So I was given an appointment to have a sleep study in the future for possible sleep apnea. Never had one before…what’s it like?
I know, I know…you basically sleep in a room while someone monitors you. Simple as…but, from what I’ve read (the many wires they hook on) it sounds like it’d be hard to sleep with so many things attached to you.
I’m thinking I may go without sleep for about 16-20 hours before the test, just to make sure I’m good and tired.
Expect to spend a good portion the next day getting the goop for the electrodes out of your hair.
I didn’t have any trouble getting to sleep at all, which surprised me, since they said not to bring a book or anything like that that you’d normally do before you drift off.
I had a hell of a time falling and remaining asleep, and my results indicated as such.
Not only are you in a strange bed/room and have multiple electrodes and probes and such about your body, but you’re also being observed.
But, you know, good luck. 
mmm
ETA: Withholding sleep prior to the test may sound like a good idea, but it will probably result in skewed data (I would think).
Mine was one of the most miserable nights I’ve ever spent. It was a decent facility, but it was very uncomfortable. Between wearing the sensors and knowing you’re being watched all night… Oddly, I had no problem adjusting to my CPAP mask afterwards.
Yep. The glue for the skull leads is a pain. Two studies. One to record apnic events. The second to assess my pressure per minute. I averaged 50 apnic episodes per hour. :eek:
My first night with the CPAP completely changed my life. The few nights I have gone without since, I have been catatonic the next day. Game changer, life saver…
Depends on what kind of study.
When you say “going in for a sleep study”, is sounds like you mean a polysomnogram — the kind we all picture, where you go to a facility for the night, get wired up like an old computer backplane, and spend a lousy night trying to sleep like that while technicians watch over you.
But you also mentioned, they are looking for apnea. If that’s all they’re looking for, it might be much simpler. I had this done a few years ago. It’s could be a fairly simple monitor that you take home with you. There’s a wire or two that you stick on your chest and a clothes-pin-like device you clip onto one finger, and a little box with all the electronics that you strap around your waist. When you go in, they’ll give you all this and a training session on how to wire yourself up. Then you take it home and do-it-yourself that night. Then you bring it back the next day.
At least, that’s how my test went. It’s still a little awkward, because you kinda have to lie more-or-less still all night and it’s uncomfortable to roll over with that box on your waist, or you fear you’ll knock it loose or something.
About that DIY home test for apnea that I described just above:
I had it done through my HMO. But you can also [del]purchase[/del] rent your very own home apnea test kit!
For educational purposes only, here’s a link to one that you can [del]buy[/del] rent on-line, including a photo of somebody fully wired up. The set-up shown in the photo pretty much resembles the apparatus I had several years ago, as best I remember it — even including the clothes-pin-like clip on the finger, which I believe measures blood oxygenation level.
ETA: Notice also, in addition to the wires, there’s also a nose hose.
Real web site from a real medical center with a real description of a real polysomnogram, including real photo of a real person during one.
http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=92&ContentID=P09032
I’ve done this twice, both in the same facility.
You go in early in the evening. You change into your pajamas (or whatever you’re going to wear). Then they wire you up. This takes an hour or more, as I remember. I can’t remember all the places they had sensors, besides a bunch on your head. I think there were some on the legs, but I’m not sure.
Anyway, then they expect you to go to sleep. It’s only maybe 8:30 or 9:00, but you have to lay down and attempt to sleep. You can only sleep on your side, and have fun trying to turn over. I wouldn’t worry about skewing the results by depriving yourself of sleep ahead of time, I don’t think that will have much effect on the readings. If you have to get up to pee, you have to tell them and they have to come in and help you out of the wires or something (but you pee in private). Otherwise their presence outside of the darkened room did not bother me.
In my case, after what seemed like not a very long time, they came in and put a CPAP on me, after which I slept fine. They might have been adjusting the pressure during the night to see what worked best, I don’t know. Then they wake you up really early, like 5:00 am, and you’re out by 6:00.
This was my experience. Different sleep labs may be different.
Roddy
You can expect a diagnosis of sleep apnea. It’s virtually guaranteed.
