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Comment by searchableguy | Hacker News Reader

Many advice trying a CPAP device first instead of going for a sleep study if you suspect apnea for this exact reason. The sleep tests are expensive and often not accurate.

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There are at home sleep tests. Basically a wristband that measures your sleep. Then you take it back to the clinic and they read the results. I don't remember how much it was but it wasn't too much.

The problem is that CPAP really sucks, and if you're more on the UARS side(arousals over apneas and hypopneas), or have poor nasal breathing, it's likely to disrupt your sleep more than it helps it.

*likely US based medical advice

A sleep test is $100 ($75 USD) here.

Yes, it costs you an arm and a leg in the US if you don’t have a good insurance

My sleep study cost roughly $2300 with insurance (US). I purchased my own machine and supplies because going through insurance requires you to rent the machine. It phones home and if you don’t use it every night it impacts your coverage! No thanks. You need a script to purchase the machine too which you need a sleep study to get. Then billed periodically for supplies. Also, the initial settings they configured for the machine did not work and I had to adjust them on my own using an application called OSCAR. The website CPAP talk is a great place for folks who are new to using a machine btw. I definitely still feel ridiculous putting a mask on every night but it has been absolutely life changing for my energy levels and health. Please do not delay if you think you have this - I promise it is worth it!

Heh, pretty excited that my cpap machine is coming today

I was quoted 3k for a psg by my sleep specialist. I went and got one from axg sleep diagnostics out in Sacramento, for around 600

That's Jason Sazama a.k.a. TheLankyLefty27. He's good, he knows about UARS and flow limitation. His experience with bilevel/ASV modalities is very limited though.

In my neck of the American woods, you can't get a sleep study without a referral from a primary care doctor, and they are only done by pulmonologists.

But you can get your testosterone tested no problem!

Isn’t a CPAP more without insurance coverage?

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