Anyone ever had a sleep study done?

[GlassOnion]

Probably have sleep apnea, should probably get it diagnosed so they can give me a pill or the mask thing or whatever. What does this entail?

I reckon I gotta go to my doc, then get referred, then what do they do? I just go into a clean, white room with bright lights or something and snooze for an hour or four while people watch me with microscopes (they're very large people) or something?

How much do they charge to watch me sleep? I doubt people watching me sleep is covered by insurance.

 

[MisssAshby]

Probably have sleep apnea, should probably get it diagnosed so they can give me a pill or the mask thing or whatever. What does this entail?

I reckon I gotta go to my doc, then get referred, then what do they do? I just go into a clean, white room with bright lights or something and snooze for an hour or four while people watch me with microscopes (they're very large people) or something?

How much do they charge to watch me sleep? I doubt people watching me sleep is covered by insurance.

Yep, I've had one done and it's NO fun.

They monitor you half the night and then treat you the other half to see what level you'll need for treatment. Sometimes they recommend you have a two part one done where you are monitored all night one night and treated the following night.

You will, no kidding, be hooked up to about 20 wires. They put this nice gooey crap in your hair to hold them in place, heart monitor, movement monitor, something for your legs to see if you have RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome), but the best thing is you'll have a ET finger.

Also, if you are a stomach sleeper - it's a PITA and you won't be anymore. I am a stomach sleeper and was told over and over to roll over via intercom into my room. Oh yeah, the beds are hard. Remember to talk your own pillows and blankets if you are picky about that.

My sleep study was about 2600.00 and my insurance paid at 100%. Most insurance companies will cover it as long as it's not an exclusion on the policy. My CPAP (that has never been used) was about 1200 and also fully covered by insurance.

Good Luck!

 

[CharlieDog]

I need to have one done also. It's NOT covered by my (crap) insurance, so IF I even had it done, it'd have to come out of my own pocket.

So I'll just keep waking up and rolling over

 

[Whisper]

I had to get an EEG (electroencephalography) to monitor my neurological/brain functions while I was sleeping. I was having strange things occurring while I was asleep and I was sleep walking excessively. The doctors wanted to know what was going on during my sleep to see if there were any abnormalities.
It's not the same as a full night's sleep study but many parts are similar. I'll explain what I had done for that reason.
It's not comfortable, I'll tell you that.

I was laid down on flat, uncomfortable hospital bed and wiped with cold cream that allowed 15- 20 or so wires to be connected to different parts of my body. I was also hooked up to other machines that took my blood pressure, pulse, etc.
I was then given a mild sedative, which didn't work. After a while of no sleep they gave me more. That happened a few times and I still couldn't sleep. Then this lady came and talked to me about her dog and I slipped into a level one sleep.

They (the doctors) were in another room watching me through a camera and the results of the EEG on a few other screens.

It was a long and tedious process, but I won't go into that because it was basically about my anxiety and resistance to actually staying asleep.

The sedative was apparently stronger than I thought because when I got up I felt fine, though all of a sudden everyone went "Whoa! Are you okay?" Apparently I had walked head on into a wall and didn't even notice. :lol-sign: Then I was pushed out to the parking lot in a wheel chair.

I know that's not precisely what you will have done, but I hope it's a bit helpful for you regarding types of sleeping tests.

 

[Renee750il]

I need to have one done also. It's NOT covered by my (crap) insurance, so IF I even had it done, it'd have to come out of my own pocket.

So I'll just keep waking up and rolling over

CD, often that's a matter of changing to a mattress that's better suited to you.

 

[ACooper]

Oh whisper, our younger daughter had to go through that too, LOL........she started having fainting spells and they wanted to rule out any brain/neurological issues. She was only like 10 years old, so she thought it was VERY cool to be hooked up to all those wires, hahaha.......they even gave her a print out of her brain function during sleep, I think she still has it somewhere in her room

Good luck on your sleep test GO.......study hard and I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors!

 

[GlassOnion]

Good luck on your sleep test GO.......study hard and I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors!

Ungh, I already have enough tests to study for!



Incidentally, this sounds like something I won't even be able to think about until Christmas break. Do you have to schedule far in advance? Maybe it'd work out to my advantage....

I thought you'd be done in like an afternoon or something at some special clinic, not have to check yourself into a hospital overnight.

Oh well. Maybe I don't even have sleep apnea. If I keep thinking that, it'll go away. Pretty sure that's how it works, at least.

 

[Renee750il]

I've never figured out how they get an accurate reading of how you sleep, anyway.

You're in a strange bed -- usually not too comfortable. You've got wires strung to you. There are strangers watching you, and sometimes they have to give you something to make you sleep.

I know my sleep changes if I just take an Aleve before bed! And I can't sleep in a strange bed. If I have to stay in a hotel, I'm up for hours, then I wake up every couple of hours or so until I just give up and get up.

 

[Whisper]

I've never figured out how they get an accurate reading of how you sleep, anyway.

You're in a strange bed -- usually not too comfortable. You've got wires strung to you. There are strangers watching you, and sometimes they have to give you something to make you sleep.

I know my sleep changes if I just take an Aleve before bed! And I can't sleep in a strange bed. If I have to stay in a hotel, I'm up for hours, then I wake up every couple of hours or so until I just give up and get up.

