My husband is spending the night in the hospital tonight doing a sleep study. He’s always snored like a madman and he had quadruple bypass surgery in July. I finally convinced him to go. Now that he’s finally fixed up heart-wise, I figured he should make sure that his sleeping patterns aren’t putting his heart and other organs back in any danger. My brother-in-law did this a couple of years ago and he quit breathing so many times during the first hours that they hooked him up with a CPAP machine before the night was over and he’s been using it ever since. He says it’s changed is life. He doesn’t feel tired any more, sleeps through the night, and wakes up refreshed. Anyway, the husband just called to say goodnight, because they’ve got him all hooked up to monitors now and he’s not sure what else they’ll have him do before “check out” time. I won’t be talking to him until tomorrow, so this info is just for my own benefit. What, exactly, will he be going through tonight? What’s your first or second-hand experience? Actual, factual answers, please. Thanks!
I have had two and while they aren’t completely unpleasant, they aren’t a night in Las Vegas either. The problem is that they glue an obscene amount of electrodes all over your entire upper body, hook you to a machine that moves like an IV stand, ask you to go to sleep, watch you on camera all night, and then kick you out very early (at least for me) in the morning. There isn’t much pain involved but there is some stress because you know you really, really need to sleep like you normally do but that is counter-productive. You generally get to sleep in something that is supposed to look like a private, single hotel room with a full queen sized bed.
It rates about the same as being stuck in an airport overnight having to sleep on the benches and having someone watch you doing it the whole time. However, it is worthwhile and my second sleep study produced 80+ pages of graphs and results that led to a good solution for me.
There is nothing medically to worry about. He may just be a little grumpy tomorrow and need a nap.
My ex is a sleep lab tech, and from talking to her, Shagnasty’s comments are right on the mark.
That isn’t to say I didn’t believeShaggy, just that I spoke to my ex on the phone and she said that there isn’t anything she’d add to that except that the settings for your husband’s CPAP will be derived from this test, so although it is a bit of a nuisance, it wil be well worth it, (for both of you) that he do the study and follow all the pre-test instructions, such as no caffeine.
I also asked her about what if the patient just cannot fall asleep due to the foreign environment, and although YMMV, at her hospital the patient is advised to bring whatever meds he generally uses to help him sleep, or, at his doctor’s discretion, he may be given a mild sedative.
As you might expect, the sleep lab needs to have an as near as possible picture of the patient’s sleep habits in order to produce a good quality study.
Guess who else needs a CPAP?
Yup. Me, and my study is scheduled after the holidays.
So, business as usual, then! I’m just excited because I actually get to sleep through the night IN BED! Typically I sleep on the couch in the living room, then I wake up at about 6 or 6:30, put in my earplugs and get into bed for another hour or two. It’s been going on for so long that it seems right to me. I guess I’m hi-jacking my own thread here, but, If I were doing something that caused my own spouse to be unable to sleep with me, I sure as hell would do something about it ASAP. I know his sleeping aberrations are not his fault, but I can’t believe it’s taken him until now to try to do something about it. Oh, well…
Don’t throw away those earplugs. My wife’s CPAP makes so much noise that without earplugs I wouldn’t get any sleep. I don’t know what it is–we’ve had the machine looked at, she’s been refit for a mask numerous times, inspected and replaced the hose–but there is this constant sound of escaping air and it’s LOUD. Maybe it’s the position she sleeps in, I just don’t know. I don’t complain about it because, like your brother-in-law, it changed her life. After hearing that I figured wearing earplugs is the least I can do.
They sent me home with a special cpap machine and told me to go to bed normally. I took it back to the medical offices the next morning they down loaded the information from it. I went in the next week to pick up my own cpap machine that had been set acourding to the download.
My wife loves it. I sleep different now. I am doing better. I am glad that I am using the machine.
See I don’t think the noise of the CPAP would bother me. I actually need a fan or some kind of consistent white noise to sleep. That’s why I hate the earplugs. All I can hear is the nothingness of my thoughts and bodily processes. The snoring bothers me, not necessarily always because of the noise level, but because of the inconsistency of the noise…silence for awhile, then a HUGE snore, ckkkk, ckkk, from the back of the throat more quietly, silence, gasp, Huge snore. This absolutely cannot be healthy. My luck, he’ll sleep like and angel, come home tomorrow and announce that he doesn’t snore. GAH! I’ll have him committed, I will, I will!
That won’t happen. These types of studies are very scientific. The tech won’t diagnose anything. The data goes into a large report that a doctor needs to read before coming to conclusions. The equipment picks up problems that lots of people have very easily. I am a fit 35 year old who had radical surgery after the first sleep study which helped and I don’t regret but it still didn’t fix everything. Sleep study #2 filled in the gaps.
The best thing that you can do is to read the reports and go to the doctor with him after everything is all said and done. Sleep apnea is a very common problem and very treatable but there are lots of options out there and they get better and better every day. I have just a simple strap that fits the nose and it works great and doesn’t cause much of a problem at all. Other people need full face gear.
Your job is to read the reports and learn about the different options from the techs and doctors from the sleep clinic. I got tired of being punched and kicked in sleep throughout my life for severe snoring and stopping breathing. Sometimes it could shake a room or so they told me but I would never know.
