HOW IS SLEEP APNEA DIAGNOSED

[Guest guest]

Came across this site on sleep apnea and how it is diagnosed. Thing that stood out to me was it talks about how someone that takes 10 to 20 minutes to fall asleep won't have a problem with sleep and need treatment, but those that take less then 5 minutes to fall asleep will need some kind of treatment for sleep. Fred always took less then 5 minutes and was DX with Sleep Apnea.

TakeCare

Vera

Sleep Apnea diagnosis

HOW IS SLEEP APNEA DIAGNOSED? In addition to the primary care physician, pulmonologists, neurologists, or other physicians with specialty training in sleep disorders may be involved in making a definitive diagnosis and initiating treatment. Diagnosis of sleep apnea is not simple because there can be many different reasons for disturbed sleep. Several tests are available for evaluating a person for sleep apnea. Polysomnography is a test that records a variety of body functions during sleep, such as the electrical activity of the brain, eye movement, muscle activity, heart rate, respiratory effort, air flow, and blood oxygen levels. These tests are used both to diagnose sleep apnea and to determine its severity. The Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) measures the speed of falling asleep. In this test, patients are given several opportunities to fall asleep during the course of a day when they would normally be awake. For each opportunity, time to fall asleep is measured. People without sleep problems usually take an average of 10 to 20 minutes to fall asleep. Individuals who fall asleep in less than 5 minutes are likely to require some treatment for sleep disorders. The MSLT may be useful to measure the degree of excessive daytime sleepiness and to rule out other types of sleep disorders. Diagnostic tests usually are performed in a sleep center, but new technology may allow some sleep studies to be conducted in the patient's home.

[Guest guest]

Vera,

I think it depends. Before starting use of CPAP that was also true for me. But I now after years of continual sleep problems, I often FEAR sleep. If my symptoms are more pronounced, my sleep problems deepen. If not, I sleep like a log. Just depends.

Regards,

=jbf=

B. Fisher