In this part we will be looking at how sleep apnea is diagnosed.

Part 3 of 5 – Sleep Apnea Education series

Today, lets look at how sleep apnea is diagnosed from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.

How Is Sleep Apnea Diagnosed?

Doctors diagnose sleep apnea based on your medical and family histories, a physical exam, and results from sleep studies. Usually, your primary care doctor evaluates your symptoms first. He or she then decides whether you need to see a sleep specialist.

These specialists are doctors who diagnose and treat people with sleep problems. Such doctors include lung, nerve, or ear, nose, and throat specialists. Other types of doctors also can be sleep specialists.

That is how I finally came to my formal diagnosis.  I went to my primary doctor for chronic sinus infections which tend to compound my already bad snoring problems.  She then referred me to an ENT specialist who had me get a sinus CT scan.  Surprisingly, (to me at least) the Sinus CT scan came back 100% normal.  (I was anticipating sinus surgery.)  From there we discovered I had two issues instead of one.  Allergies causing sinus issues and possible sleep issues.

For the now unrelated snoring issues the ENT specialist signed me up for a sleep study.

Sleep Studies

A sleep study is the most accurate test for diagnosing sleep apnea. It captures what happens with your breathing while you sleep.

A sleep study is often done in a sleep center or sleep lab, which may be part of a hospital. You may stay overnight in the sleep center.

The sleep study was interesting and was something I was able to do right in Jamestown.  Consulted with a sleep specialist from Fargo and set up a date/time for an overnight study.  (She also ordered a thyroid blood test to check for issues there, but that came back normal.)  For the overnight stay, the staff was really friendly and helpful.  Got hooked up to something around a million sensors (ok not quite that many), read a book for a while, and then went to sleep.

Sometime during the night I met whatever the criteria is to try CPAP treatment.  They first tried a full face mask, but leaked too much air.  (Possibly because of my goatee.)  So switched to a nasal mask.  In the morning when unhooking me I was told I will get a diagnosis from the Dr, but I did seem to do better on air.

Short version of the what happened next is eventually the sleep Dr reviewed the results and prescribed CPAP treatment for my now diagnosed Obstructive Sleep Apnea.  (This happened after visiting the original ENT specialist who confirmed the diagnosis, but apparently I didn’t need to see.

See other Education articles on Hosehead Life.  (Including all 5 parts of this Sleep Apnea Education series.)