Just support him and follow through with the study as best as you can. You are doing the right thing and he cannot help it.
This is what I’m hoping. If it not only stops him from snoring, but also creates white noise, it will be the answer to my dreams (enjoyed while actually sleeping in the bed!) Thanks for giving me hope, everyone!
Since I live to take away hope from the world, I need to point out that CPAPs do not work for everyone. They can fail for huge numbers of reasons including improper fitting and adjustment, inability to adapt to them, and incapacity to solve the underlying problem. Snoring is a symptom of a deeper problem, not a disease in and of itself.
CPAPs are hardly the end of the line for treatment now, although they are, IMO, being oversold as if they were. Several forms of operations exist that surgically create the proper opening in the throat. That’s different from the CPAP, which often treats the symptoms but not the cause. It took an operation to get rid of my snoring after I spent six months on a CPAP with no real relief.
The operation is a serious one and most doctors will not do it unless you’ve been through a CPAP first, so this is the next necessary step. It may very well be just the thing for you and your husband. Just remember that there are a great many options down the road if this isn’t the cure you were hoping for.
I had a sleep study done several months ago because I was tired of being tired. Hubby told me I made sounds in my sleep and snored sometimes, and we figured well maybe I have sleep apnea. Turns out I have narcolepsy - genetically inherited and can’t do anything about it. (Of course they told me a blood test could confirm that, but the study helps rule out other problems.)
I agree with the glue thing. I still found chunks a few days later and it freaked me out! The sleeping part was the worst, because you couldn’t move around much. I had a thing on my finger and stuff jammed up my nose. I woke up mid-study and couldn’t fall back asleep, then about 530 in the morning all the power went out in the facility. Thankfully they had enough data otherwise they said we’d have to come back! :eek:
As part of my sleep study I also had a nap study a few hours later, which was to help rule out narcolepsy. Apparently I fell asleep at least 1/4 times - even though I swear I didn’t!!! Even though all the graphs say I did.
I’m scheduled for a sleep study in January. I’ve seen the masks for the CPAP machine, and can’t believe I’ll be able to adapt to them. Maybe a nasal prong mask, but there’s still the connection to the machine; for a thrash sleeper like me, CPAP seems a doubtful solution at best.
My doctor indicated an oral appliance (essentially a custom mouthpiece which orients the positions of the jaws) might be a solution. But the cost quoted is $6500! Have any of the sleep study participants here been told about oral appliances, and are the costs so high? My kids braces cost less!
Of course, maybe I can tolerate the CPAP long enough for the doctor to consider a surgical solution; he’s indicated that could help, but the alternatives have to be tried first (at least CPAP).
What’s funny about that is that it’s probably just a mouth piece that helps you sleep with your lower jaw extended so you sleep with an under-bite. If you’re like me, you can experience the difference it makes by closing your mouth and ‘mouth’ breathing with your jaw in and your jaw out. What I mean by mouth breathing in this case is instead of intentionally breathing through your sinuses, breath through your mouth, thereby forcing the breathing through your nose because your mouth is closed. Does that make sense? Anyway, I’m sitting here doing it at my desk, and I notice a big difference. It’s a trick I learned when I used a CPAP. I don’t need it anymore.
Also I’m not aware of too many surgical options that have a high success rate. I think the most common is trimming the uvula.
I believe that’s exactly what the mouth piece does - extend the lower jaw. I’m not sure I’m properly experiencing the “mouth” breathing you describe, but if I move my lower jaw in and really breath through my mouth, I hear a trilling that’s the start of a snore; move the lower jaw out, it’s gone. Seems it might significantly improve my snoring, but will I be less sleepy? Who knows.
The surgical option is nasal - my septum is so deviated one nostril is practically closed, the other is not much better. Possibly the sleep study and trial use of the CPAP will just be to confirm that I need either a mouth piece or nasal surgery. And I agree about surgery, oral or nasal; several people I know have gone the nasal surgery route, and beyond just deviated septum, with no real improvement in snoring or sleep.
He was home by 6:00 this morning. They woke him and kicked him out at 5:30. I couldn’t believe it. Anyway, his condition didn’t warrant the immediate outfitting of a CPAP; however, he won’t have the results for TWO WEEKS. Back to the sofa for me!
I underwent a sleep study at home; the technician came by at 11pm and hooked me up (luckily I shave my head, so cleaning up after was easier!), and came back in the morning to retrieve all the stuff.
My wife had been taking regular trips downstairs to the couch due to my window-shaking snoring, which was what prompted this. After looking at the results, which showed an amount of apnea, my doctor suggested trying a SnorBan mouthpiece before looking into CPAP. Since a SnorBan mouthpiece costs all of $40, it was worth a try. Just the minor amount of forward shift of my lower jaw made all the difference in the world, and we now share the same, silent bed once again.
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll take a look at SnorBan, and SnorEx too. The best solution is to lose 40+ pounds, which is not going to happen tomorrow. And my wife’s not sleeping on the couch - if anyone ends up in the spare bedroom, it’ll be me. I’m pursuing this more because my snoring seems to be getting worse and I’m sleepier during the day than I have been before.
