What is the purpose of a sleep study for someone that snores?
by Author on Saturday, May 29th, 2010 | 3 Comments
(my husband, son, daughter even my dog snores.) the dr wants my husband to go for a sleep study. he doesn't have sleep apnea, because he never stops breathing when he's snoring, it's constant. my husband is scared to death and flat out refuses to go. I asked the doctor what they do IF sleep apnea is found and he said the person wears some kind of a device on their face, which upset my husband even greater than he all ready was.
I'm really confused as to why the Dr would want to put a patient through a sleep study, when the snoring doesn't bother him or me, he doesn't stop breathing in his sleep, and neither one of us is complaining about it.
Related How To Stop Snoring Sites
- Sleep apnea can be serious health problems | Snoring Health
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- Lack of sleep dangerous, study finds at vitrolenta.com
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A sleep study is an easy test. You just sleep with some wires on. These include an EEG, EKG and an EMG. There is a snore mike and air flow sensor. The test will see if his oxygen level drops while sleeping. Most people who snore do not realize they stop breathing. I did not. If he has sleep apnea, the most common treatment is cpap. It is a machine that has a mask over the nose. It pumps air (not oxygen) at a certain pressure to hold the airway open and prevent the airway collapse. Snoring is a symptom not he disease. There are other treatments such as dental devices, surgery, weight loss (if a problem), etc. The over the counter stuff does not work for OSA.
As I said snoring is a symptom of OSA (sleep apnea). Sleep apnea has several side effects which include high blood pressure, strokes, death from stopping breathing, car accidents from falling asleep at the wheel, excessive daytime sleepiness, morning headaches. It is a serious disease.
It is only one night. See what the results are and then discuss the treatment. CPAP saved my life. I have been an user for 9 years. I feel great. I wish a doctor would have pushed my for a test earlier.
http://www.sleepapnea.org/resources/brochure.html
http://www.sleepnet.com
You have no idea whether his breathing stops or not and neither does your husband. Often breathing cessation is very hard to detect and requires a trained technician to pick it up. The fact that it doesn’t bother you or him (visibly) is not relevant either. I had a sleep study a few weeks ago and it’s no big deal; just like sleeping in a hotel room. I’d be far more scared of dental cleanings than a sleep study. I now have that mask you mention — that and only that is the only part of the whole thing that annoys me, simply because it’s hard to get used to the mask.
But sleep apnea, untreated, can cause diabetes, heart attack and a hot of other things
Hi there,
The mask the doctor talks about is from a breathing machine (CPAP machine) which pumps oxygen through your body. This is not an instant cure, nor is it a short term solution to snoring. This is something that has to be worn for the rest of his life.
Its very expensive and there’s no guarantee that its the right thing for your husband and that it’ll even work for him.
Snoring can decrease the quality of sleep the "snorer" gets. They may not even notice it’s related at all. But if your energy levels are strained by sleep deprivation, it takes its toll on you and can effect your health in the future.
You’d be suprised what can be the source of snoring. It could even be down to a simple meal or two that your husband eats often enough to stay in his system to cause the snoring.
Or it could be allergies. Oh, there are tons of causes, and of course tons of reasons why he would benefit from stopping snoring. Its not just sleep apnea that would’ve been a problem (if he had it).
If you are interested, there is a great resource that I have used myself (as I used to snore my husband into the spare room – but no longer do (thank the Lord))
You can check it out here:
http://www.healing-disease.com/snoring-problems
I hope this helps you guys.
All the best.