Cave.
A prescription is needed here in the US for the machine and the monitor, but I see them on bay and craigs list.. I don't know where you are, but is interesting to me to know what part of the country your in.
Here near SF the hmo's do the at home testing, which I believe is far superior to the in hospital test. Many can't sleep normally in a hospital. In your own bed you may have yourself videoed and recorded . I did this to my mother and showed her chocking. I did it on my laptop and if I wanted to I could have sent the video to her doctor. She is in NJ and they did her test in the hospital. A total waist of time and money. There are many books on sleap apnea but I cant find the one I rad .It was 480 pages. Here are links to the test equipment and the machines like I use. I have a bi-pap, that means it has 2 pressures one inhale and another exhale, it cost $1800. They are just air compressors/blowers that plow air into the nose or face and the pressure keeps the tongue from falling back and blocking the airway With a computer control and a memory card to bring in to the pulmonary every 6 months.

http://www.cpapxchange.com/cpap-machines-bipap-machines.html?gclid=CPTe0Pju17QCFRCCQgodEkoA6w

I think the preferred sleep study is in a facility so they can video monitor you as well plus the many wires attached to your arms and legs to check for limb movement disorders but I am sure the home monitoring is patient preferred.

The preferred study IS the home study because a patient doesn't sleep well in the hospital and the cost .

@ elsner---- thanks for replying.

I've just gone down another rabbit hole (grin) I'll have more questions and maybe some info that I'll post later.
Just for now:
http://www.instantdiagnostic.com/ids/

I briefly looked at the physicians portion and the laws and regulations. Hoo boy! Medicare offers another VERY deep rabbit hole go explore for those that have Medicare.

Evidently it's been approved in the UK and other countries. Not here.

Hospital based sleep tests are a BIG money-maker for hospitals and clinics. As I posted somewhere else, I had one done a long time ago and they diagnosed me with (ta dah) "restless leg syndrome" and wanted me to go on Klonopin to treat it. (!!!) Never once suggested a cpap.

Not sleeping well and cost are definitely reasons for doing the sleep study at home particularly for someone without insurance. Polysomnography in the hospital can identify other sleep-related disturbances such as seizures, limb movement disorders, bruxism and parasomnias. I would expect insurance carriers are pushing for home studies for cost effectiveness but comparatively, home vs facility I doubt the data would show home studies with equal or better data than a hospital. The equipment for each are too different and one is monitored and one is not.

I heard a hospital here did offer a motel room for people in the north suburbs of Denver, in a rather nice motel, rather than the hospital. I would have chosen that had I known. Twice I have had the sleep study in the hospital and both times it was hard to sleep. But both times they did get the information they needed.

Cpap is another big money maker alongside sleep studies. For the elderly who may never tolerate a cpap I have discussed with some doctors they might be just as well off having an overnight pulse oximetry test done at home and then treated with nighttime oxygen if appropriate. Some people don't have apnea but hypopnea, like myself, and just don't breathe enough and oxygen is all they need.

@orygun,

You're right. Sometimes just an overnight nasal canula can help. I've used one for over 2 years. I may be wrong but I feel in my case that it's no longer getting the O2 into my lungs sufficiently.

I sleep on my back. I also breathe through my mouth most of the night.
I've read a lot about the efficiency of the nasal canulas. So many say that even if you sleep with your mouth open 'enough O2 still gets in through the nasal passages.'

I've puzzled and puzzled over that and just can't see how (using MY stuffed nasal passages at night as a test subject) that can be true. I close my mouth and trying breathing in through the nose----- hardly anything!

I want to try the cpap that forces air in and see if that can help me. And I prefer to do this at home but don't suggest that anyone else should do it. That's their decision.

I have been using the nasal cannula for 3 years now, going on four. I saw a big improvement and repeat overnight pulse oximetry testing showed my sats were great. Actually, my oxygen sats were better on the oxygen alone than on the cpap when comparing the two, which we had a chance to do.

You will still get the oxygen if your mouth is open but if your nose is stuffy that certainly doesn't help. In the hospital we sometimes put the nasal cannula in a patient's mouth near the end of life and mouth breathing is often the case. Then the oxygen is more for comfort at that point. Maybe the cpap will be worth trying for you, I had heard people with sinus issues had more troubles with cpap than other folks. I had a hard time with it because I do have a lot of sinus issues and my ears would get plugged and I would spend so much time trying to get them unplugged and get comfortable at night it just didn't go well. And it really turned out it wasn't necessary. Now I wear oxygen all the time since the PEs, though the pulmonologist isn't quite sure why.

