I have Restless Leg Syndrome - quite severe, over the past few years. I have seen a number of doctors and have been given a number of medications, most of which did not work. The last 2 doctors I have seen have turned the conversation from RLS to OSA, and have tried to sell me any number of gadgets. I was recently told that I very much needed a sleep test. Unable to sleep during this test because of the various things stuck on my face, I looked at the clock and saw that it was 2 AM, and the test was to end at 6. Shortly after that, I fell asleep, and woke up at about 5:30, at which time the test was terminated. The test result showed that I had slept for about 7 1/2 hours, and had had a plethora of apneas, which could be cured with a gadget sold by the doctor. When I called this to the attention of this learned gentleman, I was told that sometimes you are asleep and don't know it.

This was obviously a scam. Has anyone else had this problem?

Are you calling the sleep test a scam? OSA is a very real condition. I too had experiened the problem with the legs prior to starting treatment. My sleep specialist told me there were several involuntary muscle conditions that can accompany OSA. Take your docs advice and get treatment.

Funny..if you slept that long and had apneas, then they should have done a split study using a CPAP machine to see at what level they could eliminate the AHI's. You should get a copy of the sleep study report. It should contain alot of information..including how many PLM's you had, what type of apneas, hyponeas,k central, mixed. After you get that report, at least get back on the forum so that all the other patients can at least verify that it was a valid test. Then go from there.

my first test was a scam, the second and third sleepstudy they tried but could not get anything to work. So they put me on level 15 on CPAP. I think sometimes they see a real problem but never really get anything to work during the sleep study. so instead of telling you it was a waist of time and money, they throw something out there or should I say what seemed to help at least a little during the study. Let me say this now days you do not have to go through a specialist. your primary care can order the test. I have found your are better off finding your own medical supplier. For several reasons one being pushy sales calls"my wife" received a call one day from my supplier. They had the nerve to tell her what EQ I needed replaced and then of coarse it was the wrong parts. I find the little med suppliers will actualy listen to you, like when you tell them only to deal with you not your family members.
By your statement it sounds like you do not trust these people and you know you have a problem. my advice would be find someone you trust and second don't give up. take care coco

I would be happy to find a sleep doctor whom I trust, but have not done that up to this point. My present doctor prescribed medication after only 2 visits which has kept my RLS at a minimum for over a year. But then he switched to OSA, and showed me a device which his friend down the hall, a dentist, had made up, and which I could buy for only $400. I bought it; it was like all the other devices I had tried. All those devices assume that you can breathe through your nose; I can't, for any length of time. I have tried all the full-face masks, and none have performed well. As far as the scam to which I referred is concerned, the test result was obviously phoney, since I could not possibly have slept for 7 1/2 hours.

One of my earlier doctors told me to use OTC nose spray every night to cure my stuffy nose. Then he cautioned me not to tell anyone that he had told me that.

When I fall asleep on my back, I start to snore almost immediately. I wake up, roll onto my right side, and fall asleep, with no snoring problem. The CPAP sits unused on the night stand, although in my opinion it belongs in the trash can.

I have had a similar experience with my sleep tests. I don't think that the original posting was trying to say that apnea is not real, but he or she is questioning their results. I understand. I explained to my sleep study tech that my normal hours to sleep were from 2am to 10:30 am since my husband works a late shift. The study still HAD to take place starting at 9pm to 6am. I slept very little, and the tech was not happy with me. But somehow, they determined I had hypo and apnea events and when I did the follow up, I slept even less ( i doubt at all personally) but they came up with my pressures etc. Now I struggle to use the machine every night, suffer from ear aches that start when I start the machine, get a stuffed nose within two hours of the start of treatment and on and on. I wonder if the pressures are too high or whether the treatment is helping since all I feel is that I am losing sleep, not gaining anything. I have stopped losing weight, I don't get why since I am still only eating 1200 calories or less. I find myself frustrated, grouchy and I did not have any symptoms before I started treatment. It was suggested by my doctor because I was trying to lose weight and it was slow going. I have to feel that each sleep center is different and some do a better job than others. I come from a small town area, and had my study done at a local hospital. I wonder if a teaching hospital or large city one would have done better. I don't think all personnel are equal in abilities either, what do others think?

travelersquest: I don't do well in sleep studies either and agree that some centers are better than others. My doctor prescribed a sleeping pill for one study which certainly put me to sleep, but I question whether it skewed the results. I've found the test environment and techs can make a big difference in how much I sleep and respond. There are tests that can be done at home. My doctor had me use a simple pulse oximeter to record my blood oxygen level thoughout the night. I felt the results clearly indicated apnea, but the sleep center doc chastised my doctor, telling him it wasn't sufficient to diagnose apnea. I've read a little about more sophisticated home tests, although I expect you would have trouble finding such a test setup to use. Another option might be to borrow an AutoPAP machine and then see what it records for the pressure it decides to use to avoid apneas. While a good sleep study is certainly a better diagnostic, newer AutoPAP machines collect a lot of information. Are you using a heated humidifier? If not, that might contribute to the stuffy nose. Most with sleep apnea see an immediate positive impact from treatment, perhaps along with some mask problems. I've used the machine every night since I got it over 3 years ago! Don't give up unless it's proven that you don't have sleep apnea.

Well, I have been attempting to use my auto cpap machine for a while now. I still find it difficult to use for more than a couple hours at a time. I toss and turn and the mask get pulled off or out of place by the hose. I wake up feeling panic at the change in air flow/ lack of good air. I am not sleeping better than before the start of the treatment, but enduring it as much as possible. I still exercise and continue to lose weight abeit at a slower rate. My ability to look at any stats is limited to the led screen, I don't want to pay hundreds for a program because my computer seems on its last leg <_< Anyway, I am considering a new mask, one that is a nasal mask not the pillows since they wobble and close off rather easily. Any suggestions?Thanks!
One note for the rls sufferer, have you had your blood sugar checked? I notice that when mine is up, I get very bad rls.