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Sleep Lab Results

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Yaro +0 points · over 2 years ago Original Poster

After my first 5 months on CPAP the doctor wanted me to spend a night in a sleep lab, which I did. Up to this point, all communication with the doctor and the CPAP clinician has been by phone. My upcoming phone appointment with the doctor will be over a month after the sleep study. I am in BC Canada and wondering if it would be appropriate for me to request the data from the sleep study while waiting to speak to the doctor?

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Sierra +0 points · over 2 years ago Sleep Patron

Yes, for sure you should ask for the report. You will need that along with a doctor's prescription (could be your GP) if you want to buy a CPAP at an on line store. I recall there is a Canadian supreme court decision that determined medical information rightfully belongs to the patient, not the doctor or medical system. They may ask you to put the request in writing and ask you to pay for the cost of making a copy of it. I never paid for my copy though in Alberta and they just handed me a copy. I bought my CPAP on line for 1/3 the price that the sleep clinic wanted for it.

You may get as much or more information about how you are doing by downloading a free software CPAP data viewing program called OSCAR. It will display very detailed graphs on what is happening from second to second during the night. It is the best indication of how well your CPAP is working for you, and if anything can be improved.

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Yaro +0 points · over 2 years ago Original Poster

Thanks! I already have the prescription and own my own CPAP machine. I just need to get an SD card and will check out Oscar. I just now discovered this forum and learned about Oscar.

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Sierra +0 points · over 2 years ago Sleep Patron

What kind of machine do you have? If it is a ResMed or Dreamstation the SD card should already be in the machine and may have 5 months of data on it, depending on the machine.

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Yaro +0 points · over 2 years ago Original Poster

It is a Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset but not brand new (had 160 hours on it when I got it) and came without a card.

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Sierra +0 points · over 2 years ago Sleep Patron

Well the good news is that A10 AutoSet records data, but obviously not without a card. They come with a 4 GB card which is hard to find now. A 16 GB is no problem, and possibly 32 is OK too.

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Yaro +0 points · over 2 years ago Original Poster

Thanks Sierra. I've got the report from the sleep lab now, turns out I just needed to ask for it.

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Yaro +0 points · over 2 years ago Original Poster

In the lab report, what does "spontaneous arousal index" mean?

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Sierra +0 points · over 2 years ago Sleep Patron

I believe the arousal index means the number of times per hour your sleep is disturbed enough to cause arousal. On a CPAP report viewed with OSCAR a RERA is probably a similar event. Fewer of course is better.

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