Do you have a sneaking suspicion that your nightly snoring, daytime tiredness, and morning headaches could be a sign of sleep apnea? If so, it’s important to get tested and receive a diagnosis right away. The sooner you begin CPAP therapy, the sooner you can start enjoying a good night’s sleep and an energized and refreshed day.
But many people find the testing process to be daunting. Typically, if you wanted to get tested for sleep apnea you would need to stay over night in a lab and have a doctor monitor your sleep patterns.
Few people look forward to this option and unfortunately, for some types of sleep apnea, a traditional lab test will be necessary. However, for most people, there are other options for getting tested.
Getting Tested for Sleep Apnea
If you’re considering being tested for sleep apnea, the odds are that you’ve been seeing signs of the condition for a while. Receiving therapy is an important step toward living a longer, healthier life. Let’s look at three ways you can get tested for sleep apnea:
Traditional lab test
During a lab test, you’ll spend the night in a sleep clinic. You’ll be hooked up to a device that will monitor your breathing, heart rate, lung and brain activity, blood oxygen levels, and bodily movements. This will let a doctor see what kind of sleep apnea you have.
Sometimes, a traditional lab test is the only way sleep apnea can be diagnosed. If your sleep apnea is a neurological issue related to Central Sleep Apnea, this requires a lab diagnosis.
However, Obstructive Sleep Apnea is caused by a physical blockage and is one of the more common types of sleep apnea. This can also be diagnosed by one of the two methods listed below.
Home sleep test (HST)
It’s common for sleep apnea patients to receive their initial diagnosis from a home sleep test. The biggest difference between the lab test and a home sleep test is that the latter will be conducted in the comfort of your home.
If your doctor agrees that a home sleep test is a good choice for you, they’ll write you a prescription for the home sleep test. Once you give the prescription to Easy Breathe, we’ll ship you the necessary equipment so that you can take the sleep test for 1-2 nights.
This simplified version will measure your breathing, heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and airflow. If you have sleep apnea, it should be evident from your testing results. Either way, Easy Breathe will forward the results from the HST to your doctor so that they can write you a prescription if needed.
We know how much more convenient home testing is for eligible patients. This is why Easy Breathe has made home sleep testing even more convenient with the Easy Sleep Apnea Test.
Easy Sleep Apnea Test (ESAT)
When you use an ESAT, you bypass the need to schedule an appointment to see your doctor as a doctor from Easy Breathe’s network of physicians will be writing the prescription for your Home Sleep Test. The process is simple: you just fill out a personal questionnaire on our website which will be reviewed by one of Easy Breathe’s doctors.
If our doctor sees a reason to move forward with the testing, they will write a prescription for the home sleep test. You’ll use the testing equipment for a few days then send it back for review. Our doctor will then review your test results and determine whether CPAP therapy is necessary.
A Few Final Thoughts
It’s important to keep in mind that a home sleep test is eligible for insurance coverage but the ESAT isn’t. This is because most insurance companies require a face-to-face consultation with a doctor to be eligible for coverage. If you want your primary care physician to write the prescription for a home sleep test, then it will be eligible for insurance coverage.
Hopefully, this article has shown you that getting tested for sleep apnea doesn’t have to be a long and frustrating process. There are a number of options available to you so there’s no reason to put off getting your best sleep for even one more night!
