LOL, I never have heard about the use of the BiPAP mask for that purpose!! Good one...reminds me of Michael Keaton in Mr. Mom~! As for the other poster, I never really felt the pressure in my chest, but I used it primarily because I have neuro disease, CF just kind of was a secondary diagnosis and wasn't as severe as my muscular dystrophy at the time....my muscles basically failed that drove my diaphragm to work so a BiPAP became a necessity. What was tougher to get used to was the mask, I had to try three different brands before I was happy with one that didn't leak so much. They also have other interfaces these days too...such as Nasa Aire to name an example, looks kind of like really big nasal cannulas that fit into the nares, the thing about that doo hickey is that it has to be perfectly fit into your nose. They also have nasal pillows...So, there are alot of different choices out there for you to try, each person is different.
As for my sleep study, it was for a full night like Luke says..I was hooked up to an EEG monitor to measure my brain waves, a pulse oximeter to monitor my oxygen levels, a device that measured snoring, a belt like device that measured the depth of my breathing as well as an EKG to monitor my heart for any arrythmias. They do try to make the room comfortable as possible, it is difficult to sleep with all of those wires at first. IF you toss and turn, it gets interesting...Luckily, I was at a point where I would just sleep where I lay, not move an inch. The staff was wonderful...I was on the O2 as well with my BiPAP, I was just there for titration, which means that they were looking for the most optimum pressures for me....as I stated earlier, my ABG's at the hospital along with the apnea determined my need for the BiPAP. When I had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night those poor techs had to disconnect me from a few things and help me in, wires and all..I looked like Frankenstein's creation LOL!
But seriously, if you aren't sleeping well, maybe you need to have your O2 levels checked at night, especially if you don't have any other symptoms like headaches. Are you really tired during the day, or having nightmares and or restlessness? Those are also symptoms of elevated CO2 levels as well your poor sleep problems. I am glad that your doc is being thorough, better to be on the safe side.
The sleep study will also monitor your oxygenation levels throughout the night as you sleep, so if your O2 it the only thing that needs to be tweaked, the doc will know, that could be a reason why you aren't sleeping well either....but, you won't know until that sleep study is done though..I am just theorizing at this point at 3 am in the morning here ET LOL!
I hope I have helped and not confused you, ask away if you have any more questions and by the way, Happy Holidays!!! Hugs, Jenn <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">