<p>Has anyone done one?
I have very bad sleep habits (& the bad habits of my dog doesnt help- he can be a light sleeper)
I dont think I need a cpap machine as I dont snore or make noises. I just cant go to sleep& when I do, I wake up after a couple hours.
My mattress could be better though.
And I am a very light sleeper. I used to wake up when the cat would sit on the end of the bed.
I blame my mom. She always said she made everyone be quiet when I was sleeping.
( I had colic)
But I cant imagine going to sleep with something over my face, let alone being hooked up to a machine, unless they force me to watch c-span.
=D> </p>
<p>I’d suggest you make an appointment with a sleep specialist and describe why you think you might benefit from a sleep study. Do you wake with headaches? Do you fall asleep a lot during the day? Those are some of the reasons some folks I know were referred for sleep studies, as well as the snoring. Definitely at least worth talking with a professional about. A doc needs to order it and it’s good to get an estimate as to your out-of-pocket costs for it, which can vary. My S & H & D each had a sleep study. S’s study showed he doesn’t get nearly enough REM sleep. H’s was fairly normal, despite his loud snoring. D’s napping was studied but she was found NOT to have narcolepsy (thankfully).</p>
<p>Have had other friends and loved ones who had sleep studies and were found to have sleep apnea (which is VERY common, even in some slim folks). They were greatly helped by CPAPs and some by BiPAPs.</p>
<p>My dr recommended a skeep study after I saw him today before he looks at anything else.
All the headaches ( well most) I have seem to be connected to my cycles. They arent severe but they are a good indicator of when it is coming.</p>
<p>I dont nap, but I do have concentration problems.
I was able to sleep better when I would go to the gym 5 x a week from 7-10 pm, but the thought of that now is too exhausting to consider.
The fibro doesnt help either, and although the TKR helped a great deal,there is never a time when I dont hurt.</p>
<p>I will check on the ins, but we have good coverage for some things.</p>
<p>Welcome to my world! A few thoughts that apply to me, maybe it will mean something to you. Sometimes I can fall asleep, but I can’t stay asleep. I used to say if I could just take my brain out and put it on the night stand I’d be fine. Now I’m also having trouble falling asleep. </p>
<p>Any chance it could be anxiety? Or hormonal? Not sure if you are at “that” special age or not, but I know so many of my friends all have this issue.</p>
<p>I once got paid to sleep. A sleep study program in Boston hired me for three studies and I got paid at the end of each one. I would drive to the location, drink a milkshake, and then get hooked up to the cords and try and go to sleep. I slept soundly and the cords were never a bother. You don’t move around as much and the key is to wait until you are tired before you drive over. Some nights I was given a placebo. I was never told anything about my sleep habits and how my participation helped their studies. You might benefit however.</p>
<p>TonyK, what a great way to earn extra income!!</p>
<p>There’s a much quicker, way cheaper earlier step my internist prescribed: a company delivers a pulse oximeter with a recording device to your home. You wear it overnight, and mail it back to the company the next day. They can see what your oxygen levels are, what the interruptions were, and they give your doc a report. Based on that, if it shows significant interruptions, you can then be scheduled for a full sleep study, which is $$$. This was $84 out of pocket (full cost). Data showed no problems, so no sleep study required. </p>
<p>My doc wanted me to have an overnight recording pulse oximetry test and ordered t. he company did it for me at no charge as a favor to me and the doc (they would have billed and been reimbursed by insurer IF the test showed that there was some reason for my headaches, like my oxygen levels dropping to 88% or lower while I slept). Agree that the overnight pulse oximetry study in your own bed is more comfortable and much easier to have a normal sleep for. They just have you tape a small clip on your finger, after you turn off the alarm and go to sleep in your home, in your bed. </p>
<p>Called my ins & its covered 90% after deductible.
I suspect my issues are behavior related though. I developed bad habits when I couldnt sleep because of pain and did anything to distract myself and now its part of my routine!
