There are some very common tests that doctors will perform when it comes to diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea. They will need to first ask you a series of questions, and then they will need your permission to perform some testing while you sleep. The more they find during your time at the sleep clinic, the more they will know about the severity of your obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis. Give your doctor all of the help you possibly can if you want them to be able to accurately diagnosis what is going on with your breathing while you sleep.

Questions to Help Diagnose Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Your doctor is going to start asking questions right away when presented with the potential of an obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis. They are going to want to know when you first started showing symptoms, and if there is anything that can be done in your experience that has lessened the symptoms that you were exhibiting. They are also going to need a list of the symptoms that you or those around you have noted that makes you think that sleep apnea may be your condition. They will want you to rate how well you feel you sleep, how refreshed you feel upon getting up in the morning, and an idea about how often you feel exhausted part of the way through the day.

Tests to Help Diagnose Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Once your doctor has an idea of how bad your symptoms are and how long you’ve been having them, they will want to perform a few diagnostic tests to see if you have obstructive sleep apnea. First they will want to run a sleep study. This is when you sleep in a laboratory, being monitored the entire time, so they can keep a close eye on your breathing. Next they will want to monitor how much oxygen is going through your blood while you sleep. Some physicians require you to be monitored during your sleep study, while others have you do this at home. You will have to find out from your doctor which he or she prefers. If they are not able to diagnose you with obstructive sleep apnea during either of these tests, they will often send you home with a monitor to be able to keep an eye on you in your normal environment. Some people just won’t show symptoms while away from their own bed, so your diagnosis may require a different method.

Find out if you are suffering from obstructive sleep apnea today by contacting Dr. Levy.

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