There are Sleep Clinics available but they are few and far apart.
The diagnosis is made on the description that the patient gives and also the experience of co-inhabitants.
In Leicestershire after you are referred you attend at the sleep clinic, and are given a machine to wear overnight. Machine measures several functions, including how many episodes in a given period.
If you are diagnosed with sleep apnea you may be offered a CPAP (constant pressure air pump)
Good luck it can be a long journey. Frank
Certainly can. I used various monitors overnight. I do suffer from it and wake up at night gasping for air. I am short of a report to DVLC with regards to driving though. I was offered a trial with a mask to wear overnight. It was hideous and made one look like John Merrick ( Elephant Man). I politeley suggested I may come back later. No thanks.
When I was tested for Sleep Apnea I was given a mask like you have in hospital attatched to a sensor with 2 small tubes that fit just inside the nose and that measures the number of episodes you have in a night. After doing this I was told that I have it and went to the hospital to a clinic to see what type of mask was suitable for me. After a lot of trial and error I have been given a total face mask which fits over the whole of my face. I couldn't use the mouth type or the type that fits over just mouth and nose due to an eye operation I have had. I also use a APAP machine which I have found better than the CPAP one as it adjusts the amount of air coming in to the mask. They do work but take a lot of getting used to and there are nights when I go into the spare bedroom to have a break from it.
I was given a monitor to wear overnight. I had 38 episodes when I stopped breathing which was a bit frightening. I now have a CPAP mask which took a bit of getting used to but I sleep very well with it and its cut my trips to the toilet by half!