I went for a second Sleep Study after being diagnosed with Sleep Apnea from the first one, and I couldn't tolerate the CPAP when they put it on.  I became very anxious and restless so I am pretty sure that my oxygenation level dropped.  I have been a mouth breather all my life because of my problem.  When I would open my mouth to breathe while it was on, of course, it blew air out of my mouth.  I am not significantly overweight so I am pretty sure that I don't have obstructive sleep apnea.  I think that I have it due to narrow passageways.  I have not gotten the results from my second test, yet.  Do you think that I would do better with a BIPAP?

Becky,
You don't have to be overweight to have apnea.  Narrow airways easily cause OSA, from what my sleep doc tells me.  I am overweight, but I have alarmingly small air passages from my nostrils down to my lungs.  My husband is very thin and has large airways.  He's going to get his sleep study in a couple of days because the doctor is sure that he has apnea due to the fact he stops breathing at night, snorts, snores, and all around scares me to death sometimes.
If the sleep study diagnosed you with OSA, then you probably have OSA.  I suppose there could be false positives, but I would assume that to be very rare.  If you have problems with the mask, try some other masks.  Bipaps are only suggested in certain conditions and I don't know what they are, but I'm guessing that if you have a fairly normal pressure and are just having problems adjusting to your mask, that probably isn't one of the situations they would suggest it for.
There are a lot of masks out there.  Maybe you could try a full face mask (only covers the nose and mouth, not really the whole face) if you breathe through your mouth.

Becky,

It is an unfortunate misconception that you have to be an overweight middle aged man to have OSA.  That misconception kept me misdiagnosed for years.  There are all kinds of interfaces to connect a CPAP with your face so check them out.  Full face masks, nasal pillows, comfort curve, etc.  Find out if your nostrils really would be an issue with your breathing before you proceed.  Either have an ENT look at them (but don't let them tell you you need surgery!!) or just try different nasal interfaces again and see if some don't work better for you.

Vicki


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That which does not kill you makes you stronger-Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich must of had apnea.