But Ive already noticed improvement by switching to audio books instead of reading on my phone & I am also trying orange lenses which are supposed to block the blue light which interferes with melatonin production.</p>
<p>I did the full sleepover test. Took a pix of myself with all the wires…very sci fi looking. The set up is quite like a hotel room, except you are wired up and they have a camera focused on you.</p>
<p>When you return home and are trying to get all of that goop out of your hair, it helps to first rub conditioner on the sticky areas.</p>
<p>I know someone with a sleep lab in his practice. He has doubts about what it accomplishes. </p>
<p>I’d suggest trying something simple like the Marpac Dohm-DS Dual Speed Sound Conditioner ($50). Many, many, many women have sleep issues. My wife does. The sleep noise machine has dramatically improved her sleep. It took a little while but she now gets solid sleep most nights (instead of almost never). I think the word “conditioner” is appropriate; it takes time to condition you to sleeping without the usual disturbances, issues. Try the low setting first because it should be plenty loud. My experience, as a really sound sleeper, is it has conditioned my sleep as well; it’s as though a cloak were draped over my senses, allowing them to relax into sleep. </p>
<p>Emerald, you sound like me when my doctor recommended a sleep study. I thought of everything else that affected my sleep. Well, despite thinking my doctor was nuts, I had my study, and FAILED!!! Fortunately, I LOVE my CPAP machine. I felt 20 years younger after the first night that I used it. By the way, my BMI is under 25 and I work out all of the time. So weight wasn’t my issue; it was all bad anatomy. </p>
<p>Since then, I was asked to present a CME for physicians related to sleep disorders. While conducting my reference searches, I was shocked to learn how serious of an issue this was. About 90% of patients with severe sleep disorders don’t even know they have it. In the past 3 years, I have probably diagnosed a good 1000 patients who have 5 or more risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea. The majority of them either refuse or just fail to follow up with a sleep study. </p>
<p>If you are having heart problems? We check your heart. Lung problems? We check your lungs. Sleep problems? We MUST check your sleep with a sleep study before doing anything else. Just the facts. Untreated sleep apnea causes damage.</p>
<p>Don’t mean to lecture you. You are doing the right thing to follow up with the study before making behavioral or medication changes.</p>
<p>Btw: be careful with overnight pulse oximetry studies. They do not diagnose narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome and a whole host of other disorders. Each of these disorders would show normal results despite abnormal issues. The gold standard remains an overnight Polysomnography.</p>
<p>I do hope that I dont have to use a cpap machine, I think it would freak out my dog, he is very protective.
But Im keeping an open mind.</p>
<p>I can’t even imagine doing a sleep study. I can’t sleep in my own bed even when I’m tired. How could I possibly sleep in a lab?</p>
<p>DH did a sleep study years ago. He has a CPAP machine. Finding the right mask was the most difficult part for him. It worked wonders for him for years. However he has had a collapsed lung twice in the last 2 years. With no obvious risk factors .While “supposedly” the CPAP machine had nothing to do with it. One of the first questions they asked him after the second occurrence was did he use a CPAP machine…I guess there is thinking out there that having the forced air pressure “might” make some people more likely to end up having a collapsed lung. Although there doesn’t seem to be a real proof of that at this point and sometimes they do use CPAP machines to help people who have a collapsed lung…Needless to say he’s not sold on him using the CPAP machine any more because he does not want to go through that again.</p>
<p>I did the pulse-ox first and was shocked to learn how low my levels dipped in the night. That led to the full sleep study. I had a very hard time falling asleep and staying asleep there, but it was good enough for the study. Again, I was shocked by the number of “events” I was having and the amount that I actually snored.</p>
<p>The copay for the study was murder.</p>
<p>It took about a month for me to get “fully compliant” on the CPAP. It was a horrible nuisance, and I ended up making my own adjustments to the pressure settings. That was crucial.</p>
<p>The good news is, CPAP has changed my life. I am literally not the same person I was, and I’m pretty sure I’ll live a lot longer than I would have without it.</p>
<p>Yes, studies have shown that people with sleep apnea WHO USE THEIR CPAPs live longer (and better) lives WITH the machine than those who forgo.</p>
<p>All this is very informative.
For those of you with sleeping partners, did they come to your initial intake to answer questions?</p>
<p>No, I didn’t come when H had his sleep study and played no role in it. The sleep lab does have a luxurious bed and H slept as well there as he does at home. There are some places that allow you to do the sleep study in your own home, but with all the equipment and wiring, it really is better to do it in the lab for more accuracy, I feel. </p>
<p>The kids each answered all of their own questions before each was ordered to have a sleep study as well and they didn’t ask any of us any questions. As I recall, the co-payment for our insurance wasn’t really awful, but can’t remember the details.</p>
<p>No, my doctor only went with my chief complaint. Mine was pretty simple, my exercise tolerance decreased significantly in about a 6 month period. That was it. Cardiovascular, pulmonary, endocrine, and hematological exams were all normal. I didn’t have any complaints about sleep. But one day on the CPAP and my exercise tolerance improved to what I had 20 years ago. My wife noticed that I no longer snored and I stopped rolling around like an alligator subduing a prey. These were not issues for me. But several other things occurred. My blood pressure dropped, memory significantly improved, and I lost 5 pounds (probably because I could exercise more).</p>
<p>I use a nasal pillow which I LOVE! Tried a nasal mask and just could not sleep with it. I eventually bought a second machine for travel and as back up for my original one.</p>
<p>My daughter had a sleep study and it turned out her problem was narcolepsy. We had no idea that she had this disorder at the time. Now looking back, DUH, of course she had this issue.</p>
<p>Anyway, we are telling you of our experience. Who knows what you may or may not have. In a way, it is creepy to think that someone is watching you sleep. But the data can be surprising.</p>