Yea, I often wonder if there’s a scam component to these sleep studies.
I’ve done it twice - it was surprising how many wires and sensors were hooked up to me, but I didn’t have too much trouble falling asleep. The observer was in another room, and couldn’t see me (she could hear me, when I called to her), so that didn’t bother me. As others have said, the goop in my hair took forever to get out. Don’t be surprised if the person monitoring you wakes you up before you wake up naturally, and if it’s anything like my experience, the monitor can’t tell you anything about the results except that the data was collected successfully - the doctor will tell you the results later.
I agree. It was awful.
Use conditioner to work the electrode gunk out of your hair before you try to shampoo. It makes a huge difference.
Getting the goop out of your hair is a bitch. They’ll probably let you take a shower afterwards. Alcohol pads might help getting that stuff off. There’s an electrode or two placed on your jaw to determine if you’re a tooth grinder. There are 2 on your chest to get a good heartbeat graph. And there’s at least one on a calf, maybe one on each calf, to see if you’re a nocturnal kicker.
gee, am I the only one who thought it was fun?
Well, not exactly fun…but it certainly didn’t bother me.
I went to the hospital at 8 p.m. Put on the pyjama top I brought with me, but stayed in my jeans and street shoes while I sat around the waiting room with a couple other patients watching TV and reading the newspapers they provide. One at a time, they called us into a little room where they glue a dozen electrodes on your head, and a little tube under your nose. Yeah, you feel weird, but then you go back into the waiting room and chat with other people who look weird , too. After a few minutes, you get used to the stuff glued on your face, and feel more comfortable. I watched the news till I get tired, then went to bed in my private room about the same time I would normally go to bed at home. In my room, I changed out of my jeans and into pyjamas.Then, as I’m sitting on the bed, the technician comes to “tuck you in”. He hooks the wires that are dangling off your body to a box, and ties one more belt with sensors around your chest.
Then you turn off the light, and go to sleep. It’s not like being at home, but it wasnt particularly uncomfortable. Sort of like sleeping at a Motel 6 when you’re driving cross country.
It’s not your own bed, you know you are being montored by the computer, and also by a live-action camera, so it’s not exactly a sexy bedtime. But it’s not too bad, either.
When you get up to go to the bathroom down the hall, you have to press a buzzer first so the technician comes into your room to unhook you from the wires (takes 10 seconds). Go pee, and then they re-hook you up again, and go back to sleep.
Get up the next morning, and go home.
I dont remember any problems removing glue from my hair.
Yes, they’ll tell you that you stopped breathing 85 times last night, and snored at 50 decibles. But my wife already knew that 
They’re going to turn you into Dr. Octopus. Bring a head lamp, and a book. They may wake you in the middle of the night to hook you to a CPAC machine if they discover sleep apnea that’s bad enough.
While a diagnosis of sleep apnea may be a near certainty, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. If it’s diagnosed your insurance may cover it. Without that, you’re on the hook for whatever equipment/medication you may need.
Don’t drink a lot of liquids before you go in.
I enjoyed mine. I acted as a control for numerous sleep studies, including one looking at nocturnal penile tumescence. The money was great and the conditions ideal (temp/humidity control, white noise, etc). Maybe I did so many that I grew to ignore the wiring harness, or maybe it was the “being paid to sleep” thing.
Mine wasn’t too bad in the beginning. After they wired me up, I was allowed to watch TV in my darkened room until I got sleepy. Then they “tucked me in” as someone mentioned. I was basically narcoleptic by the time I went in for the study, so falling asleep wasn’t difficult.
The bad part was they kept waking me up! First to put the CPAP mask on. Then to add a chin strap. Then to adjust the chin strap. I was so tired the next morning, and I had thought I was going to go to work. Ha! I got to work and could barely keep my eyes open.
I went home at noon and slept until the next morning. Oh yeah, I quit smoking the evening I did the sleep study. So I slept through 2-1/2 days of withdrawal!
I had 59 episodes of apnea per hour. I am so grateful for my CPAP machine! I felt normal almost immediately. I had no idea how much sleep deprivation was affecting my life.
