sleep study

For anyone who has a sleep study coming up and believes it to be a waste of time-this is for you. It was horrible, they put a belt around my PM site. I felt violated and no one can tell me when I will get any information. Of course I had a lousy night sleep in which I must try to recover. I believe my doctor (pulmonary) acted too quickly. He should have waited to see if pm took care of sleep symptoms I have had for years. I know many of you are grateful for your CPAP machines, but not all of us have the same problems. I will eat crow if I find out I have apnea and need the machine, but honest to God, I have none of the symptoms. It makes me not trust the doctors. I am trying to return to normal, but life is nothing like it yet. Yes, Judy is down in the dumps again! (brother getting laid off of job this week made me more upset) I know we need to get back on our feet again, but I am still struggling after 4 weeks. PM site still aches and spasms, too. GRRRRR

20 Comments

Doesn't sound like you had fun

by donr - 2013-10-27 08:10:13

Judy: To save me (us) having to search all your posts/comments, how about a summary of your sleep symptoms.

You must have had something unusual for the Dr to have you do the study.

Didn't they tell you ANYTHING at the sleep lab? I know they cannot interpret the data. They literally get reams of it, all on a disk, so they cannot see it. If your lab is typical, they will have it all interpreted in about a week. At least they should have told you what would happen w/ all the results.

Don

sorry

by dolly74 - 2013-10-27 08:10:24

i hope things get better for u xx

sleep study

by judyblue - 2013-10-27 09:10:45

I was told absolutely nothing this morning about my evening in the lab. My symptoms that led the doctor to order the study all came prior to the pacemaker. I was having night sweats, waking up seemingly without reason (not having to go to the bathroom or a bad dream). I also had anxiety around not sleeping, which led to more insomnia.. He is also of the belief that heart problems are related to sleep problems. That might be true, but I feel like his guinea pig. I hope you're right that I will hear something from the doctor within a week. I do think I am sleeping better since the pm.

He had good & sufficient Reason...

by donr - 2013-10-27 11:10:39

...to order the study based on what you say. UNLESS...
He should have given you a questionnaire about your sleep experience. I cannot recall what kinds of questions were on it, but if you answered them all "No," that should have killed the study.

Recall that I told you that our Cardio reports about an 80% correlation between the two problems. That fact alone is a pretty good indicator that Apnea may well be a problem.

A properly administered sleep study requires 1) an EEG (Electroencephalograph) brain wave recording; 2) a recording of your breathing (the reason for the belt over your PM incision); 3) an ECG; 4) A recording of leg motion; 5) An observer making notes of your physical activity or a video of the test.

Someone has to sit down & correlate all that data to develop a analysis of your sleep behavior. There's more to it than the cessation of breathing, though that is the most serious issue & the one most easily corrected w/ the CPAP. Apparently there are two causes for breathing pauses - 1) an airway obstruction & 2) an electrical malfunction in the brain - hence the EEG.

IIRC, they are also deeply interested in whether or not you get into REM sleep & dream. (Rapid Eye Movement). People who do not get into the REM state do not dream & also do not get sufficient sleep for the body to do whatever it is supposed to do while you sleep. People who have some sleep problems do indeed awaken for no seeming reason & can have night sweats.

Do you recall if they came in & woke you up to ask you if you were dreaming & what it was about if you were? That should be a standard practice.

Remember - they have at least 6 hours of data on you that someone has to pour over & make sense out of - not necessarily an easy job.

If you hear nothing in a week, call your pulmonary Dr. & ask what is going on & when you should hear.

Sorry it was such a horrible experience, not a particularly good bedside manner in my book.

Don

Judy

by jeanlancour - 2013-10-27 11:10:57

I was much like you, not a symptom, I put the study off for about 4 months, told them how much better I felt etc. Finally i grudgingly took their dingbat study, spent a terrible night, took me 2 days to get over it. Found out a week and a half later, what sleep I got that night my oxygen levels fell to the low 80s. I have found crow is best eaten baked. I do hope that you will come through with flying colors. Good luck Jean

symptoms

by Tick-tock - 2013-10-28 01:10:27

Judy: I just looked at your Bio, and crazy, I have a place in Deltona!!!! Beautiful area!
As far as your symptoms- I only know a few, so please forgive me- could your night sweats, insomnia, anxiety be related to menopause? Some of your symptoms could be hormonal. In which case hormone replacement therapy may relieve some of your problems. There are many pros and cons to HRT. Unfortunately, our medical professionals need to do way too many tests to figure out the problem- also our wonderful insurances require all these tests to be done, before allowing any treatment. Hope you are able to get some answers and relief ASAP!

I had to eat some crow too

by janetinak - 2013-10-28 03:10:29

as I felt that as I had no symptoms (sleepiness during day, need to take naps, etc) only thing was that I woke up about every 2 hrs at night & I ignored that for months thinking it was a bathroom call. Finally woke up gasping for air & had the sleep study done with all the hook-ups, watched on camera & all that. Saw the Pulmonary Dr in AM, said I took 45" to get to sleep & that was fast for me but not normal I guess but he said I was in moderate need for CPAP machine. Its been about 6 yrs now & I use the CPAP every night & sleep much better. One night power out all night & couldn't use CPAP. had a terrible night.

Hope this helps,

Janet

PS to above

by janetinak - 2013-10-28 03:10:46

I had my PM 7 yrs at the time of the sleep study

Janet

steamed CAW LEE FLOWER

by lubro - 2013-10-28 06:10:46

goes well with baked crow...
I haven't eaten any in a while...(true, it's all in the spices)...but I have indeed tasted the critter a time or two.
Judy... sorry you had such a bad experience. I have never personally had the test, but I have heard more negative horror stories than positive ones...
My personal feeling is ... if you wanna do a sleep study, come on over to my place and watch me sleep here. That way you'll get a real idea of my sleep patterns...
I find it rather mind boggling that they take you out of your element, wire and strap you up, then expect you to just ignore all the wires and people hovering around and just get a good night' s sleep...
yeah, like that's gonna happen...
most people I've spoken with say they did not sleep well, or rarely slept at all...
I'm sure these sleep studies have their merit, but I would suspect that the results may be somewhat skewered...
however, I'll keep my crow recipes updated just in case...

