My husband gets to have a sleep study done tomorrow night.
I suspect PLMD. The doctor just kept saying that hubby’s insomnia was a result of him working second shift when he was a teen? Weird.
Anyway, he needs to show up at the place at 9 pm, and the papers say that if they don’t find apnea, they’ll conduct three “daytime drowsiness” studies the next day and he won’t be done until 5.
Has anyone had this done? What does he do all day until 5? Am I supposed to take off work and go stare at him until 5?
The daytime studies are called a Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT). Basically what happens (having had one) is that after the all-night study, they wake you up (feed you breakfast, usually) and make you stay awake for around 2 hours. Then they tell you to go to sleep. Then, after 20 minutes or so, they wake you up, and make you stay awake for around 2 hours. Repeat all day.
This is currently the only way to diagnose narcolepsy and/or some other sleep disorders.
Apparently some sleep medicine departments/sleep study facilities will allow the patient visitors during the “awake” phases, so I suppose you could stare at him if you want.
It was all right, I suppose. The up & down thing was annoying, but I understood the point of it - they’re trying to find out how fast you fall asleep, and how deeply. They can diagnose all sorts of things from that.
To me, the worst part was being “wired for sound”. You’re hooked up to all sorts of stuff (mostly for the overnight test) and have sticky tape & stuff everywhere. They usually give out handouts on how to get the sticky stuff out of your hair.
I was diagnosed with mild narcolepsy. I don’t have a lot of symptoms (mostly excessive daytime sleepiness) but I do take medication for it. Thankfully, I don’t have obstructive sleep apnea, although I do snore. One of these days, I might get around to actually having them take my tonsils & adenoids out…but recovery time for adults is worse than for kids, so I’m hesitant.
If you have any other questions before he goes in, I’ll try to keep an eye on the board today. Hope this also helps!
Odd. I’ve had 3 sleep studies, two specifically to check for apnea and one just as a last-check before a formal RLS/PLMD diagnosis and none of them mentioned the daytime version (the sleep latency test), then again your spouse’s situation probably differs from mine. As Indyellen says, it’s useful in diagnosing things other than apnea, might even be useful in pinpointing whether your husband has daytime RLS/PLMD symptoms.
Tell him to bring lots of books / music etc. to help pass the time. Also might be worth bringing along a book light for bedtime in case he can’t get to sleep easily - typically you can’t just reach over and turn your own light on if you have trouble falling asleep. Which is (as I’ve proven) entirely possible no matter how tired I am when I arrive.
It’s too late for this round, but I found it helpful to get as little sleep as possible the night before, after my first study in which I got little real sleep.
My mom recently went through a sleep study. She described it as hellish mostly because of all the stuff attached to her and how hard it was for her to fall asleep because of all the stuff attached to her.
Turns out she has apnea and they’ve outfitted her with a CPAP which required yet another night at the clinic that she described as hellish because they woke her up every two hours to try another machine.
But it’s all finished now and she’s getting used to the machine thingy and after it was all said and done she’s happy she gave up 2 nights in her own comfortable bed for something that important.
jsgoddess, although I know nothing about the daytime studies, I started a thread a little while back on sleep studies myself because I was having one done. A lot of Dopers came through with helpful info, and you may find some useful links in the thread:
I have apnea and sleep with a BiPAP these days, which I’m still getting used to, but it has made a marked improvement in the quality of my waking hours, and my wife has noticed an immediate difference in the deepness of my sleep.
Best of luck to you, and although there are many more knowledgeable Dopers around, I’m happy to answer any questions you might have if I can.
I don’t think he has ever slept through the night since I’ve known him. After Mama Zappa described PLMS in a thread here, I realized that might be what’s causing his strange motions at night, but his doctor completely blew that off.
It turns out to be apnea, so he didn’t have the daytime portion of the test at all.
They let him sleep and then this morning told him about the apnea, so that experience wasn’t exactly like what I expected. I thought they would discover the apnea and start putting him on a machine.
Anyway, he says he slept pretty much “like always.” He’s had so much experience being hospitalized, maybe he’s used to sleeping all wired up.
Doctor appointment tomorrow, so I guess I’ll find out more then.
I’m both relieved and anxious at the same time. How is this possible?
Oh what fun… sorry he may have PLMS but at least you’ve got documentation of it that should show the “blew that off” doctor.
I’m glad he was able to sleep with the mask. Once the apnea is under better control you’ll be in a better position to get a good handle on the PLMS. It’s possible he may even find he doesn’t need to do anything about it at present. Definitely do your research so you can deal with the doctor(s) from a position of authority and knowledge - many docs are unfamiliar with this condition and tend to either dismiss it, or lean toward out-of-date treatment protocols.
I was doing this: “Ha ha! I told you! I told you! Ha ha!” poke poke
And then I was doing this: “Oh, crap.” :smack:
His doctor is kinda horrible. I talked with the tech at the sleep center and she said he’s new to the area and I’m the third person who has complained about him. But there are only two other doctors and they’re impossible to get appointments.
