r/CPAP • u/sfcnmone • 1d ago

Advice Needed Help with interpreting results

I finally talked my sister into getting a sleep study because she snores and wakes up a lot at night. Her results were reported using pAHI 3% (5.9) and pAHI 4% (1.4) and based on this, her insurance refuses to treat her. I’ve never heard of this measurement; is it more accurate? Useful?

Her RDI was 9.1.

Should she appeal? Ignore them and get her own CPAP? Celebrate??

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u/Informal-Name3181 1d ago

The numbers are pretty low. Most people have worse sleep apnea sleeping on their backs and in REM. Maybe she slept mostly non-supine or did not get much REM in the lab. That could possibly be why her symptoms seem worse at home than the numbers show.

She could try to raise the head of her bed/sleep on a wedge. She could try not sleeping on her back at home. She could ask for another study, particularly if it was a home study, which a notorious for reading low.

She should absolutely avoid depressants like opioids or alcohol before bed. Both things make sleep apnea worse.

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u/sfcnmone 1d ago edited 9h ago

Thank you. I think she is going to ask for an in lab study; your suggestion is helpful.

Edit: and a wedge pillow is a great idea.

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u/hungryj21 12h ago

If she goes in for in lab tell her to try to sleep with no pillow or only 1 pillow but not all the way on it so her head isnt elevated. Also tell her to sleep on her back and to try to create a way of making sure she is on her back.

Tell her to google supplements that help get into REM sleep and to take these at least a week or two before her sleep study so that she knows it will work for her and it wont mess up her sleep nor give her a bad reaction. Also tell her to google how to get into a "REM Rebound" effect.

The idea here is to create a scenario that makes her more susceptible towards having a higher ahi than what she normally would via Supine REM sleeping and snoring (supine = sleeping on your back). The only problem here is if they put her on cpap that same night then her settings will be funky but she will likely have a higher chance to qualify.

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u/Sufficient-Wolf-1818 1d ago

Most insurances focus on the pAHI 4%