Seriously. In my case they kept having to give me more of the sedative and I was so uncomfortable I couldn't get into a deep sleep. I slipped into a level 2 once for about 30 seconds, but mostly I was awake or in a very light level one sleep.

Only hearing about dogs made me sleep.

And if I take Benadryl I get horrible nightmares that are so realistic I can't shake it off once I'm awake.

 

[GlassOnion]

I've never figured out how they get an accurate reading of how you sleep, anyway.

Had the same thought but I don't think it's really relevant for my purposes. All I want to do is see whether my body is trying to off itself in my slumber. If so, I either need to get something to fix it, or off the body before it can get me first.

Take that subconscious! I'll show you who runs THIS ship!



Edit: Oh that reminds me. One time when I rolled I evidently decided to do so directly into the pillow, so that my nose and mouth were completely covered by the pillow. Essentially, my slumbering self tried to smother me. But if you ever want a good way to come quickly to wide awake, that's the way to do it.

 

[sparks19]

well I think if you have sleep apnea it doesn't matter if they have to give you a sedative or if you sleep well. what they want to see is if you stop breathing when you are asleep even if it's induced sleep in a different bed.

I need to go for a sleep test too. I'm positive I have sleep apnea. I'm always tired and I have dreams that I can't breathe and then I wake up gasping for air from time to time.

 

[Kristen1980]

I've never had one but I have a friend who has sleep apnea and had to go in for a Sleep Test a few months ago. What the previous posters have said what happens is exactly what happened to him, although he said it was hard to get any sleep at all because nurses kept coming into the room throughout the night. He had to be at the clinic by 8pm so they could start the test at 9pm and by 6am the test would be done and he could go home. It was hard for him to go to bed that early since he is a night owl and doesn't go to bed till 3-4am so he had a difficult time sleeping.

Good luck with your test! Hopefully your sleep apnea will go away on its own and you won't have to take the test.

 

[Renee750il]

well I think if you have sleep apnea it doesn't matter if they have to give you a sedative or if you sleep well. what they want to see is if you stop breathing when you are asleep even if it's induced sleep in a different bed.

Trouble is, the drugs make a difference there, too. I have some apnea if I take anything with any sedative or muscle relaxing tendencies, so any kind of sleep aid is going to skew the results. I've noticed that's true for other people as well.

 

[sparks19]

yeah but if you already suspect apnea and are showing signs of it already...

I don't know... I know of many people who have been for sleep studies and while they make it hard to fall asleep they ARE successful and the result and treatment have helped them tremendously so it's not all a bunch of hooey.

I know some people are against doctors and everything they do but sometimes they are nessecary and DO help despite the odds.

and I know there are also machines you can take home to do the sleep study yourself. it records everything from the comfort of your own home. I know a few people that have done this and ended up with CPAP's for sleep apnea and they are SO much better off for it.

If you seriously have reason to believe you have sleep apnea I suggest you talk to a doctor about it. it can get really serious.

 

[CharlieDog]

I have a REALLY comfortable mattress, that I LOVE. I think it might also be sleep apnea in my case because I've been told I snore really badly. I've also been told that if I'm snoring, I make weird noises like I'm snorting or whatever.

 

[Renee750il]

and I know there are also machines you can take home to do the sleep study yourself. it records everything from the comfort of your own home. I know a few people that have done this and ended up with CPAP's for sleep apnea and they are SO much better off for it.

THAT makes so much more sense. Even if they had someone come and set up the equipment.

My parents are both on the CPAP machines and they've said they do help, but . . . get this . . . when their insurance changes, they get charged for the machines all over again, even though they are literally the same machines and have already been paid for. The company that sells/leases the machines gets paid for the same piece of equipment -- in full -- over and over again.

 

[sparks19]

yeah that's lame that they have to pay for it all again.

yeah a lady I know had a sleep study done in her own home. she got the equipment and it took records of her sleep that night and now she has a CPAP

now THAT has got to be hard to get used to sleep with.

 

[ACooper]

In my daughter's case, the study was done for a few hours during the DAYTIME........so they requested that we keep her awake the whole night before to be sure she could fall asleep, LOL She had absolutely no trouble going right to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, strange bed, no sedative, doctors, and all, hahahaha, she has her dad's sleeping gene for sure!

 

[sparks19]

In my daughter's case, the study was done for a few hours during the DAYTIME........so they requested that we keep her awake the whole night before to be sure she could fall asleep, LOL She had absolutely no trouble going right to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, strange bed, no sedative, doctors, and all, hahahaha, she has her dad's sleeping gene for sure!

lol Brian is the same way. falls asleep in seconds anywhere. ticks me off LOL. it takes me forever to fall asleep and I can never STAY asleep

 

[Whisper]

In my daughter's case, the study was done for a few hours during the DAYTIME........so they requested that we keep her awake the whole night before to be sure she could fall asleep, LOL She had absolutely no trouble going right to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, strange bed, no sedative, doctors, and all, hahahaha, she has her dad's sleeping gene for sure!

LOL, my sleeping EEG was done during the day, too, and I also had to stay up all night. That didn't make it easier for me to fall asleep, though.