False Negative

Approximately two months ago I had and "in-home" sleep study - which consisted of only a pulse oximeter attached to one of my fingers to monitor any drop in oxygen saturation. Not. Joking. Of course the result of that was negative. A false negative, which wasn't surprising. This is not an accurate measurement for sleep apnea, snoring, restless legs (in my case, restless body) or sleep talking, yet the insurance companies want to waste your time by doing something so simplistic (and wholly inaccurate). My guess is the insurance companies know this particular test is not indicative of, well, anything, and probably hope that a "negative" result will satisfy the physicians and patients and to not pursue further testing.

Not. This. Chica.

Having worked with one of the top physicians in sleep medicine, I learned a lot. Not only did I learn a lot from her, my current PCP and I have exhausted many other possible causes trying to figure out why I feel so tired and fatigued all the time so she ordered another sleep study.

I had hoped that the repeat parathyroidectomy would alleviate a lot of my symptoms - especially the depression - and am disappointed that, 6 months later, I still feel like crap.

On May 29th I had an "in-lab" sleep study where I spent the night in a sleep center wired from head to toe for sleep stages (multiple connections all over my scalp), sound and video recording, muscle movements (multiple connections to arms, legs and body), in addition to a pulse oximeter.

It was the. Night. From. Hell. I had a severely restless body so everytime I would settle and start to doze, my body would twitch, limbs would fly, and I flopped around on the bed. I eventually dozed off - then woke myself up because I was snoring so loud. The cycle continued.

Not surprising, the results came back that I do indeed have sleep apnea. (Ya don't say!?) Next week I will have a CPAP titration study (hooked up to a CPAP machine to determine the correct mask and settings to eliminate the apnea) and, like my dad, be a CPAPer.

Strangely, I am looking forward to this next test and have HIGH hopes that, like my dad, I will feel so much better!