Does sleeping positions effect Apnea

[Guest]

To All,
I just got home from a sleep study in which they would not let me fall alseep or test me in my normal sleeping position. Here's the thing, I'm a stomach sleeper and I've always been under the impression that sleeping on your stomach can prevent your tongue from blocking your airway.

Last night in my sleep study I fell alseep on my stomach. They woke me up and told me to lay on my back and fall alseep in this postion. The tech said stomach sleepers get too many "false positives" for apnea events, because of the way the wires react to the pressure when you are on your stomach.

So it took me hours to fall asleep in that position. When I woke up they told me I was snoring loudly, and that I need to go back on CPAP. My wife says that I hardly sore at all now that I use the Silent Nite. Could it be this happened because I was sleeping on my back?

I'll get the full results of the study in two weeks, but my question here is this, shouldn't they have tested me in the postion I sleep in.

My wife thinks I should have walked out and refused to take the test, that the test is useless without info on how you do in your normal sleep position. Should I complain to the Dr, and ask for another sleep study FREE of charge?

Are the results of this test useless to me, without info on my apnea in the postion I sleep.
Rick

[sleep talker]

How is it that you agreed to a sleep test? Did you ask for one? Usually if a person is sleeping well (with your dental device) you would want to stay away from the sleep lab, and also doctors for that matter

[Guest]

I wanted to get "objective data" that my apnea was successfully treated with
1. The Pillar Implant
2. Nasal somnoplasty
3. Dental device-Silent Nite

So, it appears to me that I'll find out from the study, if I sleep on my back I'm still having events. I'll get the data in two weeks. It will be interesting to see what if any effect the procedures above changed my scores.

With that said, I called the sleep clinic and complained that I did not go in for a routine study to assess whether I have apena, we all knew that before the study. I went in for an assessment, to evaluate in my "normal" sleeping position, how I'm doing. I am asking the clinic for a "free" study, because they did not give me the assessement I asked. In fact they woke me up from sleeping when I fell alseep my stomach, telling me to roll onto my back.

Since they did tell me I'm still snoring, ( though my wife tells me I'm not), once again different results for different sleep positions, I am asking my dentist to take the Silent Nite to it's last adjustment, if I still snore in that position he will take it back and I'll try TAPII.

I'm curious why you said to avoid sleep clinics when you are feeling well.
Rick

[sleep talker]

In your case, I can now see why you'd want a test since you had surgery. I have not followed your previous posts. But normally a person would not go in if they had not gained or lost significant weight or had surgery and were sleeping well, in whatever position. I know I don't. It seemed strange when you reported that the lab was telling you to sleep in a certain postion when you sleep fine in another. But now I understand.

On the issue of re-testing, sleep breathing disorders and not diseases (they are disorders) and they don't normally progress or get worse if a person does not gain weight. I am a dental device supporter too. I think you are doing right to continue with that if you find the surgery was not sucessful.

[tutuuu]

i have had bad experience with sleep techs. they hooked me with same pressure when I had lost 20 pounds. zero apnea and 100% success treatment with the same test. the doc agrees that that was their mistake. This is bogus. Rick fight to the very bottom with these scumb bags to get the full refund back (even they will tell you that it is insurance company that is paying). I would kick their butt and get to scoff up all the money back. good luck.

[ozij]

For some people, sleep position definitely effects the number of apneas they have.
You'll find lots of info about positional sleep apnea here.

When the sleep tech says the equipment will be giving false positives, he means it will be reporting apneas, despite the fact that you don't actually have them. I have no idea if this is true or not, but if this guy know his business, and his equipment, you might not necessarily get the info you want - if you sleep on your stomach, and the equipment reports no apneas, that'll be great. If it does report apneas, you'll be no wiser, because apparently in this lab no one can tell if they are "real" apnea, or "false" ones, reported because the wire are twinged, and not becuase you stop breathing.

So you really need a sleep tech, or sleep lab, who can trust the measurements while you're on your stomach. This lab is basically saying they can't get you the info you need.

Your sleep study should have other info, though. Snoring is snoring. It is not necessarily apneas. Evryone who snores should be checked for OSA, but not everyone who snores has it. What was your oxygen level, on your back? What sleep stages did you have - if any? Those, combined with the way you feel and you wife's info, can help you decide if the device is doing its job.
Good luck
O.

[RickRed1]

tutuuu,
I did call the clinic to ask for another study, they had the Dr. look at the results. The only thing they said to me at this point was I did spend at least two hours sleeping on my stomach. So I'm OK with that I don't feel I need another study. They also said I averaged about 4 events per/hr, at this point I don't know if that his apnea, or hypoxia. Now that's a huge improvement from my last study when I averaged 18 events per hr. Remember I was NOT on CPAP, but testing the results from my Pillar and dental device. That does tick me off is that I have to wait 2 months before the Dr. can see me to discuss the results.

ozij
You are absolutely right when you say:

[MJL]

Have you considered using an autopap to assess how well you are doing with the pillars and dental device? I was thinking that if you set the pressure say at 4 or 5 and it stayed there all night while you were sleeping, then that would indicate things were doing well. You could also get a readout with the RemStar Smartcard to indicate any apnea events. Perhaps you could rent one for a week or two. Does anyone more knowledgeable than me think it would work?

[kjp]

Heres the deal with sleeping on your back. During a study a tech should allow you to initiate sleep in any position. The tech then should at some point during the study request that you do sleep on your back with the hope that you may stay in that position for 25 - 50% of the study. The reason for this is that for most people sleep apnea is most severe on your back and in REM which is why for some it is a positional disorder. When it comes to sleeping on your stomach (prone) it should be scored the same as in any other position even if the lab relys on computer scoring and therefore no confusion should arise as to if it is a true apneic event or not. I've been working in the sleep field for the last 5 years. 3 years as a tech and the last 2 running/scoring sleep studies.

[kjp]

If you really dont think you have apnea. As your doctor to order and overnight pulseox test. This is just a little box that you have at home for one night that monitors your oxygen saturation. Though not all apnea is followed by desats it will at least give you an idea as to whether or not you maintain an steady oxygen level.