Diagnosing sleep apnea is a vital step in returning you to full health. Every case of apnea is unique to the individual. Therefore, it is necessary to find out what exactly makes you tick and how your sleep is being affected by sleep apnea.
There are several diagnostic steps that can help determine the types of treatment that will fit your needs.
Sleep Screening
Here in our office, the first item of business in getting your sleep apnea addressed is a simple sleep screening.
A trained professional will sit down with you and ask several questions about your sleep history that are designed to pinpoint the causes and severity of the apnea case. These questions start in general terms. For example:
“Do you snore during sleep?”
“Do you find yourself sleeping restlessly?”
“Have you ever woken coughing or short of breath?”
From there, the questions will lead to more specific details about your sleep situation.
Using the information gathered in this questionnaire, we will then move on to the next phase of diagnosis: the sleep study.
Sleep Study
Standard sleep studies come in two general forms: the nocturnal polysomnography and the home sleep test.
Nocturnal Polysomnography| This test takes place in a comfortable overnight lab situation. As you sleep, you will be monitored for your sleep levels of heart, lung, and brain activity. You will also be tested for breathing patterns, arm and leg movements, and blood oxygen levels while you sleep.
Home Sleep Tests| Our office provides a simplified test which measures many of these same parameters. This test can be administered in the comfort of your own home, where you can sleep in conditions that are most familiar and comfortable for you.
The variables being measured in either version of a sleep test are meant to determine when—or if—you enter deep sleep and REM sleep, how long you stay there, how frequently you wake up during the night, and what your biorhythms are doing along the way.
Test Analysis
After you take the home sleep test and provide answers to the sleep screening, we send those results off to a certified sleep specialist to determine what the results indicate.
The sleep specialist will examine the biorhythmic data and establish the cause of any sleep problems discovered. This diagnosis comes back to our office with details on your specific sleeping patterns and treatment needs.
Developing a Plan
Once we receive the test results from the sleep specialist or the records of your previous diagnosis, if you have had one, we can begin to decide exactly which types of sleep apnea treatment will be right for you.
With so many treatment options available, we’ll be able to build a plan that specifically treats your case of apnea and suits your needs.
Talk to Us About Sleep Apnea Diagnosis
If you believe that you—or one of your loved ones— may be suffering from sleep apnea, don’t hesitate to contact us. We’ll gladly set up a screening session and send you home with a sleep study test in order to gather the data we need to diagnose and treat your sleep disorder.