one right away. I hope this will be you, but don't be discouraged if it is not. You are highly motivated, as evidenced so far, so I have no doubt you will find a mask that works well for you.

I got my travel machine from Lofta and am pleased with the machine and with service I received. I will say, after about a year, I contacted Lofta to try to get my preferred mask and was told they refuse to carry it because "OUR customers won't want to use a mask like that." Something to keep in mind if you do end up trying multiple masks without a great deal of success (I went through about 15-20 during my first 15 months, trying some multiple times, before finally finding my mask of choice).

Please continue to let us know how you get on!

I’m actually really interested in the Bleep, myself. I’ve been lurking on the boards and the reviews seem very positive.

I am motivated. I’m so tired of feeling terrible.

Keep us updated, Laura. I've also been told I'll have to wait 8 weeks to get a sleep study and am considering paying out of pocket to get one sooner.

If this works out for you, I may follow your path.

So far I’m pretty pleased; the WatchPAT test is a couple hundred bucks and Lofta turned it around in 3 working days.

The downside is that the HSAT won’t catch other sleep issues (narcolepsy, for example).

YOU GUYS! My ResMed AirSense AutoSet for her arrived from Lofta afternoon! I’m using it now, in fact. I figured I might as well get used to it! So far it isn’t bad, reminds me a bit of scuba.

I’ve set my minimum pressure to 5 and the max to 20. I’m thinking I’ll gradually ramp up the pressure as I get used to the whole thing.

Definitely will have to tape my mouth closed - I can tell already.

Oh wow I’m so happy.

LauraElizabeth wrote: ↑

Wed Feb 17, 2021 7:47 pm

YOU GUYS! My ResMed AirSense AutoSet for her arrived from Lofta afternoon! I’m using it now, in fact. I figured I might as well get used to it! So far it isn’t bad, reminds me a bit of scuba.

I’ve set my minimum pressure to 5 and the max to 20. I’m thinking I’ll gradually ramp up the pressure as I get used to the whole thing.

Definitely will have to tape my mouth closed - I can tell already.

Oh wow I’m so happy.

YAY, wonderful news! (throwing confetti and clapping hands for you) I hope you have a great first night. Good for you getting a head start on getting used to it. Can't wait to hear tomorrow about your first night. (Do you have an SD card in your machine and OSCAR downloaded yet?)