Question:
I was told I need to complete the second part of my sleep study for CPAP citration.

I got this message late Friday afternoon and did not get to talk to dr. Can anyone tell me about this? Could I possibly have sleep apnea? Any info will be helpful.    — rmsh78 (posted on August 11, 2002)

August 11, 2002
Actually the term is "titration". Usually if you're to the point of having your cpap titrated, that means they want to see at what level of air pressure you stop having apneac events. When I had my cpap it was titrated to a "6", which is considered low. But it was enough pressure to keep my airway open. So, I would say that yes, you've been dxed with sleep apnea and the doc now needs to set the air pressure to your particular needs. Oh, my sleep apnea is GONE now that I have lost 69 lbs. Actually it was gone after about the first 35 lb. weight loss. Hugs, Joy
   — [Deactivated Member]

August 11, 2002
When i was diagnosed with sleep apnea, I had to do my study in two parts also. My insurance wouldn't pay unless I had a specific number of "events" in a 4 hour period. Because it took me awhile to get to sleep, the technician was unable to connect me to a cpap machine the first go around. The second time, I had already been diagnosed with sleep apnea, and they needed to adjust (titrate) the machine to insure I was getting enough air to keep my breathing passages open. CPAP machines are programmable (only by a physician or assistant; it's like a prescription). The settings are 1 to 22; 22 being the highest. I had mine set at 14.0. Now that I've lost about 40 pounds, I also find I don't need the machine as much.
   — John P.

August 12, 2002
A sleep study is usually done as a "split-night" study - which means they want you to sleep half the night without the CPAP device and the other half WITH a CPAP device. They can monitor you on the CPAP to adjust or "titrate" your CPAP pressure so that it is at an optimal level to alleviate your symptoms. If the lab couldn't get enough raw data on you for the first half of the night, then that might be why they didn't wake you to put on the CPAP - either that or they screwed up (it's happened to several of our patients) and "forgot" to put you on the CPAP. If you can find a company who rents "auto-adjust" CPAP machines, you could have the titration study done in your home - you just use the CPAP for 4-5 days, then they take it back to their office and download the results - it will tell the Dr. what your CPAP pressure needs to be. We get orders to do titration studies on patients all the time - we do them free of charge as a favor to the ordering physician's office. Good Luck!
   — Kim A.