Lubro


I must be the real weirdo here...

by donr - 2013-10-28 10:10:05

...Been through three sleep studies. My sleep study gang told me everything to expect & how long it would take to hear back. I was mentally prepared for an uncomfortable night, but I nestled down in my bed of wires & fell asleep in about ten minutes. (I can also fall asleep on an X-Ray table if the picture taking is drawn out.) Yes, I awoke several times, all snarled up in the wires, but awoke in the AM about 15 min before they were scheduled to waken me. They had a shower & plenty of shampoo to get the axle grease & sand out of your hair. About a week later I had an appt w/ the study DR. & we spent a good hour reading & discussing the report.

The crew that did it was very pleasant & answered every question they could.

My long-suffering Wife has likewise been through three of them & had three similar experiences.

My apology if I ever lead anyone astray as to what they were like.

Don

Anyone considered...

by donr - 2013-10-28 10:10:53

...Bear & crow stew? The analog of Horse & Rabbit stew, instead you start out w/ one bear & one crow...

Again, it's all in the spices. Let's invite Angry Sparrow, she can bring some of that fresh stuff they grow in her home state - Oregon-o.

Why should we invite her? Caws it's the right thing to do.

Don

Worst patient EVER

by ebfox - 2013-10-28 12:10:33

Judy

I got a chuckle from reading your post; I had one 3 years ago and my report read "worst patient ever..." They don't do a good job of preparing you for what is going to happen and they don't tell you a darn thing afterwards. Mine was to see if apnea was triggering my afib, but after getting trussed up with all that grease in my hair, there was not going to be much sleeping going on. I kept pulling my nasal cannula out because it felt like a jet stream going up my nose and of course the tech would come back in and stick it back in. They said I slept two hours but at 4 o'clock in the morning I told them I was done.

I understand that sleep apnea is a serious problem for some people but I will go through that again-

E. B.

A BTW on the Crow...

by donr - 2013-10-28 12:10:39

Jean is correct. Crow is best when baked. I had to eat some courtesy of a little dust up I had w/ Grateful Heart. She has a recipe for baked crow that is delicious - uses every part of the bird except the "CAW."

Don

Recipe for Baked Crow

by Grateful Heart - 2013-10-28 12:10:44

Don, so glad you enjoyed the crow dinner.....LOL.
I didn't think of using the "CAW", great idea. Next time (hopefully there won't be) I will use the "CAW" as background music!

Baked is the best way since I don't fry food anymore. The secret is in the spices used.

I'm very glad the dust has settled and the air is now clear again! :)

Judy: I had a sleep study about 10 years ago, way before my ICD. Did not sleep the entire night. The Nurse kept coming in telling me to go to sleep. They said I slept for a very short while and they just got enough of a reading. Went to work the next day....didn't know beforehand that I shouldn't or what to expect....no one explained anything to me either. I felt and looked like the Bride of Frankenstein.

At the time, they said they wanted me to have it done a 2nd time......once was enough for me. The hospital I went to is no longer functioning..... hmmm

Having said all that, I do understand it is an important testing process. If needed, I would have one again....now that I am older and wiser. :)
No one has suggested one and that's fine by me. I have lost about 75 lbs. over the past 5 years (slow I know) but maybe that has helped.

I hope you get some answers....as the crow flies.

Grateful Heart

Hey! This sounds like a...

by donr - 2013-10-29 11:10:01

...progressive dinner!

I'll even throw in a baked Crow-Talus Horridus as part of the main dish. I can probably find a five-footer in my woods - moving a bit slowly from the cool weather we are having.

Don

Invitations

by Grateful Heart - 2013-10-29 11:10:26

So that's where the squabbit went....w/ a side of CAW LEE FLOWER.

First....we're all going to Don's house for a special stew.

Then it's off to Lubro's place. He invited us over to watch his sleep study. And since he won't be able to sleep much, he's making one of his special crow recipes for breakfast.

Sparrow is bringing her own garden grown Oregon-o. Um Sparrow....I hope you are not related to Mr. Crow??

Judy, sorry you are feeling down. 4 weeks isn't a long time for recovery. It will get better. I hope the silliness helps a little. Laughter can be good medicine.

Grateful Heart

But it tastes...

by donr - 2013-10-30 01:10:10

...just like chicken.

The one I really liked is Trimeresurus Flavovaridis - not to mention Californix Pictcum.

Don

This progr3ewssive dinner ain't...

by donr - 2013-10-30 06:10:19

... gonna be cheap.

Grateful Heart - who is the organizer of it all will need some money for incidentals - like CAWfee.

Prepare to CAWf it up when she CAWLs!

Lubro - you are as nuts as I am! Great work!

Don

join the squabbit support group ! ! !

by lubro - 2013-10-30 06:10:38

it's a worthy CAWS...
just like the spca...
some people caws accidents...
ok ok... now you may be asking your self..." self...what does any of this have to do with sleep studies ?"
well, should you decide to have this done, be sure to take proper preCAWshons...

foolishly...

Lubro

Umm...

by Grateful Heart - 2013-10-30 12:10:58

I may have to pass on that part of the dish. I don't like snakes.....or worms.......remember?

But you could probably use the rattle as a pestle for Sparrows Oregon-o.

You know you're wired when...

You trust technology more than your heart.

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