I ran out of time before answering all your question. Here are some random thoughts
I have OSA, that is Obstruction- the tongue falls back and caused by fat and an over bite that forced the jaw back and a narrow mouth.'Over 90% are this type apnea.
The other is CSA or central sleep apnea where the brain control is off.
The nose pillow actual keep the passage open in a cold congestion.
Some bibaps and cpaps have water and a heater to heat and humidify the air.
Men who get up to pee many times a night some don't have to get up any more with cpap use. They may have been treated with drugs for prostate but don't need them again. Thought to be a brain function. I am 67 and don't have to get up.
Sleep apnea causes diminished sex drive in men.
Sleep apnea causes sleep dept, a major element in mental health. IE anxiety /depression and more.
I can feel my mood when I fall asleep with out my Bipap
The endocrine system is affected.
CNS is affected
Autonomic nervous system is affected.
An o2 fitting can be inserted into the hose if needed
The hospital where I was didn't offer me a Bipap even though OSA is considered life threatening and another pulmonary function--a co morbidity.
OSA is hit or miss in health care it seems to me.
Bipaps save health care costs in preventing disorders. A very cheap measure.
I have read a BI pap can be used in the Hospital in stead of intubation in some cases.
I bring mine in every 6 months for maintenance ,filters and they read my card. I now only have 1.7 events an hour. Normal I think for even a non OSA person.
The doctor sets the pressures and other settings according to the card or tests. If the patient want o there is information on the net to do it yourself.
All for now

More:
Daytime Fatigue/Excessive Daytime Sleepiness
Falling asleep while driving
Memory Loss
Moodiness/Irritability
Type II Diabetes
High Blood Pressure
Morning Headaches

Smart Phone app
http://valleysleepcenter.com/blog/5-reasons-to-take-your-smart-phone-to-bed-with-you/

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2012/02/13/146711356/apps-for-apnea-new-gadgets-promise-to-improve-sleep

@elsners---- thanks for continuing to update your information. May I ask what brand you're using?

I'm in the Pac. Northwest but lived in the SF Bay Area for decades----- and I still miss it!

I understand orygun's position that a hospital or clinic overnight sleep test 'is preferred'. However, what a patient prefers (and what that patient wants to 'get out of' that test) is also 'preferred'. :) (I mean no disrespect to you, orygun.)

I prefer to 'cut to the chase' and get a cpap with as little inconvenience to me as possible. Now will start looking for a doctor who will respect that. Sigh.

My situation may be different than most, since my insurance will pay for everything. Not many people have that and may have to rely on what their ins. or Medicare will go for.

@cave76, since sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure, I can see how it could contribute to clotting. I read also about being overweight increasing the chances of a clot, but I wonder how much. I did just read a study about weight and it actually diminished the current trend toward obesity causing every health problem on the planet. I have met doctors who seem to not look beyond the scale when I see them about an issue. It is SO short-sighted. So I was glad to see an actual study done that indicated that people who were not morbidly obese did not have the same risk factors as those who were.

No disrespect taken, btw. Everyone has a different way. I was looking at it from a health care professional point of view. However they wouldn't probably recommed an overnight pulse oximetry that I wonder if might be an option for you.But maybe you really need more than just knowing how your oxyge saturations are doing at night. My last time I needed he EEG part of it to watch for seizures so the hospital was the best option.

Hope you can get it done and what you need. People know their own body best. Just have to convince the doctor of that!

@orygun

"I did just read a study about weight and it actually diminished the current trend toward obesity causing every health problem on the planet."

I think I read that same article. LOL The NYT and other media promptly put that information out. Here's the NYT link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/health/research/more-data-suggests-fitness-matters-more-than-weight.html?_r=0

Of course there are limitations and I wouldn't suggest sitting down with a pizza and ice cream every night. :)

I'm overweight. Can't lose weight without starving myself. Because I have very high leptin levels I keep an eye on the research of leptin. Just recently there was a pubmed article about the inverse relationship between high leptin scores and overweight--- completely reverses the common thinking. I can't find that darn article again, right now.

Your comment:
"I have met doctors who seem to not look beyond the scale when I see them about an issue"
So true! It's a form of 'blaming the patient'. Sometimes that's a very clever way to deflect any real thinking on the doctor's part. Sigh.

Here's the meta-analysis from Heart.org

http://www.theheart.org/article/1492205.do?utm_medium=email&utm_source=20130111_topStories&utm_campaign=newsletter

I found the following article using Google with the search words "lesser weight mortality"

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/776936

@cave76. Yes! That is the article. Very interesting reading. I always knew a person could be fit and fat. But as the article says, it is so culturally ingrained that losing weight is what you have to do. And totally, I agree that doctors use it so they don't have to think anymore. They found a plausible reason for the ailment so they are done. "Come back and see me when you lose weight." HA! I had a pulmonologist at National Jewish, supposedly the best respiratory hospital, do that to me. He countered everything, even the elevated d-dimer prior to my PEs and even the lack of evidence of clots in my legs suggested maybe the clots weren't spontaneous and they were DVTs. I saw him twice, emailed him many times in frustration and went to a new physician at the University of Colorado. He insisted that I didn't need oxygen, that I just needed to lose weight and my problems were deconditioning. UGH! My new physicians are wonderful and have mentioned weight but also looked at the bigger picture. Thank goodness! If you don't fit into the diagnostic box and you are overweight, a lazy thinking doc will blame obesity.